Pop Culture

Rock and Roll Babble-On

The Australian 23 July 2001

From all that has been written about him, anyone would think that Eminem wasn't very nice. He has been convicted of firearm offences, and accused of violent and misogynist lyrics. Even his mother has sued him for defamation. Now, America's most popular rap artist heads for Australia, despite attempts by lobby groups and politicians to deny him a visa.

Of course, it's all been done before. Ad nauseam. Even back in the seventies, when the Sex Pistols were at the height of their fame, Rolling Stones guitarist Keith Richards wondered what was so cutting-edge about them. "All you've got to do is delete the words 'punk rock' and write in 'Rolling Stone' and you've got the same press you had 15 years ago," said Richards. "They puked at London Airport, we pissed in the filling station."

However offensive, such artists can usually rely on the support of the rock press. Not teen magazines, extolling the virtues of Britney and Bardot, but the self-consciously hip, "serious" journals. "Rolling Stone", perhaps the model for such journals, named Eminem their Artist of the Year. The Stones and the Sex Pistols are untouchable, despite the latter's self-confessed musical ineptitude. Meanwhile, such artists as Carole King and James Taylor are dismissed as remnants of the "anti-rock" era. Sure, they had nice songs, but "real" rock was never about the music. "Real" rock is about ATTITUDE.

It has been that way since the music world saw its first rock star. He made women swoon when they saw him perform, but his work was dismissed by the establishment for its vulgarity. Critics complained that he condescended to the masses. Like any good rock star, he had a dysfunctional private life, partied too much, suffered an early (and mysterious) death, and was later recognised as a genius.

The man was one Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. His music bears little resemblance to Elvis Presley's or Kurt Cobain's, but he was their soul brother.

After World War II, of course, rock became a major force that, as "Life" magazine put it, "unchained the savage beast". So who was the first post-war rock star? It would have to be the singer who made the teenagers swoon, and who - thanks to media like radio, the movies and the long-playing record - became much more famous and wealthy in his lifetime than Mozart ever was. But for all his popularity, his talent and his social importance, he became almost as well-known for his misbehaviour, his sexual exploits and his bad manners. The archetypal rock star, to be sure.

We're talking Frank Sinatra, who is now regarded as a greater myth figure than his own musical hero, Bing Crosby. It might be hard to believe, but Crosby sold considerably more records than Sinatra. He was an even bigger star of radio and the cinema. He also lived a life that, while not untainted by character flaws, was hardly as shocking as Sinatra's. Hence, in a poll by the British journal "Mojo", a panel of rock stars voted Sinatra the second greatest voice of the last century (after the respected Aretha Franklin). In the rock 'n' roll canon, the worse your behaviour, the higher your status. Like demon worship, but more fun.

Considering rock's unpretentious origins, it is ironic that some of the greatest snobbery in today's music writing comes from the rock press. Ideally, they see it as the music of angry youth, though anger on its own will suffice. John Lennon and Paul McCartney co-wrote and performed dozens of great songs, but it was Lennon who had the ATTITUDE; who controversially claimed "The Beatles are more popular than Jesus "; who became bitter and twisted; and who eventually died young. Among "serious" rock fans, Lennon is now considered one of the greats of rock music, while McCartney (with his sweet, melodious songs like "Let It Be" and "Mull of McIntyre") has become almost a joke among the rock press.

Take, as another example, Billy Joel. Joel might have written and recorded wild songs like "You May Be Right" and "Only the Good Die Young" (along with his softer ballads), but his lifestyle has been so, well, normal. What's the use of hanging out with a famous model if you're married to her? And as for the amicable divorce... what a joke!

Now take Eminem. Have you noticed that, with all the fuss about him, nobody discusses his actual musicality? No matter. With his tough image, his offensive lyrics and most of all, his criminal convictions, he joins the ranks of bigamist Jerry Lee Lewis, guitar-smasher Pete Townshend and serial drug-taker Lou Reed. It's the ATTITUDE, man! If you're anti-establishment, you can easily join the rock establishment.