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Every few weeks I'm going to make a 'what I'm reading' post with synopses and comments on what I'm... well... reading. Then as I finish each book, I'll post a review of the book. Recently, however, I've been emersed in coursework and angry photography teachers, so I haven't really had much time for any actual book reading. What I have been reading recently is Duff McKagan's column at seattleweekly.com (the link should lead directly to the column, not the website homepage). Now, I promised this blog would be (mostly) free of squee, therefore I'm going to try and keep this as non-fan-ish as I can.
As you may or may not know, Duff McKagan was the bassist for Guns N Roses, and is the bassist for Velvet Revolver (who have not split and are merely looking for a singer) and Duff McKagan's Loaded (in which he also sings lead and writes). He is both an alcoholic and a recovered drug addict (more on why that's important later), and now lives in Seattle (and LA during term time, I believe) with his two kids, wife, and dogs.
A little history lesson (of sorts) before I talk about the actual column. My 'love affair' with Guns N Roses, and really with rock music in general, stems from not having had a television at home as a young child. When there's no television, there's a limited number of things to do. Back then, hardly anyone had a computer and the internet was still in its infancy (Can you believe how fast it's grown? I'm only eighteen!) so that was out of the question. Having no television obviously meant to television programmes and no films (and the cinema was too expensive for people who couldn't even afford a television), as well as no games consoles (at least the PS1 was out by the time I'm talking about. I think). That really leaves books and music. I did have a tape player, and, admittedly my first tapes were S Club 7 and, I believe, Steps. However, my grandma, who did have a television, bought me a radio, which meant I could listen to music. I don't know why, exactly, but for some reason I fixed on Heart.fm as the station that I liked the most (later it was Virgin Radio, now Absolute, and now, for some reason, BBC Radio 2). Heart was still fairly young, although one of the more major London stations and its DJs were already being talked about quite frequently. However, this meant that they were able to play tracks that you perhaps were more unlikely to hear on more mainstream radio stations, one of them being Guns N Roses' 'Paradise City'. I loved that song. I still love that song. I believe McKagan wrote a good portion of that song. The other song that caught my attention was Bon Jovi's 'Livin' On A Prayer' but really that story tells itself and is best kept for another time, anyway. The point is, I was about six or seven then and I've never really looked back as far as music is concerned. Call me old fashioned but hard rock/hair metal of the seventies and eighties cannot be beaten in my opinion. By anything except the Beatles.
Duff McKagan's column, however, is the real subject of this blog and I'd like to talk about that now. It's an impressively intelligent affair, more well written than anything I've ever produced and his love of reading has never been more evident. McKagan reveals himself to be a family man with strong views on everything from politics to war to 'what punk rock means to me'. His drug addicton and alcoholism (I said I'd get there) are quite obviously a thing of the past and it becomes evident that this is a now well-educated man with a level head on his shoulders. He's done well from himself. Rock politics aside, Guns N Roses was a great band which deserves to be remembered as a great band, not a band whose musical success and prowess is overshadowed by excess and fighting. McKagan is an example of that amazing musical ability, as is evident in his latest band, 'Duff McKagan's Loaded'. In his column, McKagan describes life on the road as well as life at home. He covers everything from 'fart tennis' and 'tour bus logic' to giving his young girls 'THE TALK' and the trauma of house training a new dog.
When it comes to McKagan's politics, I must admit to a severe bias. I'm a liberal democrat and he is quite clearly a democrat. Therefore, there are many things that we automatically agree on, one of them being that the election of Barack Obama was and is one of the best things that has ever happened to the United States of America. We agree on the war. Afganistan. It makes no sense. As MaKagan points out, there are significant parallels to Vietnam. Have we all forgotten how that turned out? We lost. I say we because inevitably, when America go to war, we go with them. As McKagan further asks; why have we not learnt from this? An intelligent question to be sure. One that, if solved, could, I believe, turn this world around and for the better.
McKagan is also able to talk about the recession, having studied economics at SeattleU and provides a perspective that many people should pay attention to; lower your expectations. This, I think, is one of the most intelligent statements of 2009. Stop spending and you will save money. It makes sense as does much of what McKagan writes as he draws upon a wide range of sourse material including many books on WW2 and other past wars, economics, and politics, as well as books by respected authors such as D.H Lawrence and F. Scott Fitzgerald. Not the reading material you would expect your average 'rock star', a term McKagan loathes, to be reading. Then again, McKagan is obviously not your average rock star, inviting comments and critique on his pieces, aiming to start discussions rather than dictate what is right or wrong, stating that he sees his columns as beginnings rather than definitive pieces with a start, a middle, and an end.
In short, I like it. I like McKagan's writing style (easy going yet intelligent), I like his attitude (easy going yet intelligent and quite clearly punk rock), and I like what he has to say. Well, let's hear it... What do you guys think? Of his column, not my blogging skills or lack thereof...
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