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On to the next show
By GINA VIVINETTO, Times Pop Music Critic
Published March 8, 2005
When I was crowned with the pop music critic tiara nearly six years ago, the world was a different place. Some college kid just the year before had developed a new technology to create something on the Internet called Napster, so folks began arguing about the ethics of downloading music.
Billboard that year finally acknowledged that the rap world existed by adding the qualifier "Hip Hop" to its R&B album chart.
American Idol was just a glimmer in a television executive's eye.
Lordy, how things change.
As technology developed and iPods began popping up - in different colors, with varying megabytes - the pop music world morphed and my job changed with it.
How does a feminist write about a talented rapper named Eminem when his misogynist lyrics are so troubling?
I sighed, happily, as the boy bands of the 1990s faded out of the limelight. That, after reviewing both 'N Sync and the Backstreet Boys in concert four times. Had you told me then that Justin Timberlake would one day be a talented solo star, I would have been relieved. It was Timberlake, after all, who always caught my eye.
"Intellectual property?" Sure, I had heard the debates in regard to other artistic disciplines. Not so much my beat. Sampling other folks' music in the world of hip-hop could be deemed "borrowing" (or out-and-out thievery) by some, but new innovations allowed artists such as DJ Danger Mouse to meld the music of the Beatles and Jay-Z together, creating an entirely new piece, The Grey Album. It and other new music like it stirred up talk about who owns what in the music world. And what, essentially, is art?
Covering it all has been thrilling.
As the music world keeps changing, so does mine.
This is the last Rocking Our World column I will write for the St. Petersburg Times. I'm leaving my post as the newspaper's pop music critic. It's time for me to hand over the tiara - or the crown, as the case may be - to a new writer, one filled with the energy to follow the trends and events of the music world. (That person hasn't yet been named.)
I'm still obsessed with music. I'm sure I always will be. From the day I jacked my older brother's vinyl 45 of David Bowie's Fame, I've been a music freak. Those of you who have read my columns since Day 1 know the story: My brother, John, bought Fame at a local Kmart in 1980, thinking it was Irene Cara's theme from the Fame soundtrack. John whipped it from the record player when he heard Bowie's wonky art rock tune. I grabbed it from the floor, thrilled to own a record of my own.
I've been a Bowie fan ever since. Although I've never gotten to interview Bowie, I have talked to artists that have rocked my world since I was a kid. Some are legends, people who shaped rock 'n' roll: Little Richard, Brian Wilson, Aretha Franklin as she sat in the shampoo chair of her "beauty shop."
I interviewed legendary jazz crooner Tony Bennett several times, and we swapped our mothers' marinara recipes. (Bennett's real name is Anthony Benedetto.) I had a wonderful chat with singer and humanitarian Harry Belafonte that I will never forget.
The women in music I have interviewed run the gamut of genres, and many are personal heroes of mine: Yoko Ono, Chrissie Hynde of the Pretenders, Patti Smith, Corin Tucker and Carrie Brownstein (Sleater-Kinney), Ann Wilson (Heart), Exene Cervenka of X, Kathleen Hanna (Le Tigre, Bikini Kill), Tori Amos, K.D. Lang, Belinda Carlisle (the Go-Go's), Cyndi Lauper, Johnette Napolitano (Concrete Blonde), Alison Krauss, Marcia Ball, Jill Sobule, Beth Ditto (the Gossip), Trisha Yearwood, Tracy Chapman, Anne Murray, Wynonna, Lisa Loeb, Amy Grant, Asya and Chloe of Smoosh, Deana Carter, Poe, and let's not forget edgy feminist comedians Janeane Garofalo, Margaret Cho and Sandra Bernhard.
I saw so many concerts over the past six years, sometimes I think I'll never need to attend a live performance again - and now, as a citizen, I'll have to choose my shows wisely. Like you, I haven't won the lottery. Without the Times paying for my concert tickets, it will be tough affording those sky-high prices.
As a critic, I reviewed many of the bands I mentioned as well as the legendary Chuck Berry, Tina Turner, B.B. King, Elvin Jones, Bob Dylan, Iggy Pop, Diana Ross, Loretta Lynn, Black Sabbath, Judas Priest, Etta James, Al Green, Fleetwood Mac, Bette Midler, Simon & Garfunkel, Willie Nelson, Elton John, Cher and a slew of modern day marvels such as OutKast, Prince, Elvis Costello, Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band, Cheap Trick, U2, Madonna, Beastie Boys, the B-52s, Annie Lennox, Eminem, Melissa Etheridge, Lenny Kravitz, Moby, Blondie, Jonathan Richman, Marilyn Manson, Jay-Z, Ani DiFranco, Pearl Jam, Duran Duran, Snoop Dogg, Destiny's Child, Chris Isaak, Fiona Apple, Motley Crue, Britney Spears, Christina Aguilera, Metallica, the Cure and last year's reunion of the Pixies.
I saw many cutting-edge acts as they were on the rise, including the White Stripes, Bright Eyes, Interpol, the Old 97s, the Rapture, Black Keys, Drive-By Truckers, the Strokes and Alicia Keys.
I also tried to give local bands as much ink as I could. If you haven't been taking advantage of the cheap gigs by the terrific talent on the Tampa Bay area's music scene, it's not because of my lack of endorsement.
Like I said, I still love music. So much that I want more time to make my own music with my band, the Peabodies, for which I sing. I've also been making music and videos with a new experimental band, the Pigtails, for which I play bass of the most fundamental (read: simple and, frankly, bad) variety. I also want to be more involved with the Artillery, the St. Petersburg artist collective I'm in, and do different kinds of writing, some fiction, but also different kinds of journalism.
But I'll still have that all-important day job: I've signed on to write part time for tbt*, the Times' weekly newspaper, starting in late March. I'll be writing about all sorts of fun things dealing with pop culture, the arts, and, yes, music - with a special emphasis on local folks and events. And since the Times and tbt* share material, you'll find my stuff in the Times, too.
Until then, as Duke Ellington told his crowd at the end of every show, "I love you madly." Thanks for making this ride so wonderful.
[Last modified March 7, 2005, 16:49:07]
Times columns today
Howard Troxler: Name-calling only reveals ignorance, not truth
Gina Vivinetto: On to the next show
Eric Deggans: Rather's loss could become CBS's gain
Eric Deggans: Rather's loss could become CBS's gain
Ernest Hooper: Noble cause beats being cowed into submission
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