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Neil Young is 64-years old and is the current MusiCares Person of the Year. I’m not surprised that Young received the honor given his decades of work with Farm Aid and Bridge School Concerts. It was fitting that some of the biggest names in the business serenaded Young with his own songs: Elton John, James Taylor, Dave Matthews, Sheryl Crow Leon Russel, and Keith Russell. Young was quoted as saying that he’d forgotten how many songs he’d written.
How did Young hit retirement age? He’s at the point in his life when he either 1) created so many songs he lost count or 2) really can’t remember. This kind of thing happens when you’re talented, successful and 64. Jack Black was the emcee at the event. Black talked about how the young singers on stage had been influenced by Young’s unique style. How ironic! Black and the young’uns weren’t even born when Young began his career. But I was, and I sat in the audience at Young’s debut all those years ago.
I was a student at New York University in NYC in 1971. I attended the Greenwich Village campus and got to take part in the Village life. Singers and dancers performed in the lofts and modest studios in every nook and cranny in the Village. Public concerts in the park were commonplace as were artist exhibiting their work on the sidewalk. The wild artistry of the sixties was still with us; the commercialized disco era wasn’t yet launched.
I hung out with friends at the NYU radio station. We listened to Carol King, Carly Simon and James Taylor who were then emerging on the scene. So much social change was in the air, but not fully formed. A fellow student argued with me that women singers would never equal the fame of their male counterparts. I objected, naming several famous women, and in a sign of the times, he said African American women didn’t count.
One winter evening, the radio crowd decided to go to the debut concert of a new, unknown singer named Neil Young. I tagged along and found myself in a large, run-down studio with chairs set up theater style. Going to the public bathroom in the building was an art form in itself. The stage was slightly elevated in theater-in-the-round style. A lone singer was seated on a wooden chair, playing his guitar and singing into a single microphone. Dressed unremarkably in jeans, Young’s full head of dark hair partly obscured his face. It was vintage Village.
Young’s haunting voice filled the room. The crowd was a well-educated group and well-behaved. We quietly listened, nodding to the words which could be clearly understood. Young’s style was slightly reminiscent of Bob Dylan’s thoughtful, folksy, nasal style. There were no back-up singers or flashy staging here.
Suddenly, a young couple appeared in the aisle. They danced to the music, gyrating in flashy moves that announced the arrival of disco. Totally at odds with the tone of the concert, they stood out unashamedly and, to most of us, jarringly. I turned to a friend and said, “Wow! They must be really moved by the music.” The friend turned a jaded eye towards me and replied, “Don’t get excited. They’re dancers hired to by the studio to hype this guy. That’s how a debut works.”
I gazed back at the intense young man on stage and wondered how he kept a straight face with all that nonsense prancing around in front of him. It looked like he had his eyes closed as he sang ‘A Horse with No Name.’ Smart move. I did the same and said a silent prayer for his success. I figured he could a few words on his behalf with the Good Lord in his chosen profession.
It turned out that Young didn’t need my prayers. He’s had an incredibly rich and long career. Reports are that when a balding, graying Neil Young took to the stage to thank everyone for the MusiCares Award, he announced that he was worn out by all the festivities. He said it was time to go home, but promised to keep going. He hoped his new songs would be as good as his early ones.
If you don’t remember all you’ve written anymore, it’s OK. Neither do I and it doesn’t matter. You’re a role model for young people beyond the impact of any particular song. Your integrity and good works have made their mark. Just close your eyes, play your guitar and sing, Neil. |
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Are we so jaded about the sexual gaffes of prominent men that our eyelids barely flicker at the news anymore? There’s little public push back to the newly-elected Senator Brown from Massachusetts having offered his naked good looks to Playgirl magazine. Why aren’t gender-related stumbles treated with the same passion as racial ones? Senator Harry Reid was raked over the coals for his awkward remarks about the color of Obama’s skin. Scott Brown got laughs when he used his acceptance speech to announce to the country that his daughters were available. How endearing!
What makes powerful men blind to the overwhelming ‘Ugh factor’ of their gender-related missteps? Politicians have suffered from this blindness throughout history. Their illicit affairs are legendary and hardly a new phenomenon. There were rumors about Franklin D. Roosevelt and more than rumors about John F. Kennedy. Bill Clinton is our contemporary poster child for poor judgment, but he has plenty of competition. John Edwards is gaining on Bill even as the public yawns and salivates for fresher, spicier scandals.
Politicians don’t have a monopoly on sexual misconduct. Tiger Woods is the latest world-famous sport figure to get in trouble over women, but he is hardly alone. In 2003, USA Today researched some 168 sexually-related allegations against athletes and found that only 22 went to trial. Of that handful, only 6 were convicted. And we wonder why famous figures think they can do what they wish.
Show business provides a vast array of opportunities to sexually exploit. Roman Polanski lured underage girls into having sex with him and evaded the law for 30 years. Joseph Brooks, the song writer of ‘You Light Up My Life’ is hoping to post millions to stay out of jail in his sexual assault case. These men are now in their seventies. Where was the public outrage over the past decades? Did the outrage hide where it could quietly push up ratings as it did during the Letterman Follies?
It doesn’t take fame and fortune to give people the idea that they’re entitled to help themselves to sex. There are doctors, dentists, teachers and even United Nations peacekeepers who are accused of sexual assault. What drives this behavior? These men are charged with protecting their victims and abuse them instead, sometimes on a grand scale. How do we account for the booming business of human trafficking, the selling of human beings, including children, into sexual slavery? Yes, poverty is a major factor, but is it the sole motivation for exploitation?
Unfortunately, we cannot automatically turn to men of God for an explanation. Clergymen have been tempted, often successfully, for longer than our memories stretch. In the most notorious trial of 1875, the Rev. Henry Ward Beecher was accused of adultery. A prominent social reformer and abolitionist, Beecher sent the newspapers into Late-Night-TV-Talk-Show mode. Great comic lines came from that period, as they do now, including, “… and thus did the Hen Reward Beecher.” Has anything changed with sex scandals and the anointed in the century since Beecher? If so, I must have missed it.
I’d like to say that the Women’s Movement changed society and behavior. I want to say that men treat women more as equals, less as pawns. I’m pleased to say that there are gains by women in the workplace and the community. I’m saddened to say that the warped sense of entitlement displayed by the bold, beautiful and powerful is growing, even among women. I am dismayed that we who spoke out early in the Women’s Movement ended up with an image of shrill, cranky, dowdy hags. I ask you gentle reader, who is ugly in this game?
©2010 Deborah Levine
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I struggled this year with a blog to celebrate the memory of Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr. Where do we find the inspiration in today's depressing world? The economic downturn has left few untouched, particularly in the African American community. The wrangling over health care resembles caged animals eating their young. Political kerfuffles go for the jugular no matter how large or small the incident. Even Mother Nature turned on her children; Haiti's earthquake is spectacular in its devastation.
President Obama’s speech for the occasion reminded us to persevere, to make something from nothing and have faith that there will be a new day. He called upon biblical imagery and charged the ‘Joshua generation’ to overcome. Honoring the victories of the past, of the Moses/MLK generation, Obama acknowledged that we face an uncertain future. Speaking to his church audience, he urged American to have faith in their abilities. He called for a return to the values that made this country great.
Joking about his calm demeanor, he confessed that there are moments when calm escapes him. He listed a variety of personal stress points: progress it too slow, the barbs sting and his efforts get lost in the shuffle. He confessed to self doubt but asserted that his faith keeps him going, keeps him calm and gives him peace. It is our faith in the face of adversity, our faith in things not seen that will see us through to better times ahead. He reminds us that Martin Luther King, Jr. was a man of faith who was willing to put everything he had on the line for his brothers and sisters, for his vision.
What would our country become if every religious leader gave a similar charge to their flock? How far could we get if the values of kindness, generosity and fearlessness were to take the lead in shaping and inspire us? Would every billionaire and millionaire rebuild our system that benefitted them so greatly? Would they use their dollars to invest in a bright future for the U.S? Maybe they would no longer park their dollars in overseas havens. They would stop spending time and money on experts seeking tax loopholes. "Be bold in your vision for America," they would say to each other. "Take pleasure in being your brothers’ keeper."
I do not understand the use of faith to diminish and abuse. I will never comprehend why the Rev. Pat Robertson asserted that God punished Haiti for making a pact with the devil to leave the clutches of the French. Yet, claiming to know God’s motives and intent has become part of the American scene. The twisting of faith expressed by public figures is contributing to negativity, self-aggrandizement and the promotion of hate. This is not Vision! From where will the inspiration come?
I worry for our future when I read an Associated Press report about a county jailer in Florida who was active in the Ku Klux Klan (KKK). The Detention Officer apparently blogged on a KKK Web site and paid dues to the United Northern and Southern Knights of the Ku Klux Klan. He was fired for violating a department ban on subversive or terrorist organizations. However, The Detention Officer defended his association with the KKK which he labeled a faith-based organization. He has plenty of company in using God to justify anti-social rights. The list is long and includes everything from self-anointed clergy claiming under-age brides to racist, para-military groups.
There is no doubt that faith can be subverted and that the phenomenon grows with social unrest. All the more reason to draw upon our forgotten reserves and inner strengths. Those of us in MLK’s generation cannot afford to be discouraged. Those who thought major battles were won and behind us cannot become embittered that the journey is longer. The young who wonder what will be there for them must see themselves as the new Joshuas, the leaders in uncertain times. Pray on it, plan for it, study for it, sacrifice for it and above all, have faith that you can shape the future. Go where no man/woman has gone before and Godspeed to you.
(c)2010 Deborah Levine |
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The devastation in Haiti is more than my mind can absorb even though I grew up on an island and understand the isolation. Churches, schools, hospitals, business, entire neighborhoods are rubble. Dead bodies lie in the streets and the count of those killed is estimated to be in the hundreds of thousands. No one knows for sure what the count is; we may never have an exact count. The poorest country in the Western hemisphere has become a scene out of a science fiction disaster movie. Surely this cannot be taking place in real time.
Life in the 1950s on the small island of Bermuda did have some scary moments. We didn’t have earth quakes, but we did have fierce hurricanes. In those days, homes had their own water cisterns, filled by rain water flowing off scalloped roofs. If the electricity went out, and it invariably did during a hurricane, your water could not be pumped into the house. You had nothing if you hadn’t stock up on bottled water.
You didn’t go outside because debris in the hurricane could fly at you like a bullet. Twigs, dead birds and who-knows-what became dangerous missiles. Planes and ships couldn’t land on the island so neither did food and medical supplies. There was one hospital and it had one ambulance. My grandparents had donated the ambulance with my grandfather’s heart problems in mind. Bermuda was a do-it-your-self culture and, unlike Haiti, its residents had the resources to plan ahead adequately.
Bermuda is incredibly affluent and well-educated compared to Haiti. The international commerce of the island allowed it to develop into a cosmopolitan haven and avoid isolation. The native building material is limestone and it withstands Mother Nature well. Haiti has remained poorer than Bermuda ever was and dependent on outside help. Haiti’s building materials are as unstable as its politics. And now, planes and ships will struggle to deliver food and medical supplies at damaged the port and airport.
Have and Have-Not nations represent a diversity of human experience that is tough to comprehend and even tougher to watch. Those of us lucky to Have can turn our sight away from the affects of poverty, disease, war and natural disasters on fragile populations. Yet, the reality is increasingly up-close-and-personal. The images come through our television, our computers and our iphones. Turning away is not feasible.
Short of air-lifting large portions of Haiti’s population elsewhere, are there many options for the survivors? In better economic times, there might have been enough foreign aid to rebuild much of Haiti’s capital city. Can today’s strapped economies either help to restore or to absorb these new immigrants? The long-term outcome for Haiti seems bleak. We are at the mercy of forces beyond our control these days and it's depressing.
I am heartened to see that Haiti is not isolated in this disaster. The mobilization of many nonprofits, of the U.S. and other governments began almost immediately. My hope is that the best in human nature will rise to the occasion and offer international aid. I know that we can't undo this tragedy and we'll no doubt witness the suffering of other fragile populations. Yet, there is humanity and nobility in trying even when the task is overwhelming. Keep all those involved in your thoughts and prayers and let's use what resources we have to do what we can.
(c)2010 Deborah Levine |
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