So I do all this bitching and whining about what sucks and pisses me off, but I haven’t been as engaged in sharing some of the things I think are really cool with people, be that in music or politics or life in general.
Attached below is a really awesome performance by a group of genuinely talented musicians who meant what they played and rode the moment in which they played it. This was a jam session both in memorial of George Harrison who had died earlier in the year, but also in celebration of his induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Leaving aside the tired arguments over the value, validity, purpose, scope, and inclusion or exclusion as regards the Hall, and additionally leaving aside criticism of Prince’s solo as self-indulgent, it’ a great moment in music and has all of the ingredients that I’ve found so lacking in my various bitching about the state of modern music.
This is Jeff Lynne and Tom Petty, both of whom worked with Harrison in the Travelling Wilburys, along with Dhani Harrison (George’s Son), another guitarist I don’t know but it’s definitely not Eric Clapton, and I’m not sure who’s on drums and other instruments, along with one of the greatest solos ever by Prince (wtf?! you say – he was also inducted into the Hall that year.)
The skill is unmistakable, the sincere emotion and meaning for each of the musicians palpable, and the whole thing is one of those rare events that actually lives up to its own expectations. Enjoy.