God only knows, I believe in no state and church when it comes to writing about music: the personal and the public intermingle so completely, there is no way to tell where one should or shouldn't end.
Hell, in writing about a Ryan Adams song I once discussed a friends abortion. But I didn't mention her by name.And in added up to a couple of sentences in the post.
On the other hand, Village Voice Senior Associate Editor Stacey Anderson, crosses the line into whacked outness on her Brian Wilson article http://www.villagevoice.com/2011-06-08/music/brian-wilson-s-songs/
Other people's decisions tend to baffle me. Why on earth Stacey would portray her father as an emotional disaster begging for a kind word from a Beach Boy is beyond me. Whether true or not, it is extremely personal and not the sort of thing you want to share.
I am sure she loves her dad very much, so why did she write this: ""If this attempt fails, too, I'm done," he said tearfully as I listened silently down a phone line. "I lose. I won't try again." Our talks had evolved into this dismal routine, and these comments had become repetitive but no less distressing. His misery, and the artless reality of failed dreams, was frightening. I wasn't ready yet to view my parents as unrealized, much less as defeated."
Horrible.
Stacey's father is a music teacher who never succeeded in hitting the big time. When his contract with a major ran out, he became very depressed, crying on the phone to his daughter for hours. In 2005, Brian Wilson is offering a personal phone call from Brian for a donation to victims of Hurricane Katrina. Stacey weaves the rest of her story of redemption and acceptance very well.
And yet, really? I don't even care if her father gave his permission, this seems to cross the line. Perhaps because I can't imagine being close enough to anybody, let alone a daughter, to reveal my frailty, I don't understand how Stacey could reveal it to the world.
My other problem is that, without having knowledge at all of the situation, my bet is Wilson was at best a catalyst. I am second to none in my regard for the great songwriter, but i am dissatisfied with Anderson's conclusion. I think she underestimates the way we deal with success or failure (or even what success and failure is). Perhaps, the redemption is in the love of a daughter?
The article left me touched, but not because of Brian. A misjudged piece of writing that has hidden layers.