The Winkest Link

By Wink

I grew up surrounded by all kinds of music: big band, pop, soul, country, jazz, blues, classical, metal, disco, and so on. Beatles? Mozart? Hendrix? John Philip Sousa? Aretha? I heard it all, and then some..

The music that still ‘drives’ me, to this day, is rock and roll.

But I do have one question for the rock and roll world…

Why can’t you guys (and gals) say ‘thanks’ once in a while?

Rock stars frequently take up big issues, like hunger and AIDS, and pollution. Good causes, all. I imagine there are a lot of big-hearted rock and roll stars out there. I don’t know any personally, so I have to assume…

But still, when I see an awards show, the rock stars always seem to try to act ‘too-cool-for-the-room.’ Think I am exaggerating? Watch the Grammys the next time they roll around.

Donald Fagen and Walter Becker (Steely Dan) finally won a Grammy a few years ago. I am a huge fan of theirs, and this seemed long overdue, so I was very excited about it. A lot MORE excited, apparently, than Fagen and Becker. They were at the awards ceremony, and did not appear drunk or stoned, so they had no excuse for their total lack of interest.

After all these years, are they still trying to be cool? So cool they don’t care about awards?

Hey Fagen and Becker, if you don’t like the awards, just don’t show up. If you DO show up, and win, show a little damned gratitude. At least thank your fans. Without them you wouldn’t have your multiple houses, your swimming pools and your diamond-covered stretch limos. You would have nothing.

Maybe, in their humble opinions, they thought the Grammy voters waited too long to acknowledge them.

It is painful to think your musical idols may just be jerks. Are you guys just jerks, or was your too-cool posturing just a poor decision on your part?

Don & Walt, you are both around 60 years old. Do you still feel the need to show us how cool you are? Isn’t trying to look cool kind of a ‘junior high’ thing?

This does not only apply to Steely Dan, this happens all the time in the rock and roll world.

By contrast, watch any country music awards show. Each and every award winner will thank their fans. Most seem sincere, but it doesn’t matter even if some aren’t. They owe their success to their fans, and they know to say thanks.

Go back and watch Bonnie Raitt accepting her first Grammys (about 10 years ago). Like Steely Dan, she waited decades to be acknowledged for her efforts. Unlike Fagen and Becker, she was totally blown away and effusively grateful. I guess, maybe because she is more blues-oriented than rock, she didn’t feel she had to show how cool she is. Now THAT is cool…

Finally, a tip of the hat to Green Day. They have been around many-many years and they never ‘phone in’ a performance. Because they have punk roots, you would think they would act like they don’t care what the audience thinks about them, or what ANYBODY thinks about them. Nope, they don’t pretend they are too cool. Each show is an audio-party. The band is always extremely gracious and they never fail to thank the crowd, again and again, for supporting them.

A rock band who cares about their fans? Thank you Billie Joe, Mike and Tre.
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