Kip sez:
>On Fri, 29 Jan 1999, Jim Cox wrote:
>
>> Ok, the article is a little ridiculous. And Ryan is ridiculous, or maybe he
>> was fucking with the guy, or both. Anyway, who cares. Sometimes I think
>> the same people are at once upset at Westerberg for growing up and at Ryan
>> for not growing up. If he makes another Stranger's Almanac, wouldn't that
>> be great? I rooting for him (but heck, I was a McEnroe fan).
>
> Oh contraire, I'm glad Westerberg grew up. Now I just wish he'd
>stop making crappy music. Or are you making the case that artists of a
>certain age aren't capable of being as good as they were in their youth?
>
>
I don't think that's what Jim is saying. He's saying that people complain
because Waterbug isn't the impassioned genius/brat that he once was--he's a
boring old fart, in essence, and his recent records would be dullsville
even if he were Ryan's age--but they also complain because Ryan is still
young and stupid enough to play the impassioned genius/brat without apology
or regret; they wish Ryan would act more like a mature adult. And that's a
contradiction.
FWIW, I think Jim is exactly right on this. I also think that Ryan is, as
Jim says, a little ridiculous, as are lots of extremely talented people,
and he's probably never going to sound humble or mature in interviews.
That's what the McEnroe analogy is about--there's no denying that John
McEnroe was a complete prima donna and pain in the ass throughout his
career, but there's also no denying that he was one of the most talented
tennis players ever. I'm not prepared to make such claims for Ryan quite
yet--I've never seen him play tennis, after all--but if his next record is
as good as the first few have been, he can be as big a windbag in
interviews and press releases as he likes. The music speaks for him more
eloquently than he can for himself anyway.
--Amy
