Vera
08-21-2008, 02:54 AM
Or "I never thought I'd be emo about Amy Winehouse".
Before you click away from this, hear me out. So I've been watching these various British panel shows because they're full of awesome, funny British people (like Bill Bailey and Phil Jupitus - the latter is the best fat person ever, full stop) and awesome British humor. One of the shows I got into recently is Nevermind the Buzzcocks, a music quiz show hosted by a meanfunny person named Simon Amstell, who's been a music journalist for quite a while.
The thing about NMBC is that they have some funny people, some random actors/comedians and some musicians. Sometimes the musicians are from cool indie/underground type acts. Sometimes they're awful poppy trash artists or Z-list celeb rockstars you know we won't remember in 3 years' time. And the deal is to mercilessly mock them. (The best episodes have somebody totally wannabe like Donny Tourette or a former boyband member trying to have a solo career or something.)
I happened to catch on youtube a collection of clips from when Amy Winehouse appeared on the show (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ihFzr8QPfOg) and of course, she was being a crazy strung out person who wanted to drink throughout the show and all that. The presenter, Simon Amstell, mocks her in various hilarious ways, especially her drug addiction(s!) but Amy also says something like, "we used to be so close" and he basically answers, "yeah before you became a crazy druggie".
Then I watched another episode, later on, with Amy's producer Mark Ronson as a guest. Simon wouldn't stop making jokes about how he turns women (as he supposedly did with Amy) into drug addicts. It was funny but it also got me thinking, as there was a bitter undertone to Simon making those jokes. I mean, if it's true that Simon and Amy used to be friends, but somewhere along the way drifted apart because she started spending more time snorting coke and beating her husband, it's just really .. kind of very sad.
I mean, it's been said that Amy's had eating disorders and drug-related problems all her life, but it's also true that sometimes certain people just begin to associate with "the wrong crowd" and let the company of such people influence them so much that the old crowd of friends just shake their heads and go, "what the hell happened to you". Nobody makes another person a druggie, as the choice to take drugs is your own, but still, these sort of things can happen.
In my head I began picturing this other Amy, the pre-drugs Amy, who maybe had some genuine talent in music, and who had friends who didn't do drugs but partied within sane limits. Maybe it's totally untrue, maybe she was more or less fucked up from the get go, but still, it makes me think of all the people we know and care for, who go astray in life for whatever reason. And the feeling of helplessness that it gives you, not knowing whether you can save them, not sure if its your job to, uncertain whether anybody can.
I have no idea why I posted this.
Before you click away from this, hear me out. So I've been watching these various British panel shows because they're full of awesome, funny British people (like Bill Bailey and Phil Jupitus - the latter is the best fat person ever, full stop) and awesome British humor. One of the shows I got into recently is Nevermind the Buzzcocks, a music quiz show hosted by a meanfunny person named Simon Amstell, who's been a music journalist for quite a while.
The thing about NMBC is that they have some funny people, some random actors/comedians and some musicians. Sometimes the musicians are from cool indie/underground type acts. Sometimes they're awful poppy trash artists or Z-list celeb rockstars you know we won't remember in 3 years' time. And the deal is to mercilessly mock them. (The best episodes have somebody totally wannabe like Donny Tourette or a former boyband member trying to have a solo career or something.)
I happened to catch on youtube a collection of clips from when Amy Winehouse appeared on the show (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ihFzr8QPfOg) and of course, she was being a crazy strung out person who wanted to drink throughout the show and all that. The presenter, Simon Amstell, mocks her in various hilarious ways, especially her drug addiction(s!) but Amy also says something like, "we used to be so close" and he basically answers, "yeah before you became a crazy druggie".
Then I watched another episode, later on, with Amy's producer Mark Ronson as a guest. Simon wouldn't stop making jokes about how he turns women (as he supposedly did with Amy) into drug addicts. It was funny but it also got me thinking, as there was a bitter undertone to Simon making those jokes. I mean, if it's true that Simon and Amy used to be friends, but somewhere along the way drifted apart because she started spending more time snorting coke and beating her husband, it's just really .. kind of very sad.
I mean, it's been said that Amy's had eating disorders and drug-related problems all her life, but it's also true that sometimes certain people just begin to associate with "the wrong crowd" and let the company of such people influence them so much that the old crowd of friends just shake their heads and go, "what the hell happened to you". Nobody makes another person a druggie, as the choice to take drugs is your own, but still, these sort of things can happen.
In my head I began picturing this other Amy, the pre-drugs Amy, who maybe had some genuine talent in music, and who had friends who didn't do drugs but partied within sane limits. Maybe it's totally untrue, maybe she was more or less fucked up from the get go, but still, it makes me think of all the people we know and care for, who go astray in life for whatever reason. And the feeling of helplessness that it gives you, not knowing whether you can save them, not sure if its your job to, uncertain whether anybody can.
I have no idea why I posted this.