I don't love Eric Clapton, but his status as George's best friend, one-third of an intriguing love triangle, and the soloist who pushed While My Guitar Gently Weeps into iconic status must be acknowledged. I struggled with his placement in the hierarchy because he was on one track only, but his name was suggested by John Lennon as a suitable replacement when George quit.
His presence during the tense White Album sessions made the lads behave, a formula George remembered while they were bitching at each other during the Get Back sessions. Eric didn't show, but Billy Preston came to the rescue.
The dynamics of the Eric-Pattie-George love triangle are bizarre, and what I often think about when contemplating the not-so-savory lessons learned on rock star behavior. No one could have predicted that this triangle would become a Venn diagram when George stepped out with Maureen to Ringo's shock and Lennon's disgust.
See, they didn't just have a problem with Paul; they all had a problem with each other.
That led to some great, albeit complex music.
This has really been a typing-out-loud that meanders around Clapton. Steer it back?
Uh, I really love The Core off Slowhand. I am a sucker for Wonderful Tonight. It's astonishing to think how long his career has lasted, with hits from the 60s to the 90s, including the Grammy-winning Tears in Heaven, and churning out contributions to movie soundtracks, like It's in the Way. He helped kill slick overproduction as part of the successful MTV Unplugged series. He's in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame three times - solo, with The Yardbirds, and Cream. At the age of 80-plus, he is currently on tour and will be in Detroit in September.
Ska queen in a bindi with Marilyn Monroe aspirations
Gwen and I are exactly the same age - I'm older by two weeks - so I felt a kinship with her GenX stories of love.
She started her career in 1987 with the ska-pop-punk band No Doubt, alongside her brother Eric, all while working at Dairy Queen after school. The band’s self-titled album featured the dance single Trapped in a Box, which garnered some indie radio airplay.
Then she tapped into the unresolved feelings from her breakup with bassist Tony to pen monster hits Don’t Speak and Just a Girl on the album Tragic Kingdom, making No Doubt one of the biggest things in the mid-'90s. Rolling Stone named her “the Queen of Confessional Pop.”
She also became the Duet Queen of the late 90s, recording hits with Moby, Brian Setzer, and several with rapper Eve.
Gwen penned the quarter-life crisis album, The Return of Saturn, balancing the inner conflict of career versus trad-mom bullshit through songs like Simple Kind of Life and Ex-Girlfriend. Go was also a serious bop. Rock Steady, too.
She went solo with Love Angel Music Baby and continued her success with songs like Hollaback Girl, Rich Girl, and What Cha Waiting For?
Her private life, unfortunately, is very public, with tabloid-worthy relationships with her ex-husband, Gavin Rossdale, and her current husband, Blake Sheldon.
Life has gone on, with stints as a judge on talent shows, cameos in movies, and residencies in Las Vegas. She’s gotten some grief for Indian (the bindi) and Japanese (Harajuku girls) cultural appropriation and being politically conservative.
As she may say, this shit is bananas.
How to break my heart
Getting ready for tomorrow
So I'm taking a storytelling class at the University of Michigan so I can take on more creative responsibilities at work. This coincides with what is happening at the river. I had to write a quick 250-word story with a protagonist (me) and the antagonist, the river.
That's a lot to take in.
So the cottage is condemned, and I felt the need to rescue something. Cue scrolling on Poshmark at 1a.m., and I find this poor robin egg blu...
