20 Feb, 2009 Message In A Bottle
What do I think about nostalgia? Let me think about that a second! Nostalgia can be a wonderful thing when it is of merit, on the other hand somehow these days people seem to get nostalgic about the most whimsical, some are even willing to get nostalgic about what they had for breakfast that morning!
Meanwhile Simple Minds will feature on a soundtrack for a new Mickey Rourke film to be released later this year and doubtlessly you will read more about it on simpleminds.com nearer the time of release. I must say I always liked Mickey Rourke more than I liked the films he was in, if that makes sense? But it is good to see him get some renewed recognition because since the days of Lazarus seemingly everybody likes a comeback. In any case the movie is about some charismatic low life’s living in Los Angeles circa early’80’s and they say that the entire soundtrack is cracking.
Actually on mentioning the 80’s which for some reason I rarely do, it came to my attention on the same day that I received an e-mail breathlessly alerting me to the May release of our own ‘Graffiti Soul’, that not only will U2 release prior in March, but additionally it seems that Depeche Mode also have a new album set for April. Leaving me to think what decade is this?
Because if on top of that info I am to consider that with Morrissey about to let go with his latest, and none other than the Cure set to pop their hairy heads up as headliners at London’s giant ’02Arena.Then surely it is possible to dwell on the imaginary notion that something mysterious must be responsible for the coincidence that sees all these iconic names – original contemporaries of ours and simultaneously spawned in the very early 80’s – active once again. Unbelievable in fact!
In doing so no doubt, all will be determinedly adding new chapters to their individual stories that mind bogglingly began three decades ago. But survived they have and in addition albeit to varying degrees, they are still popular enough to be filling arenas if not stadiums throughout the globe. No small achievement on their behalf, it would seem they possess not only deep reservoirs when it comes to talent, but equal measures of tenacity and that is what lies behind the longevity involved in every long lasting career artistic or otherwise!
Just like with people, where each has his or her own gifts and individual talents to express as they make their way on their own path, not all artists are destined for the same route. Some are like supernovas, arriving with an amazing charge and an almighty burst of light that often and for differing reasons all too soon fades out. That I fear, is increasingly the fate of many a recent new act that achieves success with a debut album, only to find that one or two efforts later they are already considered to be washed up and castigated as one trick ponies.
Meanwhile others seem to mirror the long distance marathon runner, with careers that continue into the horizon, moving through peaks and troughs, twists and turns, covering vast artistic landscapes, they nevertheless always stay compelling enough somehow. Many times I have been asked why would that kind of artist bother continuing with the sweat and toil of new work when say perhaps the radio stations no longer automatically playlist and the certainty of multi platinum etc is long gone? They could as pointed out, travel round endlessly gliding on their stellar reputations, playing to full attendances everywhere and all without putting themselves under the stress and strain involved in coming up with fresh work that inevitably gets compared to their former successes.
The answer to that is that probably at heart they remain full on as creative artists, never having never lost the sense of thrill of the chase that is involved in hunting down a new idea that becomes a new song, that in turn leads to the formation of a new album etc. The other reason is that they are usually savvy people. They know that new works also help to bring new context to already existing myths. It invigorates their story as any new chapter of a book does.
Lastly and more important, it is my belief that as well as rejuvenating on every level by keeping the creative blood flowing. Even more essential is the belief that with every new work released they are doing the equivalent of those fabled romantics who engage in sending out a message in a bottle, with the aim of finding a reaction from afar that lets them know that they are not alone. That someone else gets it also, that others also feel the same. That they are not alone, that someone is still listening!
Because with no map, no form, no guidebook at hand that can be referred to with absolute certainty, creating art is usually a lonely activity. It easily drives you mad. Acceptance on the other hand is the warmest and most reassuring embrace however. Who after all would not want to be accepted for who they are and what they do, and once experienced who would want that warm embrace to be fleeting in the way that some describe success.
I am quite sure that some reading this will say, “Hey hang on Jim, you have just toured to celebrate looking back on a 30 year career, so surely you are big on nostalgia?’ Of course we did recently celebrate our journey to date and had a ball while doing so. But we indulged ourselves a little having first wrapped up a brand new album, and more than that even, we had already set about thinking through the future beyond. It was this forward gazing that that enabled us to relax with the idea that we could go out and bathe in pure nostalgia for a fortnight or so.
Having your cake and deciding when and how you want to eat it is surely what it is all about. While having an authentic story worth telling as well as possessing a set of classics to call on is undoubtedly a fine position to be in, I think most would agree. But in addition I can say that as a songwriter the world feels different, a much brighter and better place when you are walking around in the knowledge that you have a brand new song that that you cannot wait to set free. You feel even stronger as a person also in knowing that the creative heart is still beating, moving continuous like the wheels of a fast train, going all around the world.
Jim Kerr