Jammin with Ginger
This is Kristi Alexandra. She loves music. She’s also a ginger. And she does have a soul. And she likes music with soul, too.
What’s a musician without substance abuse?
By Kristi Alexandra [culture editor]
The Dirt. Scar Tissue. The Heroin Diaries.
None of these rock’n roll memoirs would exist without the true-to-life events preceeding them. And none of those true-to-life events would exist without the drink.
Even in the wake of heavy alcoholism, drug use and illicit sex, music legends Motley Crue and the Red Hot Chili Peppers were–and continue to be–two of the most successful musical acts known to American popular culture.
So they drank a little, smoked a little–hell, even shot-up a little(not that I’m advocating anything here)–but rather than those things getting in the way of huge success, the vices of many recording artists are often their muses.
With the advent of gossip blogs, trashy magazines and shows like Entertainment Tonight, current popular culture is villifying the consumption of drugs and alcohol. For a society so hell-bent on proving that it’s not married to a neo-Christian mode of thinking, it’s surprisingly conservative and judgemental when it comes to the lives of celebrities. I’m looking at you, Perez Hilton.
While making a mockery of the consistently drunk Amy Winehouse (at least that’s what these rags would have you believe), Hilton and bloggers alike are throwing significant blows to the girl’s career–but can we look at the facts, here?
Winehouse is a brilliant, soulful singer and the people taking stabs at her partying ways are comprised of never-been-laid “journalists” who live in their parents’ basements.
The inclusion of alcohol hasn’t hindered the careers of Ozzy or Lemmy, so why should it to Wino? If the evidence is stacking up correctly, I think they’re onto something. Abuse away, artists! Just don’t stop making records.
