Oh please!

Some guy on facebook is ripping on Jack White, claiming he's no good because he "steals" the styles of other people. That's like claiming any contemporary painter is shit, because he borrows from the past. You can't paint in the style of an impressionist, because that's STEALING! Apparently he's not familiar with Picasso's idea that "good artists copy; great artists steal." Does he mean that in order to be any good in music or art, one has to come up with an entirely new genre? Good luck with that. Meanwhile, this same guy posts a video of himself doing a COVER of an already over played song on youtube. Oh, that's original.

Wait, if a band makes a song its own, it kind of is original. However, merely singing someone else's song isn't exactly doing that, facebook guy. Think Gary Jules. His version of Mad World is truly artistic and pretty damn amazing. I won't go into the controversial issues with Led Zeppelin. Were they the first samplers, or did the members of the band flat out steal material? Either way, they remain one of the most popular bands around. I'll add that I can't help but like the music they made, even if they were a little shady about not giving proper credit.

Here's a good example of "when the cover is better":

As far as Jack white, the guy has madd skillz. I would easily put him in the top 10 guitar players of all time. Mr White doesn't just play guitar though; he plays anything and everything. He could probably squeeze beautiful sounds out of a potato.

Some people took issue with his move when he killed the middleman when his label, Third Man Records, hosted an ebay auction of the first reissue album by The White Stripes. Hey wait, isn't this what musicians have been wanting: no middleman? I prefer the way Radiohead handled things with the release of their In Rainbows album, but Jack did nothing wrong. People will pay outrageous amounts for rare or limited edition music anyway, so why not let the people who created the music benefit more? My point is that Jack has his hands in many projects, and he's changing the way music is distributed. Did you know that Jack White even acts? Obviously, music is his real passion. Anyone can see that. The bottom line is that he's fucking talented. I don't care what styles he "steals", borrows or imitates. The guy's a genius.

Speaking of putting a twist on something..this is funny. I snagged it from Horse Junkies United:

And since I'm off topic anyway, here's another video for your enjoyment, a clip from one of my favorite films, The Return of the Nina. Zack is a really cool guy, and an incredible athlete too:

Wow, I'm a bit all over the place tonight. Oh well. 

I hate to admit that I did have nightmares after watching American Horror Story. I can't help it. Jessica Lange is a phenomenal actress, and she's pretty scary in the new season. The opener certainly delivered. Even Adam Levine held his own in his acting début. I do miss some of the missing actors from last season, but the new season promises to be great. Fucking hell- now I'll be freaking out from now until the end of November!

And lastly: YAY! that people are finally getting a clue about what a twit Madonna is. What a brilliant move to bring out the guns and violence in a state in which huge tragedies have occurred. I guess she's too self centered to think about how her actions might affect others. Ick.