Got Truth On My Mind |
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slater
New Member Joined: July 06 2005 Online Status: Offline Posts: 1 |
Quote Reply
Topic: Got Truth On My Mind Posted: July 06 2005 at 2:56pm |
One of the realities of life is that what goes around comes around. This concept is played out in almost every religious text and in every culture around the planet. I've known and worked with Madi for years, off and on. She is a lovely soul, but with many demons. I was on the receiving end of those demons when I worked with her, and it's a shame, since she's one of the greatest singers I've ever heard. I don't know Will apart from his playing, but everything he's said is consistent with the Madi I know. Her biggest problem is that she's a terrible bandleader and has a difficult time translating a coherent concept to a band. She needs to be guided. I'm sad that she's always been paired with jive people like Yves Beauvais, and pop-minded people like Klein. Obviously, her records are successful, but I think she could do something outside this poppy-jazz realm that would propel her higher. But aside from all that, just know that Madi has a terrible rep amongst musicians in New York. She's screwed over practically everyone she's worked with, yet no one disputes her talent. When she sings, all is OK in the world. But the other stuff makes it a drag to be around her. It's no surprise she fell off the map after Dreamland. I heard her curse out interviewers, saw her publicly humiliate promoters onstage, and other things I won't even get into. I did some gigs with her at the beginning of the GYOMM thing, and I knew the deal from the get-go. Of course, the personal element of it all didn't help. But since all that, Will's rep has only gotten better, because even if people don't know him, they know Madi, and to a person, no musician believes Madi is anything other than in the wrong in this matter. Madi has sown a lot of bad stuff, and I'm afraid that all the record sales in the world aren't going to absolve her from them. All I hope is that she takes her lumps, as we all have, and learns from this and becomes a better person. If she can become half the good person that she is a singer, she'll qualify for sainthood. |
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Byron
New Member Joined: June 28 2005 Location: United States Online Status: Offline Posts: 23 |
Quote Reply Posted: July 06 2005 at 4:03pm |
The woman I know would stand by her family in a time of crisis at the expense of a career jump. And could pump so much faith into a soul at low ebb that the energy of it still continues.. And thats all of my personal knowledge I wish to disclose. A wonderful singer, and a lot more.
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Geoff
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Amelie
Groupie Joined: July 06 2005 Online Status: Offline Posts: 15 |
Quote Reply Posted: July 06 2005 at 4:56pm |
Slater. In idiomatic english "to slate" someone is to deride, to slander, to
"diss" someone, to talk badly about them. Well Slater - you well and truly slated her. I am wandering what your intent is here. Was it really to reveal truth? What is truth anyway? Or was it to get something off of your own chest in some way to get a little vengence for being on the receiving end of what you term as Madi's demons. You certainly shared some of your own perspectives - which are valid as far as they go - but let's face it at the end of the day they are your perspectives. Sure Madeliene has her demons, don't we all? AND yes I am sure she had made mistakes along the way, at times treated people in a manner which isn't so great. Again haven't we all? Unfortunately, the price (and the dividend) of success in the music industry is fame. And the price of fame is that everyone wants a little piece of you. Worse still everyone feels they have the right to put every aspect of your life under a microscope. The pressures must be immense. Very few of us will ever know what this is like. AND yet we are so cavalier in adding to those pressures by gossip, speculation and an insatiable apetite to want to know more. I am a great fan of Madeleine's and as a result regularly follow this website BUT I have been endlessly perplexed by the righteousness with which some members feel that they can demand to know all. As if it is a right. We commodotise the individual that we actually seek to support. Frankly I have been impressed with the manner in which Madeleine has refrained from getting embroiled in the dialogue which has unravelled in this forum. She has quite rightly remained above it not fuelling the fire and has followed due legal process. I am not doubting that some of the things you say have a basis, but, as we all know - we all are multi-dimensional beings and have many characteristics. Here you are only illuminating a fraction of Madeleine's character and as Byron's comments attest - she has a profound character and is clearly a committed and passionate young woman - who has placed her family above her career. You say that Madeleine has "a terrible rep among muscians... and that no musician believes that Madi is anything in the wrong" - can you really say this. While you may have been aware of the deal from the "get go" - you are not party to the ongoing private conversations since then or the details of other contractual agreements etc.. So are you really in a position to make these claims? William has been extremely vocal in presenting his case, but, he can hardly be called objective. Madeliene may have sown some bad stuff, however, I come back to my original point - haven't we all at some point? More to point Madeliene has also sown some really beautiful and wonderful stuff both in her personal life and professionally. I for sure am for every thankful for the little bit of beauty she has brought into my life through sharing her talent. I have listened to her interviews and in this forum we have a whole host of people who talk of a soul that has great integrity and is a joy and pleasure to be around. Even William does not attempt to deride Madeleine in the way you have - you must have an axe to grind! Perhaps, as Madeleine matures and she stays committed to the things she believes in - she will address and vanquish some of those demons and maybe then will qualify for that sainthood you talk about. | |
baranroma
New Member Joined: March 24 2005 Online Status: Offline Posts: 7 |
Quote Reply Posted: July 07 2005 at 4:08pm |
Just because Madi is a ‘great’ talent, why on earth do
you think it just to promote her to sainthood? (Poor girl, what a responsibility) By all accounts even Mozart himself was a right pain in the arse…yet no-one, at least no-one with any intelligence, thinks any less of his music for it. The trappings of public adoration; Unfortunately those that go for it (and those that adore them) need to accept the fact that their private life (and public appearances) WILL be put under a microscope—that’s just the reality of the world we live in (and the pay off for fame). I presume Madi is not so naïve that she feels she is immune from the same sort of scrutiny that confronts anyone in the public eye….or otherwise she would still be doing her thing on the streets. Edited by baranroma |
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Amelie
Groupie Joined: July 06 2005 Online Status: Offline Posts: 15 |
Quote Reply Posted: July 07 2005 at 4:39pm |
I am far from suggesting Madi should be promoted to sainthood. My comment was "toungue in cheek" simply using Slater's language and my comment was laced with irony. I do see how what I said could be misinterpreted.
What I am saying is that we are all multi-dimensional people, with both negative and positive aspects to our personalties (thank god) And this is what makes us human. I don't think that this site should be a place only for adoration. It should be a forum for debate and critique and there is merit in discussing every aspect of a performers music and their music. But, I do believe in fairness and presenting a balanced view. Don't you? |
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Byron
New Member Joined: June 28 2005 Location: United States Online Status: Offline Posts: 23 |
Quote Reply Posted: July 07 2005 at 8:05pm |
Well put Amelie. And a good direction for this forum. Safe vibes go out to Madi, traveling in France and England.in these dangerous times!
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Geoff
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baranroma
New Member Joined: March 24 2005 Online Status: Offline Posts: 7 |
Quote Reply Posted: July 08 2005 at 4:49am |
To answer you question Amelie, yes I do. But I also
believe in a thing called reason. And it’s perfectly reasonable to think, if not proven countless times, that ‘talent’ does not necessarily go hand in hand with ‘niceness’. William and Slater (and a couple of other early posters) say they are speaking from personal experience so I think I’ll take their word over an ‘oh but aren’t we all’ (actually we are not) counter-argument in the name of ‘fairness’. But they aren’t going to make me enjoy Madi’s music less—nor anyone with talent on the receiving end of personal criticism who, by choice, plays in the public arena. |
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Byron
New Member Joined: June 28 2005 Location: United States Online Status: Offline Posts: 23 |
Quote Reply Posted: July 08 2005 at 5:42am |
I've been speaking from personal experience , also. So you might want to re-check my postings.
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Geoff
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willgalison
New Member Joined: April 22 2005 Location: United States Online Status: Offline Posts: 25 |
Quote Reply Posted: July 08 2005 at 3:38pm |
Dear Friends,
Although I am the person most affected by Madeleine’s actions, I fully recognize that these actions pale in comparison to crimes and injustices that devastate people’s lives every day. However there is a common denominator shared by these acts, regardless of their severity: Their perpetrators are people who are unwilling to take responsibility for there actions and to redeem themselves- who will pursue their ends despite the harm they cause others. Rounder, Greenberg and Madi have likely spent hundreds of thousands of dollars to avoid the consequences of their actions. Where would they stop? Suzelliott’s post shows how destructive these actions can be to battered women. Anyone with brains can see that their actions damage small record companies and independent artists. Despite Geoff’s naive idealism, the only thing that will stop these people is our flawed court system. By the end of this protracted, humiliating and expensive legal process, the same facts that I have asserted for the past two years will be confirmed by a jury and become a permanent mark on the reputations of Madeleine, Rounder and their colleagues, There are fans of Madi who would believe she was innocent of any wrong doing even if she confesses to it. There are still people who maintain that OJ Simpson was innocent or that global warming does not exist. These people are “true believers” who place the myths that comfort them before the facts that stare them in the face. As the saying goes, “you are entitled to your own opinion but not to your own facts.” The facts are plain and available and essentially unchallenged. Madi’s colleagues largely don’t deny the allegations against them - they merely say that their actions are technically not illegal. For example, one of Greenberg’s defenses against the libel charge is that even if his accusations of physical abuse are untrue, they cannot damage my reputation because it is already so bad. Okay. but I must be a damn good harmonica player if Barbra Streisand risks her life to work with me. This is why Madeleine and her thuggish companions can’t say a thing about this case publically. Their explanations may fly in legal court, but they won’t fly in the court of public opinion and common sense. I agree with “slater”: what goes around comes around, Karma is subtle, and often takes its time, but “as you sow, so shall you reap” wasn’t uttered by a complete fool. Regardless of the outcome of the trial, Madeleine will have to live with the knowledge of how she harmed others and “sold her soul” to further her career. The tragedy is that Madi didn't have to sell her soul to become a star. Had she been honest and loyal and decent, her talent would have been at least as celebrated and she wouldn't be going through this legal and emotional nightmare. Madeleine’s “friends” who blindly support her in this situation are not friends at all. They have some other agenda and are willing to see Madi go over the waterfall with Greenberg and his gang. The people who reach out to Madi to guide her wisely are her true friends whether she likes them or not. I am proud to be in that category, along with “slater”. It is possible to admire Madeleine as a singer, love her as a person, and still acknowledge that she has done truly reprehensible things. The key is to have faith that a person will grow and learn. I have lots of faith in Madi, but little for Greenberg and Herbst and the owners of Rounder. These guys are hard-boiled. |
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Amelie
Groupie Joined: July 06 2005 Online Status: Offline Posts: 15 |
Quote Reply Posted: July 08 2005 at 6:34pm |
William
I have total respect for you as a muscian. I love gyomm. I sympathise with your position, I recognise that in your view you are fighting the good fight. I respect the fact that in all of this - as you are trying desperately to represent your own case, get what you want and to battle against corporate giants - you have tried as far as you can to preserve in some distored way your respect for Madi. You have tried to show your continuing faith for her and seperate out in this battle the difference between her and rounder, however, you have revealed details you should never have revealed. AND as for mentioning your own law suit and the actions of rounder / herbst / lawyers etc in the same sentence as the actions of terrorists is beyond ridicule and verges on idiotic. How you can compare terrorist activities with the actions of lawyers and record companies which are simply trying to have exclusive promotion rights of the Madeleine Brand - which happens all the time in the music industry, is beyond me. It is cheap and sensationalist - poor show William. I thought you were more intelligent than this. Isn't it, also, a little presumptous to say Madi's friends in supporting her are not friends. Maybe here you were just referring to the lawyers and Rounder - but how can you say this. I guess your logic here is that your own friends supporting you in this debacle are good friends, but, Madeleine's are not - because you are right ? Is that it? Well that is an interpretation. We create our own realities and truth is relative - defined by our specific perspectives. If Slater is a true friend - why the need to so publicly air the dirt. What is the objective in this? You can acknowledge that your friends have done some reprehensible friends and in seeking to guide them advise and be frank BUT publicly denouncing somone helps no one unless you want to see someone fall. Friends let their friends fall BUT not in public - you sheild and protect and help. I am sorry, Slater may well have been balanced in recognising Madeleine's talent, but, his personal tirade - were not the words of a friend. William when I read the opening of your post I actually thought you may have said, something to the effect of due the events in London - you realise that your own legal battles pale into insignificance in the face of such barbaric acts and to gracefull bow out and stop these plaintive posts. BUT no ... and then you post personal correspondence between you and Madeleine. Will you stop at nothing here? As a muscian I support and delight in your work. I have very easily bought GYOMM and have given it to friends as gifts. I have no problem getting hold of it. If I can buy it easily - how blocked can it be. I will continue to promote in my own little way this little gem of a recording - however, I really don't want to have to be party to the ongoing wranglings that you keep exposing us to. Nor do I think it appropriate or particularly noble to continue to through mud in the manner that you have. I sincerely wish you all of the very best in your career as I do Madeleine and I sincerely hope that you are able to resolve this issue in a manner that does not end up damaging you both. Let the music play on. Warmly, Amelie Incidentally, if you had read my post carefully you will see that I did not say "haven't we all done what Madeleine has done?" I said "AND yes I am sure she had made mistakes along the way, at times treated people in a manner which isn't so great. Again |
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