{"id":2111,"date":"2020-03-14T18:12:32","date_gmt":"2020-03-14T22:12:32","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/mpomy.com\/?p=2111"},"modified":"2020-03-14T18:12:34","modified_gmt":"2020-03-14T22:12:34","slug":"my-robbie-robertson-rant","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/mpomy.com\/?p=2111","title":{"rendered":"My Robbie Robertson rant!"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"\"
The Band in the kitchen of \u201cBig Pink\u201d, Easter Sunday, West Saugerties, NY, 1968. Photo By \u00a9Elliott Landy, LandyVision Inc. Robbie Robertson, Richard Manuel, Rick Danko, Garth Hudson, Levon Helm.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

John Seabrook has an article in the New Yorker about rock legend Robbie Robertson. Here\u2019s the link: https:\/\/www.newyorker.com\/magazine\/2020\/03\/16\/the-band-disbanded<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

I\u2019ve had strong feelings about Robbie and his conduct towards other members of The Band. I put the rant on Twitter and now you can read it here, all in one place!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Here\u2019s the thing. @r0bbier0berts0n<\/a>\u2019s reputation rehab tour has to stop. It is insulting and self-aggrandizing and totally fucking dismissive of the genius and contributions of the other members of #TheBand \/1<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And I am sorry, but I don\u2019t think @jmseabrook<\/a> is helping. How do you say in one paragraph that @r0bbier0berts0n<\/a> will make sure people \u201cremember\u201d Levon Helm as something more than Virgil Caine\u2026 \/2<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And then a couple paragraphs later you give credence to @r0bbier0berts0n<\/a> assertion that Levon was just a paranoid ass with vicious drug dependency. That\u2019s the version of Levon Helm Robertson will make sure gets remembered. \/3<\/p>\n\n\n\n

At least @jmseabrook<\/a> points out that @r0bbier0berts0n<\/a> admits to abusing drugs while he was trying to get everyone to stop abusing drugs. One can see why that might not be too effective at bringing about change. \/4<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The truth is that @r0bbier0berts0n<\/a>, from the beginning of #TheBand did not see his bandmates as equals, and he concealed that fact. They never had a chance to get on equal footing financially b\/c @r0bbier0berts0n<\/a> exploited their dependency, their talent, and their innocence. \/5<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This is appalling, but forgivable. @r0bbier0berts0n<\/a> and everyone else in The Band got out alive, and that is something that weighed on Robbie when he put down #TheBand. He didn\u2019t want anyone (including himself) dying on his watch. \/6<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Also, think of how young @r0bbier0berts0n<\/a> was when this all got so big so fast. There was no way he wanted to let the opportunity to do something world-changing slip by. I applaud that instinct, but the cost was too high. \/7<\/p>\n\n\n\n

They should have been equals. They had equal talent and contribution, no matter what @r0bbier0berts0n<\/a> says. They should have shared the money equally. \/8<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But instead, he milked them for all they were worth. He took their creativity and their emotion and passed it off as his own. And when they later asked him to pay, he refused. \/9<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the song #CaledoniaMission, the narrator (Robbie) can\u2019t get the heathen (Levon) out of Arkansas. He foretells his own departure from the prison where he tried to help the heretic. \/10<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Why is @r0bbier0berts0n<\/a> everywhere now, working harder than he has ever worked in his life? Because this is the last chance he has to write the legacy. No one is left alive to challenge him. \/11<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It is sad that @jmseabrook<\/a> simply credits @r0bbier0berts0n<\/a>\u2019s stmnt that all other members of The Band agree with him that Levon was wrong. The proof is on millions of albums sold over the last 5 decades. \u201cWords and music by R. Robertson.\u201d \/12<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It made me sad to see (from afar) Rick and Levon die without getting to enjoy the fruits of a legacy they created. They changed music and they changed the world. Richard and Garth too. \/13<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But to @r0bbier0berts0n<\/a> they were tools. Lower forms of life who tried to cheat him out of what he deserved so that they could buy more drugs. \/14<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And maybe the saddest part is that @r0bbier0berts0n<\/a> was a genius too. He did so much and wrote such incredible songs. And he completely squandered that legacy. \/15<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And as much as I have anger about his apparent greed, I find @r0bbier0berts0n<\/a>\u2019s amazing lack of self-awareness to be very appropriate for these times. \/16<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

John Seabrook has an article in the New Yorker about rock legend Robbie Robertson. Here\u2019s the link: https:\/\/www.newyorker.com\/magazine\/2020\/03\/16\/the-band-disbanded I\u2019ve had strong feelings about Robbie and his conduct towards other members of The Band. I put the rant on Twitter and now … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":2112,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[23],"tags":[1528,1529],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/mpomy.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2111"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/mpomy.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/mpomy.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/mpomy.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/mpomy.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2111"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"http:\/\/mpomy.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2111\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2113,"href":"http:\/\/mpomy.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2111\/revisions\/2113"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/mpomy.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/2112"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/mpomy.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2111"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/mpomy.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2111"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/mpomy.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2111"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}