Never Been Compared To Phil Collins (and other small blessings)
Yeh, ain't never been compared to this doof.
Never been compared to Yanni. Live at th' Acropolis.
Been compared to Lenny Kravitz a whole bunch but at least he's half-black. Lots of Elvis C. comparisons but that's just because I'm angry and I use big words. I sound about as much like Declan as Creed does. Which is quite not much.
Been compared to th' Beatles. Anyone who uses chords and melody sounds like th' Beatles, fuck knows. Been compared to Paul McCartney quite a bit. That's because I rip him off shamelessly. I basically sit down at the keyboard and think which McCartney song am I going to rewrite tonight?
That's the Jellyfish influence.
Been compared to Burt Bacharach a time or two. That is high god damn praise right there, canus. Everybody knows he's a peerless genius.
Been compared to Brian Wilson a whole lot; again high praise. As long as it isn't in reference to the rhythm side of things. No man ever born whiter than Brian Wilson. Except for your Repugnican politicos, but they're not really men, are they? They're more like walking ads for what happens to bad little children who never learn to stop picking their noses.
Some dipshits have compared me to Elton John, which I can live with sort of, and Billy Joel, which I can't live with. But these are just because there's a piano and a male voice. I'd rather be compared to Days of th' New than that god damn child molestin' Billy Joel. THAT fucking guy.
One wag compared me to Bon Jovi. Just goes to show how people bring their own damn plate to the table. This one though? Kindly remove it or I will dash it into th' fireplace. Bon Jovi. Jesus. Why hurt a man like that? Compare my bank account to his. Then we'll be square.
Tell ya who I'd LIKE to be compared to but perhaps haven't yet earned the right: I'd like to be compared to Sam Cooke. No Sam Cooke comparisons coming down the pike that I've seen. I'd like to be compared to Roxy Music. That'd be sweet indeet. Americans don't get th' Roxy, though. Americans don't generally get music that involves eyeliner unless it's a) some broad or b)Poison. Or that god damn poser from Green Day. That guy is starting to make my dick itch. I didn't mind Green Day that much when they was good for a retrochuckle but now he's like th' Rebel Icon Millionaire registered trademark. Phuck that. Kurt C. couldn't live with that, Billy Joe. Don't see why you should. Fuck Green Day and that guy Rob Cavallo that ghostwrites every note they play.
Who else? Who else? Well, I could live with being compared to Rufus Wainwright, of course. He's our best hope right now for ambitious music having any sort of future. I'm too testosterone-poisoned for that, though. The Sacred Feminine is sadly lacking in my output. Try as I may. Try, try, try.
I do get the odd XTC comparison. I think that's just from people I know who know how badly I want it. These are kind of like when a woman acts like you're large. What a huge kindness that is. No pun intended. Very loveable. I'm simply too American to ever sound like XTC. And just not quite unmitigatedly excellent enough. And I play live to eat. A little. If I developed an aversion to live playing I would be well and truly fucked. Quite the opposite is true for me; I suffer from a not-entirely-healthy aversion to doing pretty much anything but playing live. Truly I am th' anti-Partridge.
No comparisons to the Rev. Al Green yet. Part of that might be because I think God is a first-rate spankaddict and a tool to boot. Plus the whole being white thing hurts this. In fact, the being white thing hurts a lot of comparisons. White and straight. Where to go? Where to go?
So there's that. All very, very important material. Crucial shit.
posted by Bobby Lightfoot at 16:52
7 Comments:
Great post Bobby. I still think you sound like yourself, but I hear a little McCartney in the chords, a little XTC in the arrangements, and a little Michael Penn in the vox/melody/feel.
Don't hear any Billy John Bongiovi at all. Nor do I hear any Decland McManus.
I hear all good things...
Ah- Michael Penn. High praise indeed for which I put you in my will, Mssr. Le Visconte. I goddamn love that guy. Also a criminally underrated lead guitar player. Distinctive, slowhanded, tasteful and expressive.
Ah, the bass on "Whirlwind". Mighty fine. Johnny Gustafson if I'm not mistaken. He was a Liverpool Beat Boom guy if I recall. The Fourmost?
No, they wouldn't let me audition for that. I was nine. Fuckers.
I play on all the Stanley Clarke shit though.
uytkoes- Eskimo tampons.
I'd compare you to a summer's day, but only in the sense that thou art waaaay less lovely and whole fuckin' pantload less temperate.
Look, sweetcheeks, rough winds do shake the darling buds of May, and summer's lease hath all too short a date, oh yeah, oh yeah -- but so long as men can breathe or eyes can see, so long lives this Comment, and as far as I'm concerned, this gives life to Scrotumtightening Thee.
sohicrn, the Secret Ingredient in Slammin' Billy Shakespeare's Kick-Ass Mouthwash
I don't hear any Costello either. First, you're a better singer. Second, there's always been an element of self-involvement with EC (and I like a lot of his records). Your sound is too expansive to be compared to his.
Phil Collins. Gee-ZUZZ. I'd managed to forget all about him. Please, Bobby, promise you'll never mention him again.
wncxjhc - A hex on Phil Collins!
Listening to your stuff I definitely hear echoes of Nat King Cole and Cole Porter. Quality, quality stuff, Bobby.
.
Sheer. Cool (as in 1950s cool, not Fonzie cool or Poochy cool) Quality Music.
.
Oh, and that Gershwin feller. Yeah, Ted Gershwin, that guy in Kingsway Tyres. He fits a mean cross-ply. You've just got to see the guy's skill with a tyre iron, it's fucking mindblowing.
pywfhtv - now transvestites with blowtorches have their very own primetime show.
Got a soft spot for Phil Collins - leastaways before he started channeling Peter Cetera. I mean the guy played drums on fucking Return of the Giant Hogweed - ya gotta cut him some slack.
I hear the Elvis, Bobby. Not a bad thing at all, eh? I hear the Paul M. I'd sign my house over to the dude who said that about me. (Hasn't happened yet and won't).
Let me know if you come to New York. Would love to hear you live.
Nice. I hadn't planned for this to be a fishing expedition but that's a'ight.
Y'know, Soundsurfr has a pretty good point. You really can't complain about Brand X Phil Collins either, Christ knows. Fucking monster drummer. Having him come out front was a big, big loss. Also, even "Face Value" had some big, bitchin' R&B moments, i.e. the bridge of "I Missed Again". I think he had some really good soul/Motown grounding in his pop drumming.
I just keep remembering "Illegal Alien", though. Eesh.
ibumm (no kidding)- what I tell people when they ask what I do.
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