The Weekend Roundup with Bob Segarini
I’m confused.
I grew up believing that you can accomplish anything if you have the talent, do the 
work, and stay the course. You need to have the talent to begin with. Not fully formed, not polished to a high gloss and refined to perfection, but raw talent. Something has to be there that you feel, and the people around you can sense. Like charisma, talent is something you are born with. You cannot learn it, buy it, or fake it. It just has to be. And talent is not enough.
In order to reach its full potential, talent has to be nurtured, expanded upon, honed, and put to use expressing yourself in whatever field you choose. There are talented doctors, lawyers and accountants. There are talented gardeners, chefs, and linebackers. There are talented people in every profession, and the ones who combine that talent with hard work, creativity, and patience, usually excel at what they do. You can get an education in whatever you wish to do, develop skills, and even rise to the top of your field if you surround yourself with the talent and creativity you personally lack.
With these things in place, the only other piece of the puzzle is your ability to find work in your chosen profession and get the one thing you do not possess…experience.
So if that is all true, if my father and the countless others who subscribe to this theory are right, if you actually have to be talented and work your ass off to rise above the ordinary and soar like an Eagle, why do so many signs point in the opposite direction?Great records go unplayed, entertaining scripts go unproduced, creative television shows get cancelled, and great singers, songwriters, and musicians go unsigned or unappreciated.
I will wager that each and every one of you can name at least 2 or 3 examples in support of the above statement, and if you choose, please email me and share your view.
I guess what bothers me the most about these things is the abject randomness with which decisions like these are made.
We will never know what kind of movie franchise Doc Savage would have been because the first one, 1975’s Doc Savage Man of Bronze was camped up like the horrid Batman TV series of the ‘60’s and played like a bad TV movie. Even though the movie was accurately (and smartly) set in the ‘30’s and had the legendary George Pal as it’s producer, the mediocrity of everything about it sank it like a stone. It was a tragedy, considering what this great character and story could have been in the right hands.
And television…Star Trek, Family Guy, Futurama, Colombo, Cheers and Seinfeld, all cancelled by lesser lights at their networks, and saved by either fans or more astute executives who saw in them the quality and creativity inherent in the shows and everyone connected with them.
Who decided that Superman’s worth depended on an actor emulating the previous actor in the role? Why did we get yet another origin story? Why wasn’t anyone connected with this character’s films able to see it in a different light. If you ask me, Superman should be set in the ‘40’s, and reflect the great Fleischer cartoons. Fuck Luthor, let’s see Giant Robots, Mad Scientists, and crazed criminals, and Superman look like he actually has 
to make an effort. The same should apply to the Batman movies. Set them in the late ‘30’s, ‘40’s and ‘50’s, give him back the original Batmobile, and let him solve crimes, locked room mysteries, take down mobsters, nutcase geniuses, and kick some ass. If you want to set movies in the present day, create something new instead of ruining tried and true work by others.
Do you know who Johnny Speight is? Ray Gatton and Alan Simpson? Norman Lear?
Well, if you know one, it will be Norman Lear.
Among many accomplishments, he was credited with creating All in the Family and Sanford and Son. He actually bought the rights to the shows those two landmark American sitcoms were based on, and used many of the original scripts changing them slightly for the American audience. The actual creators of those shows were Speight (All in the Family) and Gatton and Simpson (Sanford and Son) whose shows, Till Death Do Us Part and Steptoe and Son were the creative source of Lear’s success.
Who decided to eradicate Voice Your Choice, Requests, and Dedications from radio? I don’t recall them going out of fashion…at least not with listeners, so why did they disappear? Album tracks, not just the hits, new, local artists, new songs by well loved acts…why do the majority of radio stations ignore all these audience favourites?
Why is George Lucas allowed to write dialogue? Why were there Ewoks and Jar Jar Binks?
How could Spielberg bring himself to change the guns in E.T into walkie talkies?
Why the fuck did Sam Elliot’s character have to die in Roadhouse? There was plenty of conflict without removing a great character from the story.
How can Sean Diddy Daddy Puff Combs talk over Kashmir and Every Breath You Take and become a HUGE star?
Would there even be a Lady Ga Ga or Kei$ha if the very talented Cindy Lauper would have outsold the less talented but more savvy Madonna back in the ‘80’s?
If there had been no Eddie Vedder would almost every rock band lead singer try to sound like Chad Kroeger?
Has Ryan Seacrest ever broken a record on the radio or discovered an artist?
Why is McDonald’s more successful than the far superior In ‘n Out Burger?
Why don’t soft drink manufacturers use Splenda, a sweetener made from sugar that tastes like sugar in their diet drinks instead of the potentially dangerous chemically based ones?
Why does Apple make their batteries irreplaceable? When your iPod dies, so does your music library. Ditto your iPhone, Touch and Pad.
…and what the hell possessed Elvis to record Do the Clam??? Seriously!!!
Okay…I’m sorry…I got carried away there. I just get so frustrated sometimes. Is it the public that has decided that quality or creativity isn’t necessary to make something popular, or are we all victims of genius marketing, and highly evolved research on the modern mindset? Is it possible that we truly get just what we deserve?
There have been so many instances where talent and quality have triumphed that I can’t believe we’re all idiots, so what (and who) is it that allows so much mediocrity to bloom and flourish?
I know you can’t, or shouldn’t make a qualitive statement about art, but where do you draw the line between “That does not appeal to me”, and “Why does that appeal to anyone?”
One thing I do know, is that talent, quality, and creativity have nothing to do with popularity.
I just thank God that sometimes…they do.
You can hear these tracks by going to http://www.radiothatdoesntsuck.com/myWimpy.html Scroll down and click on ‘A&R Online Volume 43′
Cheryl Lescom and the Tucson Choir Boys – Did He Mention My Name
Cheryl should have had a gazillion hits by now. One of the most soulful and powerful voices in this or any other country. This is from a nice little project called Cheryl Lescom and the Tucson Choir Boys. It sounds like she’s in your living room, and that’s a good thing. Whoa, can this girl sing…
Jay Dee Bixby – Boy Inside the Man
The first of 2 covers this week. Once again, proof that a great song translates to any genre. Here’s hoping Tom gets a nice royalty check from this, and Jay Dee keeps recording.
Chris Giannini – If It’s Me
The instrumental track of this well written song reminds me of The Byrds circa 1966. That is meant as a very large compliment. I’m a sucker for jangly guitars and big, wide chords. Nice vocal, too.
Santana – Angel Love
The only non Canadian release in this week’s A&R Online. What a pleasure to hear Carlos’s guitar sound and style again. This is one sweet track.
Justin Hines – Solsbury Hill
Our second cover this week and a damn fine one. Justin Hines continues to prove what a fine singer he is as well as a songwriter, and here, he shows he can interpret a song with the best of them.
Default – Show Me
A major departure for Default and a welcome foray it is. There is still a great deal of power here, but it is tempered with a subtlety and a more natural vocal delivery than previous singles. I love it when bands mature and grow, and this seems like a natural path for Default to be on. Excellent.
FLASH!!! Just added to A&R Online! A NEW track by the Jimi Hendrix Experience! Valleys of Neptune! How the hell did they do that?
Win of the Week
There are two, actually, and both have to do with love. One has to do with an old friend of many years who called me a ‘Chauvinistic Sausage’ in this very column last year, and the other has to do with the friends of another dear friend, John Cleveland Hughes, who passed away far too young just last October.
Had I been on the ball, I would have mentioned this last Monday so you could have seen the first run showing of Linda Dawe and Ray Cave’s amazing story on CBC’s The Passionate Eye last Monday night called The 40 Year Secret. The documentary chronicles Linda and Ray’s efforts to locate the child they had to give up for adoption in the ‘60’s, and their relationship, ended by their parents when Linda got pregnant and rekindled at a high school reunion 40 years later.
Not only is their story told beautifully and with no pretense or maudlin hamstrings, it may very well serve as the best education the parents of teenagers faced with similar problems today could have in dealing with an issue that has improved, but still could use a more compassionate and understanding approach. The hypocrisy that forced Linda and Ray to give up their baby and each other may have lessened over the years, but it still poses a problem for young people and their parents today.
Ray and Linda’s book about the long, frustrating, but ultimately life affirming journey, “First True Love”, will be released through Soul Asylum Publishing in February.
John Cleveland Hughes’ family and friends celebrated his life earlier this week with a good old fashioned wake at Toronto’s Silver Dollar, a blues and roots showcase that has the same qualities we all loved in John. It is a warm, open, comfortable, and funky bar that thrives on great music and good times, and comes to life when friends gather and let loose.
You should have heard the music.
The musicians that played in honour of John that night are not only some of the best this city has ever produced, they are some of the best, period. From the droll and Perry Comoesque uber-relaxed Steve Ambrose to the kinetic and fearless Neil Chapman and all who graced the stage, I don’t think I’ve ever seen a parade of players this good in one 4 hour period. When George Olliver showed up late and unannounced, I missed my ride because I had to stay and listen (and watch) Mr. Soul do his stuff. Every rhythm section that played was tight and fat, and, as great drummer and new friend, Steve Negus pointed out, you can’t beat this music or these people when it comes to heart and chops.
I couldn’t agree more.
It was a fitting tribute to a great guy, and proof that John is still with us in the memories, and the music, he left behind.
Fail of the Week
Everybody that made jokes about the iPad. No, it is not an electronic feminine hygiene product. No one will confuse it with one, and it doesn’t come with wings. I love a good puerile joke as much as the next guy, but the ones I’ve heard about the iPad could only be loved by guys that still call women’s breasts “Boobs”, “Melons”, or “Funbags”, or laugh hysterically if someone farts in somebody else’s face. Actually, that last one is kind of funny…
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FTzhXMbOWHE
Parting Shot
Try this here or in the U.S, and this contraption would be torn apart or shot into a zillion pieces. Still, I guess it would scare the soup out of you on a dark street in the dead of night. I wonder if there any outtakes of heart attacks, strokes, or pants wetting.
Have a great weekend, see you on Monday…
That’s enough for now. Email me at segarini@fyimusic.ca with your comments, complaints, and thoughts…and remember…don’t believe a word I say.
Bob “The Iceman” Segarini was in the bands The Family Tree, Roxy, The Wackers, 
The Dudes, The Segarini Band, and Cats and Dogs, and nominated for a Juno for production in 1978. He also hosted “Late Great Movies” on CITY TV, was a producer of Much Music, and an on-air personality on CHUM FM, Q107, SIRIUS Sat/Rad’s Iceberg 95, (now 85), and now provides content for radiothatdoesntsuck.com with RadioZombie, The Iceage, and PsychShack. Along with the love of his life, Jade (Pie) Dunlop, (who hosts and writes “I’ve Heard That Song Before” on RTDS), continues to write, make music, and record.
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Bill Graham once said that in order to succeed you need talent, focus, and luck. The “work ethic” you have described in a myth taught to us in public schools so that people will be good workers. It has little to do with real life. In real life, some people with talent make it commercially and others don’t. Alot relied on luck and happenstance, fate and destiny. Some things are meant to be and other things are not, regardless of the presence of talent. Commerical success is something all artists dream of achieving but some never do — or don’t until after they are dead and then rediscovered. The important thing is: if you have talent, use that talent to better the world in whatever way you can and let go of the rest. We are here to serve a purpose but not necessarily to serve our own purposes.