14th november, 2014
Nirvana Inside the heart and mind of Kurt Cobain
Survivor
The eye of the tiger
R.E.M
Eric Clapton
The stories behind their greatest songs
Tears in heaven’s story
Willie Nelson Willie Nelson’s band injured in tour bus accident
The Beatles John Lennon: The Beatle Interview 1
Content
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Nirvana Inside the heart and mind of Kurt Cobain
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The eye of the tiger
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Tears in heaven’s story
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The stories behind their greatest songs
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Willie Nelson’s band injured in tour bus accident
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John Lennon: The Beatle Interview
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Survivor
Eric Clapton R.E.M.
Willie Nelson The Beatles
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Nirvana: Inside the heart and mind of kurt cobain For now, Nirvana leader Kurt Cobain and his new wife, Courtney Love, live in an apartment in Los Angeles's modest Fairfax district. "I don't blame the average seventeen-year-old punk-rock kid for calling me a sellout,'' Cobain says. "I understand that. And maybe when they grow up a little bit, they'll realize there's more things to life than living out your rock & roll identity so righteously.'' All I need is a break and my stress will be over with,'' says the twenty-five-year-old Cobain. "I'm going to get healthy and start over.'' He's certainly earned a break after playing nearly 100 dates on four continents in 5 months, never staying in one place long enough for to have a doctor to tend to his stomach problem.
Soon after the September release of Nevermind, MTV pumped "Teen Spirit'' night and day as the album vaulted up the charts until it hit Number One. Although the band's label, DGC, doubted the album would sell over more than 250,000 copies, it sold 3 million in just four months and continues to sell nearly 100,000 copies a week. 3
For Nirvana, putting out their first major-label record was like getting into a new car. But the runaway success was like suddenly discovering that the car was a Ferrari and the accelerator pedal was Krazy Glued to the floorboard. Friends worried about how the band was dealing with it all. "Dave's just psyched,'' says Nils Bernstein, a good friend of the band members' who coordinates their fan mail. "He's twenty-two, and he's a womanizer, and he's just: 'Score!''' Novoselic, according to Bernstein, had a drinking problem but went on the wagon this year so he could stay on top of his exploding career. But rumours are flying about Cobain. A recent item in the music-industry magazine Hits said Cobain was "slam dancing with Mr. Brownstone,'' Guns n' Roses slang for doing heroin.
Cobain denies he is using heroin. "I don't even drink anymore because it destroys my stomach,'' he protests. "My body wouldn't allow me to take drugs if I wanted to, because I'm so weak all the time.
"All drugs are a waste of time,'' he continues. "They destroy your memory and your self-respect and everything that goes along with your selfesteem. They make you feel good for a little while, and then they destroy you. They're no good at all. But I'm not going to go around preaching against it. It's your choice, but in my experience, I've found they're a waste of time.'' 4
Cobain brushes off speculation that he's finding fame difficult and dismisses rumors that he'll soon break up the band because it has become too big. "It really isn't affecting me as much as it seems like it is in interviews and the way that a lot of journalists have portrayed my attitude,'' he says. "I'm pretty relaxed with it.'' But people who know him say otherwise. Choosing his words carefully, Jack Endino, producer of the band's debut album, Bleach, says, "When I saw them in Amsterdam a few months back, it seemed like they were a little grouchy and . . . under pressure, let's put it that way.'' "Kurt is ready to strangle the next person who takes his picture,'' adds Bernstein.
Fame rubs against Cobain's punk ethos, which is why he refused a limo ride to Nirvana's Saturday Night Live appearance. "People are treating him like a god, and that pisses him off,'' says Bernstein. "They're giving Kurt this elevated sense of importance that he feels he doesn't have or deserve. So he's like 'Fuck you!' "Chris and Dave have had to pick up a lot of Kurt's slack,'' Bernstein continues. "Chris and Dave were close before, but now they're inseparable.'' "Just to survive lately I've become a lot more withdrawn from the band,'' Cobain confesses. "I don't go party after the show; I go straight to my hotel room and go to sleep and concentrate on eating in the morning. I'd rather deal with things like that. Our friendship isn't being jeopardized by it, but this tour has definitely taken some years off of our lives. I plan to make changes.'' 5
Survivor: The eye of the tiger In 1982, Survivor burst onto the scene with a mega hit called "Eye Of The Tiger", which just happened to be featured in Sylvester Stallone's Rocky III film. When the Survivor drummer Marc Droubay was interviewed, the group had just released their fifth album, "Vital Signs" and were touring with REO Speedwagon. Q - Is it true that Frank Stallone discovered Survivor and recommended the group to his brother Sly? A - Where'd you hear that? Q - Entertainment Tonight I think. A - The way we heard it came down was Sylvester Stallone and Tony Scotti, our record company president, knew each other. Sylvester was saying he was looking for something different to use as a theme song. He didn't want to use the "Gonna Fly Now" and Tony suggested to him that he check us out. So, that's the story I've always heard.
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Q - How did you guys happen to write a song that fit the story line of Rocky III so perfectly? A - At first, Sylvester Stallone talked to Frank and Jim, who were the writers, and told them basically what he wanted and sent them the first ten minuets of the movie where "Eye Of The Tiger" is. He actually had "Another One Bites The Dust" by Queen synched into the movie and said "I want this kind of a beat. Other than that, do whatever you want, but write me a song. It's got to be this long and this is where it's gonna go." So, Frank and Jim wrote the music for it in an hour. But the lyrics, coming up with the title, an idea, a story board, was giving them a little bit of a problem. So they asked Stallone if we could see the whole movie. So he sent a video tape of the entire movie. The scene where Stallone is confronted by Apollo Creed and he says "You lost the eye of the tiger. You got to get it back," just seemed to be the onus of the whole movie. That just seemed to be what the whole movie was about. And we said "That's a perfect title!" Then Frank and Jim went on to write the lyrics around that.
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Q - After the success of "Eye Of The Tiger", was there ever a feeling that you could never top that song and if you did, it would be a long time? A - We cautiously didn't even worry about it because, first of all, we never expected what happened with "Eye Of The Tiger" to happen. It happened so fast that I don't think it hit us 'til we were done with the tour of '82 and already halfway into recording the follow-up album. We just said "Hey, let's not worry about it." We just handled it. We just never consciously thought that we were gonna have to worry about topping it.
Q - Other than the one personnel change, you guys have been together for six years now. What's been key to holding this group together? A - I think as corny as it sounds, it's just 'cause we really dig what we're doing. We just love playing music. All of us have been musicians since all of us can remember. I've been playing drums twenty years. Everyone enjoys playing and we enjoy playing in the group. I think as simple as it sounds, that's the key to it.
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Eric Clapton’s tragic memories On March 20, 1991, Eric Clapton suffered a parent’s worst nightmare. In a heartbreakingly tragic accident, Clapton’s four-and-a-halfyear-old son, Conor, fell out of an open window in the high-rise New York condominium he was living in with his mother, actress and Italian television personality Lory Del Santo. Although New York law requires window guards in apartment buildings, according to Snopes, a 1984 ruling exempted condos, leaving building owners to decide whether or not to have safety devices installed. The New York Times reported that Conor’s accident happened during a visit from the housekeeper, who had opened the 6-by-4 window in order to clean it when Conor wasn’t in the room and was unable to prevent the boy from “[darting] past” before it was shut. Clapton, who didn’t live with Del Santo and Conor, happened to be in New York at the time. In fact, the night before tragedy struck, he’d taken Conor to the circus for an outing later memorialized in the song ‘The Circus Left Town.
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As he later told Ed Bradley during a 1999 interview with ‘60 Minutes,’ wanting to be a good father to his son was what ultimately prompted Clapton to get sober. “When he was born, I was drinking and he was really the chief reason that I went back to treatment because I really did love this boy,” he recalled. “I thought, ‘I know he’s a little baby, but he can see what I’m doing, and I’m tired of this.’” In a 2005 interview with Mojo, Clapton said Conor’s death “threw me into … a wobble,” and in the immediate aftermath of the accident, he coped by throwing himself into his work — most notably by contributing a trio of new songs to the soundtrack of the 1991 movie ‘Rush,’ including ‘Tears in Heaven,’ the Grammywinning hit ballad inspired by the immense grief of his loss.
“It asked a very pertinent question,” Clapton later told Mojo. “Because I don’t really know… I have a belief in a higher power, but I don’t really know whether… Most of those old religious things say, ‘See you over there.’ And you think, ‘Really? How do you know?’ And the song asked that question. And I’m always wondering whether… we meet people again. I think what works about that song is it’s a question. That doesn’t offend anyone. It’s asking for help. It works for people. It’s a great way to communicate, asking for help.”
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Help, but not a cure for sadness. As Clapton explained in that 2005 interview, “I think it won’t make sense to me for maybe another ten years. You know when you can look back and say, ‘Oh, that’s why I did that.’ Someone once pointed out to me that the time I began taking heroin really heavily coincided with the death of my grandfather. Back then, I didn’t equate the two at all. The same could be said about the death of my son in 1991 and me getting into the weirdest relationships for the rest of the ’90s before I met my present wife. I never saw a connection until recently. I was lost again. Looking for something. Probably for mothering. Now I can see, ‘Yeah, you really didn’t do very well coming out of that.’ Although I was able to express it musically.”
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REM: Inside out. The stories behind the greatest songs Behind the song: Losing my religion “That’s me in the corner. That’s me in the spotlight.” If you had the radio on in 1991, you probably bobbed your head to one of the most unlikely Top 40 singles of all time. In between spins of “Right Here, Right Now” by Jesus Jones and C&C Music Factory’s “Gonna Make You Sweat,” lay R.E.M.’s “Losing My Religion,” the track that turned the former kings of college rock into international superstars. There had been hits before: “Stand,” “It’s The End Of The World As We Know It” and “The One I Love” all raised R.E.M.’s profile, marking them as quirky alt-rock tastemakers. But the morose, mandolin-fueled “Losing My Religion” was the fulcrum for the most unlikely star turn in pop music history. “There’ve been very few life-changing events in our career because our career has been so gradual,” said bassist Mike Mills. “If you want to talk about life changing, ‘Losing My Religion’ is the closest it gets.” 12
Unlike early R.E.M. songs, “Losing My Religion” features lyrics you can understand. And yet, they were largely misunderstood anyway. Was it sacrilegious? A kiss off to the establishment? Were R.E.M. advocating that you reject the church and stop celebrating Christmas? In fact, this was not the case. “Losing my religion” is actually an old southern expression for being at the end of one’s rope, and the moment when politeness gives way to anger. But if you were missing that key detail, you’d think that Stipe’s vague imagery was clearly a comment on the JudeoChristian tradition. The single was accompanied by a moody art house video, which MTV spun constantly. Inspired by a short story from 1,000 Years Of Solitude author Gabriel García Márquez
R.E.M. never had another hit quite like “Losing My Religion,” though they’d rule the radio for a heady few years, with modern classics like “Man in the Moon” and “Everybody Hurts.” Then, like all bands, they got older. But as R.E.M., Pearl Jam, and countless others have proven, bands don’t really need an audience outside of their hard-core fans. And of that, there are many… and they’re quite religious about it.
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Behind the song: What’s the frequency, Kenneth CBS News anchor Dan Rather, renowned for his unusual expressions and sayings, has led a colourful life. However, one bizarre event really takes the cake. One night in October 1986, Rather was walking down a Manhattan street when he was punched from behind and thrown to the ground. His assailant kicked and beat him while repeating, "Kenneth, what is the frequency?" No one could explain the event, and the rumours flew fast and wide. Some speculated the assailant was a KGB agent, while others claimed the attack was the work of a jealous husband. Rather himself couldn’t shed any light on the subject. His explanation at the time? Apparently the strange event moved R.E.M. singer Michael Stipe, who said of the incident: -I got mugged. Who understands these things? I didn’t and I don’t now. I didn’t make a lot of it at the time and I don’t now. I wish I knew who did it and why, but I have no idea. It remains the premier unsolved American surrealist act of the 20th century. It’s a misunderstanding that was scarily random, media hyped and just plain bizarre. 14
The attack inspired the 1994 R.E.M. hit "What’s the Frequency, Kenneth." Being a good sport, Dan Rather even accompanied the band when they performed the song on a Late Show with David Letterman appearance. In 1997, based on a tip from a psychiatrist, Rather’s attacker was identified as William Tager. According to the psychiatrist, Tager, who was currently serving time for killing an NBC stagehand, blamed news media for beaming signals into his head, and thought if he could just find out the correct frequency, he could block those signals that were constantly assailing him. Hence the enigmatic inquiry.
On August 31, 1994, Tager shot and killed Campbell Theron Montgomery, a technician employed by NBC, outside of the stage of the Today show. Tager had attempted to enter the Today studios carrying a weapon; Montgomery died preventing Tager access to the studios. Police apprehended Tager after the shooting. Tager stated he believed that television networks were monitoring him and beaming messages into his head and that he had assaulted Dan Rather. Prosecutors brought first degree murder charges against Tager. On November 29, 1996, Tager was given a sentence of 15 to 25 years. As of 2007 he was incarcerated in Sing Sing prison in New York state. Tager was denied parole in 2007, and can reappear before the parole board in October 2010. 15
List of REM’s songs 1. Accelerate - about dealing with a world that's moving ever more quickly. 2.At My Most Beautiful - about Michael Stipe who is helplessly in love and he only feels beautiful in the reflection of his lover’s adoration. 3. Bang and Blame - about how attackers of women (and society in general) often blame the victims of rape. 4. Cuyahoga - make a point of acknowledging the fact that we need to collaborate and work hard for change, because without that effort and emphasis on community, we stand to lose so much. 5. Electron Blue - about how being bold enough to dive headlong into the future can be an incredible high, but it can also become this thing that keeps a person constantly looking to the horizon and at a slight remove from their surroundings. 6. Everybody Hurts - an anti-suicide song. Berry wanted to reach out to people who felt they had no hope. 7. Houston - deals with questions of faith in response to what happened to the victims of Hurricane Katrina. 8. Radio Song - saying that radio is corrupting and brainwashing the people and taking over how they think. 16
Willie Nelson’s band injured in tour bus accident Bald eagle drawing, stained glass windows and red velvet curtains highlight expensive souvenir. At 80 years old, Willie Nelson plays more than 150 dates a year, and there are dangers on the road. Last night, a tour bus carrying Nelson’s band got into an accident on icy Interstate 30 outside Sulpher Springs, Texas after a show in Thackerville, Oklahoma. Nelson was not on the bus, but three band members were injured and hospitalized.
Rolling Stone has learned from Nelson’s publicist that the injuries are not serious. Those who were hurt in the accident include 81-year-old drummer Paul English, who broke his ankle, and his brother, multiinstrumentalist Billy English, who suffered a bruised hip. Nelson's guitar tech, Tom Hawkins, has a cracked or bruised rib. They all either have been released from the hospital or will be heading home soon.
Nelson is postponing four dates before starting the tour again on December 10th in Las Vegas, said his publicist, Elaine Schock. "They’ll take a few dates off and then they’ll be on the road again." 17
The Beatle interview Q- Would you take it all back? LENNON: What? Q- Being a Beatle? LENNON: If I could be a fuckin’ fisherman I would. If I had the capabilities of being something other than I am, I would. It’s no fun being an artist. You know what it’s like, writing, it’s torture. I read about Van Gogh, Beethoven, any of the fuckers. If they had psychiatrists, we wouldn’t have had Gauguin’s great pictures. These bastards are just sucking us to death; that’s about all that we can do, is do it like circus animals. I resent being an artist, in that respect, I resent performing for fucking idiots who don’t know anything. They can’t feel. I’m the one that’s feeling, because I’m the one that is expressing. They live vicariously through me and other artists, and we are the ones... even with the boxers–when Oscar comes in the ring, they’re booing the shit out of him, he only hits Clay once and they’re all cheering him. I’d sooner be in the audience, really, but I’m not capable of it. One of my big things is that I wish to be a fisherman. I know it sounds silly–and I’d sooner be rich than poor, and all the rest of that shit–but I wish the pain was ignorance or bliss or something. If you don’t know, man, then there’s no pain; that’s how I express it. 18
Q- What do you think the effect was of the Beatles on the history of Britain? LENNON: I don’t know about the “history”; the people who are in control and in power, and the class system and the whole bullshit bourgeoisie is exactly the same, except there is a lot of fag middle class kids with long, long hair walking around London in trendy clothes, and Kenneth Tynan is making a fortune out of the word “fuck.” Apart from that, nothing happened. We all dressed up, the same bastards are in control, the same people are running’ everything. It is exactly the same. We’ve grown up a little, all of us, there has been a change and we’re all a bit freer and all that, but it’s the same game. Shit, they’re doing exactly the same thing, selling arms to South Africa, killing blacks on the street, people are living in fucking poverty, with rats crawling over them. It just makes you puke, and I woke up to that too. The dream is over. It’s just the same, only I’m thirty, and a lot of people have got long hair. That’s what it is, man, nothing happened except that we grew up, we did our thing–just like they were telling us. You kids– most of the so called “now generation” are getting a job. We’re a minority, you know, people like us always were, but maybe we are a slightly larger minority because of maybe something or other.
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Q- What part did you ever play in the songs that are heavily identified with Paul, like “Yesterday”? LENNON: “Yesterday,” I had nothing to do with. Q- “Eleanor Rigby”? LENNON: “Eleanor Rigby” I wrote a good half of the lyrics or more. Q- When did Paul show you “Yesterday”? LENNON: I don’t remember – I really don’t remember, it was a long time ago. I think he was... I really don’t remember, it just sort of appeared. Q- Who do you think has done the best versions of your stuff? LENNON: I can’t think of anybody. Q- Did you hear Ike and Tina Turner doing “Come Together”? LENNON: Yeah, I didn’t think they did too much of a job on it, I think they could have done it better. They did a better “Honky Tonk Woman.”
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Q- Do you have a rough picture of the next few years? LENNON: Oh no, I couldn’t think of the next few years; it’s abysmal thinking of how many years there are to go, millions of them. I just play it by the week. I don’t think much ahead of a week. Q- I have no more to ask. LENNON: Well, fancy that. Q- Do you have anything to add? LENNON: No, I can’t think of anything positive and heartwarming to win your readers over. Q- Do you have a picture of “when I’m 64”? LENNON: No, no. I hope we’re a nice old couple living off the coast of Ireland or something like that – looking at our scrapbook of madness.
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