“City Life Anymore…?”

While reading up on The Verve’s new tour dates this year (in hopes of further ones here in California), I ended up reading an article dealing with Richard Ashcroft’s saga with depression. I didn’t really think about it ’cause I’ve always known about it. But then I read up on Wilco’s current plans to tour (or not) and read a bit about lead singer Jeff Tweedy’s struggle with clinical depression too. Now I realised something real quick; the two singer-songwriters, probably my two favs., minus Michael Stipe, both run similar personal lives and write some of the best songwriting around. It’s also my favorite songwriting too. What does that reveal about me? Nothing. If you’re thinking I’m depressed or tend to be, you’re wrong. I am not. But usually a songwriter who borders on this disorder, writes from the heart and is more believable, more trustworthy, more honest and more akin to take my listening abilities and keep them. Now that I think of it, Jimi Hendrix is another prime example. I believe everything that guy says, or sings. The aforementioned artists are much more believable then other inflated egos…why, well they just have that power….that indescribable power of music and writing.

As for the subject matter of these artists, well it’s more mature then most others. Mature, but not necessarily “adult.” It’s mature, but not corny or cheesy. Mature but not typical or too straight forward. These artists really make you work to understand their music. And I also think only certain people can truly understand their stuff. Is one of those persons me? Maybe or maybe not.

Listening to artists like these, and then listening to other “artists” of less creditability, makes for a difficult listening experience. Other artists (those of the two “categories” that come to my mind, new country and emo) just seem to not be too sincere or honest or real or believable. Again, it’s a personal thing, but I just thought that clinical depression that seemed to have ran through all of these singers, was interesting.