We are ALL stuck in our ways
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First of all I am not applying this to everyone - that is my disclaimer. This is just a thought to put out there for some good honest debate. Now my Macca era is the 1980's, by my era, I mean the era I first became really aware of Paul. Therefore, the albums, singles, videos, tv appearance, look, events etc are all part of my upbringing. This is my Paul, I was there when it was happening and it is what I know. Others will have much early experiences and others later. Therefore, my view is we are always stuck in a time warp, with our first era of 'being there'. This is the Paul I relate everything to, the man, the music, the marriage, the family, the humour and of course the music (some great, some OK and some not so good). However, it is the Paul I still think he is. After LazyD posted those videos from the 89-90 tour the other night, it was a little bit of a shock to me and I ended up watching and listening to a load of video and audio from my past that I remember first hand. Silly things like Paul appearing with Linda on Top of the Pops when E&I hit number one. Paul doing a Buddy Holly special and singing Words of Love in his barn. Paul drinking tea in a disguise on the Noel Edmunds Late Late Breakfast Show, Paul on the Tube and that royal show doing Only Love Remains, The Spies Like Us video, Appearances on Wogan and Saturday Superstore, the 86 and 89 TV specials. McCartney on McCartney on the radio. The All the best promo stuff and Once upon a long ago. His sublime vocal contributions to the otherwise dire Ferry Aid and Hillsborough records. We all Stand Together video and childhood good feeling. Broadstreet and Lonely Nights, Pipes of Peace video. How I thought Press was the best video ever! All of these I have first hand memories of. Paul popping up in Tracy Ulmans video. The incredible My Brave Face and This One singles. The Latest Resort show with Paul signing all JR's Beatle LP's. Paul is stuck in my mind in this time zone. The last few weeks I have been left a little sad that this is not the case. I have been deluded thinking it was. Times, people and everything has changed. I accept that now and things will never be the same again. Time goes so quickly and things are different. You can't reheat a souffle someone once said. Can anyone else admit that they are stuck is a slightly delusional state from the 60's, 70's, 80's, 90's even noughties when things were different and that they are trying somehow to hold on to this time. Just an observation. We can't recreate Beatle Paul, Wings Paul etc. and neither can he.
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Guess I'm stuck in 1971 then. Paul and Linda are hanging out on the farm with the kids. He's still got that spectacular beard and is wearing those wonderful Fair Isle sweaters. The kids are running around stomping in mud puddles. The sheep have escaped the barn. That's the Paul I like to think about best. Ram-era Paul. But I wasn't actually paying attention to him at all back then. I was just a kid in 1971. I only discovered Ram 5 years ago. Nonetheless I do compare everything Paul does now to the confident, creative, free-spirited, natural person he was back then in the Ram era, and that's how I'd like Paul to be now. I'd like Paul at 70 to be loose, not self-conscious, free of the Beatles, going his own way, and sporting a nice grey beard and a head full of grey hair.
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The 80's was also when I first got into Paul's music having some of the Wings LP's and remembering how great it sounded then. Was also listening to All the Best this eve, E & I sprang to mind as can recall watching the video at an early age . I think its great to reminisce and to put into some sort of time capsule to when u first heard it, why do we have to age
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Michelley:
Guess I'm stuck in 1971 then. Paul and Linda are hanging out on the farm with the kids. He's still got that spectacular beard and is wearing those wonderful Fair Isle sweaters. The kids are running around stomping in mud puddles. The sheep have escaped the barn. That's the Paul I like to think about best. Ram-era Paul. But I wasn't actually paying attention to him at all back then. I was just a kid in 1971. I only discovered Ram 5 years ago. Nonetheless I do compare everything Paul does now to the confident, creative, free-spirited, natural person he was back then in the Ram era, and that's how I'd like Paul to be now. I'd like Paul at 70 to be loose, not self-conscious, free of the Beatles, going his own way, and sporting a nice grey beard and a head full of grey hair.
I'm with you Michelly. Although I watched the Beatles on TV on Ed Sullivan...my BEST experience was when I saw him in 76. I like Paul in the 70s more than just a fangirl crush from when he was a Beatle. GREAT voice back then too! And of...that beard.
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I suppose I'm stuck with Wings Paul. That may not make sense seeing as I wasn't alive when Wings were around. However, it was Wingspan Hits & History that got me into Paul. One Summer a few moons ago I was travelling round Scotland with the family and these songs were blaring out and I thought. Wow. This is the Paul I explored, this was Paul at his coolest. With that mullet and his voice was at its peak. On the road, with Linda, Denny & Co. (Whoever Co were) This is the Paul that got me into his music.
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The Beatles got me into Paul, but it was "No More Lonely Nights" that got me into solo Paul (I was around 10 when that came out, and I was mesmerized by the idea that the Beatles had solo careers
). I like all of the incarnations of Paul, and so I don't particularly have any expectations of Paul, per se. I do, though, notice that his voice is getting weaker as he gets older, but this is only as noticeable as it is because of what his voice was: stronger and more powerful than any other singer I've ever heard. When you start with that as an expectation, it's only downhill from there, sadly. 
ops: -
My heaviest ga-ga period is '90 through the On The Run Tour.
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The 70's is my Paul era, with Wings stacking up hit singles and hit albums on a regular basis, but i tend to hark back to that era not necessarily wanting it back, but wanting Paul to be as brave as he was back then when he didn't give a f**k about the Beatles and just did his own thing regardless. Back in the '70's Paul rarely talked about the Beatles as the break up was still raw, now you can't shut him up about it.
I think he's right to be proud of the Beatles achievements, but Wings and his solo career deserve as much too. Of course i wish he still had that voice from 1970 to 76, but that's something that can't be changed mores the pity. -
I'm a "first generation" fan, but I always "go back" to my favorite Paul time--'68, '69. Love the way he looked and sounded. Also love the '75, '76 period. It does make me sad to see how his voice has gotten so much weaker.
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I can agree with this sentiment. I think this is why the overt criticism (and nothing else) of present day Paul by older fans sort of gets to me. In the 70s, I'm sure you guys didn't like it when Beatle-crazed folks lamented for the Paul of old. Well, it's sort of the same way with me. This is the Paul I know. Let me enjoy him in peace.
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kedame:
I can agree with this sentiment. I think this is why the overt criticism (and nothing else) of present day Paul by older fans sort of gets to me. In the 70s, I'm sure you guys didn't like it when Beatle-crazed folks lamented for the Paul of old. Well, it's sort of the same way with me. This is the Paul I know. Let me enjoy him in peace.
Love this. I'm a first generation fan, and I have to say that my favorite Paul has always been the current one. And the way I see it he is always improving with age.
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kedame:
I can agree with this sentiment. I think this is why the overt criticism (and nothing else) of present day Paul by older fans sort of gets to me. In the 70s, I'm sure you guys didn't like it when Beatle-crazed folks lamented for the Paul of old. Well, it's sort of the same way with me. This is the Paul I know. Let me enjoy him in peace.
The Beatles crazed fans are still there though. AND he caters to them with all the songs in his setlist. and you CAN enjoy him in peace...who is actually stopping you?
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oobu24:
kedame:
I can agree with this sentiment. I think this is why the overt criticism (and nothing else) of present day Paul by older fans sort of gets to me. In the 70s, I'm sure you guys didn't like it when Beatle-crazed folks lamented for the Paul of old. Well, it's sort of the same way with me. This is the Paul I know. Let me enjoy him in peace.
The Beatles crazed fans are still there though. AND he caters to them with all the songs in his setlist. and you CAN enjoy him in peace...who is actually stopping you?
You know, not to sound like a broken record, but I'd be happy just to see Paul at all (which I haven't). I don't really give a crap what he plays when I get to see him, as long as I'm there. For those of you who have seen him a million times, I understand you want something new. But I bet the first time you saw Paul you just wanted him to sing whatever, and you were happy with it. I also bet there are those who would be severely disappointed to go to a Paul McCartney show (for maybe the first and only time) and not get to hear Hey Jude or Let it Be. And to explain that "in peace" statement: don't you ever just get tired of reading criticism after criticism? I understand that constructive criticism is healthy and helpful, but I do get tired of all the discussions about his setlist, hair, wobbly voice, etc. I do get it. Not everyone likes the way Paul does things in the present day...and that's okay. You might like him a different way or in a different time, but I like this Paul. I don't care about the hair or the setlist. I wish his voice was as strong as it once was, but I'll take the soft singing of KOTB and the televised performances as it's all I know. I would say think back to the era of Paul where you got interested. What criticisms were there of him then? Was it the bashing of RAM, the reinventing of history after John died? Wasn't it frustrating to read the bad stuff, even if there was a grain of truth in it? The best thing about some of you guys being fans is that you didn't have the internet, where anyone with a keyboard can let loose. You didn't have to put up with the comments about him not being what he used to be by the whole internet...and now you have thicker skin. But this is new to me.
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kedame:
oobu24:
kedame:
I can agree with this sentiment. I think this is why the overt criticism (and nothing else) of present day Paul by older fans sort of gets to me. In the 70s, I'm sure you guys didn't like it when Beatle-crazed folks lamented for the Paul of old. Well, it's sort of the same way with me. This is the Paul I know. Let me enjoy him in peace.
The Beatles crazed fans are still there though. AND he caters to them with all the songs in his setlist. and you CAN enjoy him in peace...who is actually stopping you?
You know, not to sound like a broken record, but I'd be happy just to see Paul at all (which I haven't). I don't really give a crap what he plays when I get to see him, as long as I'm there. For those of you who have seen him a million times, I understand you want something new. But I bet the first time you saw Paul you just wanted him to sing whatever, and you were happy with it. I also bet there are those who would be severely disappointed to go to a Paul McCartney show (for maybe the first and only time) and not get to hear Hey Jude or Let it Be. And to explain that "in peace" statement: don't you ever just get tired of reading criticism after criticism? I understand that constructive criticism is healthy and helpful, but I do get tired of all the discussions about his setlist, hair, wobbly voice, etc. I do get it. Not everyone likes the way Paul does things in the present day...and that's okay. You might like him a different way or in a different time, but I like this Paul. I don't care about the hair or the setlist. I wish his voice was as strong as it once was, but I'll take the soft singing of KOTB and the televised performances as it's all I know. I would say think back to the era of Paul where you got interested. What criticisms were there of him then? Was it the bashing of RAM, the reinventing of history after John died? Wasn't it frustrating to read the bad stuff, even if there was a grain of truth in it? The best thing about some of you guys being fans is that you didn't have the internet, where anyone with a keyboard can let loose. You didn't have to put up with the comments about him not being what he used to be by the whole internet...and now you have thicker skin. But this is new to me.
well now you just let loose too didn't you?
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oobu24:
kedame:
oobu24:
kedame:
I can agree with this sentiment. I think this is why the overt criticism (and nothing else) of present day Paul by older fans sort of gets to me. In the 70s, I'm sure you guys didn't like it when Beatle-crazed folks lamented for the Paul of old. Well, it's sort of the same way with me. This is the Paul I know. Let me enjoy him in peace.
The Beatles crazed fans are still there though. AND he caters to them with all the songs in his setlist. and you CAN enjoy him in peace...who is actually stopping you?
You know, not to sound like a broken record, but I'd be happy just to see Paul at all (which I haven't). I don't really give a crap what he plays when I get to see him, as long as I'm there. For those of you who have seen him a million times, I understand you want something new. But I bet the first time you saw Paul you just wanted him to sing whatever, and you were happy with it. I also bet there are those who would be severely disappointed to go to a Paul McCartney show (for maybe the first and only time) and not get to hear Hey Jude or Let it Be. And to explain that "in peace" statement: don't you ever just get tired of reading criticism after criticism? I understand that constructive criticism is healthy and helpful, but I do get tired of all the discussions about his setlist, hair, wobbly voice, etc. I do get it. Not everyone likes the way Paul does things in the present day...and that's okay. You might like him a different way or in a different time, but I like this Paul. I don't care about the hair or the setlist. I wish his voice was as strong as it once was, but I'll take the soft singing of KOTB and the televised performances as it's all I know. I would say think back to the era of Paul where you got interested. What criticisms were there of him then? Was it the bashing of RAM, the reinventing of history after John died? Wasn't it frustrating to read the bad stuff, even if there was a grain of truth in it? The best thing about some of you guys being fans is that you didn't have the internet, where anyone with a keyboard can let loose. You didn't have to put up with the comments about him not being what he used to be by the whole internet...and now you have thicker skin. But this is new to me.
well now you just let loose too didn't you?
Oooohhh...misunderstanding here! I didn't mean you guys. I meant in articles like the Daily Mail ones we are bombarded with all the time. ...walking away slowly to avoid the wrath... I'm not trying to be argumentative or mean. I am genuinely discussing the topic. Is all you got out of my response that I'm trying to start a fight? I'm really not. I thought it was a fairly well thought out post to describe my feelings.
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BOYCIE:
The 70's is my Paul era, with Wings stacking up hit singles and hit albums on a regular basis, but i tend to hark back to that era not necessarily wanting it back, but wanting Paul to be as brave as he was back then when he didn't give a f**k about the Beatles and just did his own thing regardless. Back in the '70's Paul rarely talked about the Beatles as the break up was still raw, now you can't shut him up about it.
I think he's right to be proud of the Beatles achievements, but Wings and his solo career deserve as much too.I have to agree with this...70's for me too!! I really hope Paul will do his own thing!! I support that, whatever it is... hope he doesn't hear all the sniping and does it his way, no matter what others say. He is the artist.
Waiting to hear some fresh things from his work with Mark Ronson... I'm getting excited, and anticipating some great things -
Plastic Soul Man:
First of all I am not applying this to everyone - that is my disclaimer. This is just a thought to put out there for some good honest debate. Now my Macca era is the 1980's, by my era, I mean the era I first became really aware of Paul. Therefore, the albums, singles, videos, tv appearance, look, events etc are all part of my upbringing. This is my Paul, I was there when it was happening and it is what I know. Others will have much early experiences and others later. Therefore, my view is we are always stuck in a time warp, with our first era of 'being there'. This is the Paul I relate everything to, the man, the music, the marriage, the family, the humour and of course the music (some great, some OK and some not so good). However, it is the Paul I still think he is. After LazyD posted those videos from the 89-90 tour the other night, it was a little bit of a shock to me and I ended up watching and listening to a load of video and audio from my past that I remember first hand. Silly things like Paul appearing with Linda on Top of the Pops when E&I hit number one. Paul doing a Buddy Holly special and singing Words of Love in his barn. Paul drinking tea in a disguise on the Noel Edmunds Late Late Breakfast Show, Paul on the Tube and that royal show doing Only Love Remains, The Spies Like Us video, Appearances on Wogan and Saturday Superstore, the 86 and 89 TV specials. McCartney on McCartney on the radio. The All the best promo stuff and Once upon a long ago. His sublime vocal contributions to the otherwise dire Ferry Aid and Hillsborough records. We all Stand Together video and childhood good feeling. Broadstreet and Lonely Nights, Pipes of Peace video. How I thought Press was the best video ever! All of these I have first hand memories of. Paul popping up in Tracy Ulmans video. The incredible My Brave Face and This One singles. The Latest Resort show with Paul signing all JR's Beatle LP's. Paul is stuck in my mind in this time zone. The last few weeks I have been left a little sad that this is not the case. I have been deluded thinking it was. Times, people and everything has changed. I accept that now and things will never be the same again. Time goes so quickly and things are different. You can't reheat a souffle someone once said. Can anyone else admit that they are stuck is a slightly delusional state from the 60's, 70's, 80's, 90's even noughties when things were different and that they are trying somehow to hold on to this time. Just an observation. We can't recreate Beatle Paul, Wings Paul etc. and neither can he.
i certainly cant add anything to your list of memories plastic,because they are mine too..infact im sure we are a similar age...we would have been good friends growing up together!... infact i admit that you have a point..you see the 1980's paul was current for me...'the beatles' was ancient history i was checking out from history books and 'wings' also seemed like a long time ago......i remember watching 'live aid' as a mad keen 12 year old,waiting in all day for paul/not knowing in what guise he would be appearing but being so so dissapointed when he did close the show and spending the next year or so defending his performance [although not his own fault ] to my friends at school who even knew who he was....its funny..fast forward to 3 weeks ago at the olympics and i relived that particular nightmare!...the same sickly feeling entered my stomach as my hero was made to look like a fool infront of the whole planet once again
of course there where different issues but still plenty of similarities. -
I wrote a big long post last night but decided not to put it up......the gist of it was that we have come to that time where we find that it's not only we mere wretched mortals who grow older but our Gods too. We have the great memories of Macca and will hopefully, God willing, have many more because his songwriting ability has not deserted him, but to see that gargantuan talent live in the 1970's in all his pomp, to hear that outstanding vocal performance time after time at the peak of it's powers straddling the music scene like some gigantic behemoth backed by Linda and Wings and then to compare it to the last few weeks.....
.......well, it's soul destroying! The bad performances in the past were down to strains and colds etc....these current vocals are down to age, lack of warm up and not re-arranging the his classic songs to suit his older voice. I'm no expert but it's easy to see the problems and the solutions. Hopefully Paul or someone trusted close to him can direct him towards protecting his legacy and lengthening his live career by changing things, there will be no loss of face in doing that. Like many I don't wish to watch Paul gradually become a figure of ridicule.....a lot of artists/sportsmen have gone on too long because they refuse to face up to the inevitability of life, have refused to implement changes. We may want to see him, we may feel he can still sing live, but he needs to come up with a different set list to allow those determined detractors no my ammunition to destroy the guy with. -
kedame:
You know, not to sound like a broken record, but I'd be happy just to see Paul at all (which I haven't). I don't really give a crap what he plays when I get to see him, as long as I'm there. For those of you who have seen him a million times, I understand you want something new. But I bet the first time you saw Paul you just wanted him to sing whatever, and you were happy with it. I also bet there are those who would be severely disappointed to go to a Paul McCartney show (for maybe the first and only time) and not get to hear Hey Jude or Let it Be. And to explain that "in peace" statement: don't you ever just get tired of reading criticism after criticism? I understand that constructive criticism is healthy and helpful, but I do get tired of all the discussions about his setlist, hair, wobbly voice, etc. I do get it. Not everyone likes the way Paul does things in the present day...and that's okay. You might like him a different way or in a different time, but I like this Paul. I don't care about the hair or the setlist. I wish his voice was as strong as it once was, but I'll take the soft singing of KOTB and the televised performances as it's all I know. I would say think back to the era of Paul where you got interested. What criticisms were there of him then? Was it the bashing of RAM, the reinventing of history after John died? Wasn't it frustrating to read the bad stuff, even if there was a grain of truth in it? The best thing about some of you guys being fans is that you didn't have the internet, where anyone with a keyboard can let loose. You didn't have to put up with the comments about him not being what he used to be by the whole internet...and now you have thicker skin. But this is new to me.
I understand your point perfectly and it is very well-stated and not at all argumentative. I know exactly what you mean.
My favorite Paul is the Ram-era Paul but I also like Paul's 70-year-old voice when he uses it properly, as he did on KOTB and on Electric Arguments. -
I think the reason we seem to bleat on so much is that we are very protective of Macca. It's fair to say that a lot of Paul's die-hard fans frequent this old hovel some, if not all of the time.....or at least until they get banned they do....
We love the bloke and are able to criticise him from our in-depth knowledge of his work and his life. We don't want to dismantle the bloke, we just want to offer advice which hopefully somehow will get through to him and he'll take. We aren't some flighty types posting away on Fakebook or Tw*tter all gushing and sentimental, we really care about his legacy, we don't wish to see it trashed. I think many of us have nightmarish visions of Paul stumbling about, increasingly forlorn, down the long and winding road in the winter of his career muttering to himself 'I used to be a Beatle you know'. I want the bloke to go out eventually in glory not someone who's relegated to a 'has-been' by the never-will-be's. His important contribution to world culture deserves more, much more, than that. As for those who haven't seen him....well, sadly that happens in life. I wanted to see Frank in his prime back in the 50's or 60's, wanted to see Elvis in the mid-50's standing on the back of some wagon entertaining as only he could, I wanted to see Stan and Ollie on their sets cavorting about causing chaos and leaving me felled with tears of laughter running down my finally chiselled cheekbones and the thought of being secreted away beneath the grating when Marilyn's white dress is blown up around her armpits in The Seven Year Itch, or being able to watch closely as Jane Fonda's floats about all naked at the beginning of Barbarella......well, we all have people we'd have like to have seen but life don't always provide us with the opportunity.
