Club 27

Posted on July 26, 2011 by Michael

I know “Club 27” is a popular concept amongst music fans. It’s basically a reference to the really big, important artists out there who have died at age 27: Brian Jones, Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin, Jim Morrison, and Kurt Cobain. There are others, but those are the most notable. (Kurt Cobain was even been reported as talking about his desire to join the club a year or so before he actually did.)

But come on. Amy Winehouse, no matter what one thinks of her music, has not had the impact of any of those other musicians. Each one was integral to the advance of music, and a lack of mention of any one of them in a talk about the history of music is a mistake. That is not the case with Winehouse. She’s technically a member of the club because she was 27, but she does not meet the point of the meme “Club 27”: impact.

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Pardon for Jim Morrison

Posted on November 18, 2010 by Michael

Florida Governor Charlie Crist is considering giving a pardon to Jim Morrison for a 1969 incident in Miami.

At one point Morrison may or may not have exposed himself to the crowd, leading to his arrest a few days later for indecent exposure. Morrison died before serving his six-month sentence, and a contingent of Doors fans have been lobbying for his posthumous pardoning ever since–which brings us to this week, when outgoing Florida governor Charlie Crist hinted that he may at long last clear Morrison’s name before leaving office.

“Candidly, it’s something that I haven’t given a lot of thought to, but it’s something I’m willing to look into in the time I have left,” Crist told The Hill in a recent interview. “Anything is possible.” The reporter adds that “Crist said he won’t make the decision lightly, noting the many complexities surrounding the 41-year-old case. Numerous sound recordings from the show exist, for example, but Morrison’s defenders say none of the scores of photographs from the show prove the exposure charge.” The reporter quotes Crist as saying, “We would have to look into all of that.”

I love when politicians come down to their final few weeks in office. If they aren’t doing something awesome, they’re at least doing something interesting. That’s the case with Crist. In the end, this isn’t really that important. But it is a nice middle finger to the ultra-conservative bias against that new rock and/or roll music all the kids seemed to like back then.

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