Dang. TalkBass really needs a sarcasm font. Some of you folks are WAY too serious.
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Why I lost a bit of respect for Sting (Rick Beato Interview)
- Thread starter tb-player
- Start date
He has never been known as Mr Humble, even years ago he was known for being VERY impressed by himself and it's kind of obvious. It's to the point I haven't really really listened to much of anything by him for years and I don't usually do that, I try to separate artists' personal lives from their work, him? Can't do it.
He even acquired an early P bass 20-25 years ago and it has become like an iconic bass for him but most of his best known stuff was done with late 70's P basses and he does nothing to discourage younger people from thinking he was born with it.
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Yeah, playing and singing some of the old Police material is a lot tougher than you'd think. Like this:
I watched a bit of the interview, but I don't find Sting interesting enough as a musician or engaging enough as a musician to watch the whole thing.
I didn't think Gordon came off too badly. He was a bit standoffish at first but seemed to warm up once he realised that Beato is a serious music guy, though he didn't really engage too deeply on theory, perhaps subconsciously in an effort to preserve a sense of mystique about how he works.
Regarding his accent, I'd heard throughout my life that he had made efforts to conceal his true accent, though I've never cared enough about him to look up a video or recording of this. I wouldn't say he sounds at all "working class", as another poster put it, but he does clearly sound like someone who has spent a lot of time in Newcastle.
He is well-spoken, with crisp enunciation and an even pace and volume of speech, but his pronunciation of words gives away his Geordie heritage. He doesn't sound that different to some of the middle class folks of the North East that I know. He definitely does sound a long way away from a working class Geordie.
I didn't think Gordon came off too badly. He was a bit standoffish at first but seemed to warm up once he realised that Beato is a serious music guy, though he didn't really engage too deeply on theory, perhaps subconsciously in an effort to preserve a sense of mystique about how he works.
Regarding his accent, I'd heard throughout my life that he had made efforts to conceal his true accent, though I've never cared enough about him to look up a video or recording of this. I wouldn't say he sounds at all "working class", as another poster put it, but he does clearly sound like someone who has spent a lot of time in Newcastle.
He is well-spoken, with crisp enunciation and an even pace and volume of speech, but his pronunciation of words gives away his Geordie heritage. He doesn't sound that different to some of the middle class folks of the North East that I know. He definitely does sound a long way away from a working class Geordie.
My grandfather had such a strongly working-class Geordie accent to the extent I had problems understanding him at times (no offence meant to people from the North East). Sting has moved away from that, assuming he ever had it. He doesn't sound much different to the heyday of The Police, though.
But...that's just hear say ...unless you post teh actual interview...(sorry, I can get pedantic with these kinds of things
)Here an interview where Sting recounts hsi first encounter with MD including the recording of You're under arrest...
<>
He was lovely both times we played with him. First time he was mostly interested in the football on the dressing room TV, but so were we so that's fair; the match went into extra time and he made a joke about us playing a second set so he could watch the end. Second show he was much more personable and came to find us after the set to have a chat and get a photo. My singer asked him how long he'd been out on tour (as you tend to do when you are far enough into a run to start missing real beds and food) and he paused to think before answering "Sometime in 1978". I suspect his style of touring was slightly less gruelling than ours.
We didn't get to watch much of him either show due to travel times but did catch both soundchecks; they ran a couple of new tunes and he was being very particular about the arrangements so they really drilled down into one transition and repeated it till he was happy. The band took it in stride and he was a pretty shrewd communicator about what he wanted so I got the impression that was the general tour vibe rather than just him being picky that night. In any case they sounded incredible and the road crew were lovely to us. I was mainly concerned about Josh Freese being there (because Devo and Replacements) which sort of overshadowed the whole STING IS HERE thing for me to be totally honest.
I believe we were meant to be doing more shows with him but our schedule could only fit the two in which turned out to be lucky as he had to cancel most of the run due to voice issues.
We didn't get to watch much of him either show due to travel times but did catch both soundchecks; they ran a couple of new tunes and he was being very particular about the arrangements so they really drilled down into one transition and repeated it till he was happy. The band took it in stride and he was a pretty shrewd communicator about what he wanted so I got the impression that was the general tour vibe rather than just him being picky that night. In any case they sounded incredible and the road crew were lovely to us. I was mainly concerned about Josh Freese being there (because Devo and Replacements) which sort of overshadowed the whole STING IS HERE thing for me to be totally honest.
I believe we were meant to be doing more shows with him but our schedule could only fit the two in which turned out to be lucky as he had to cancel most of the run due to voice issues.
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Based on this thread, I went into watching the interview with certain expectations. I didn't find Sting to be all that irritating although that version of every little thing was a bit cringe. I chuckled at the bewildered look on Stings face as Beato explained the theory behind his writing. I believe Sting when he says he just goes with his intuition. I've used the word intuitive to describe The Police before. No one before or after sounds quite like them and I don't think you get songs like that theoretically mapping chord changes and structures. (IMHO)
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Sting all but said "Why aye, man, I just write some tunes, like"
Stewart Copeland talks about this as well. He finds it amusing that his work is exhaustively analyzed, while almost all of the drum tracks were 1st or 2nd takes, written by impulse rather than design.
Of course he did. Michael Henderson says:
"I was working with Stevie Wonder and we were playing in New York. The Temptations were there. After the set Miles walked up to the dressing room and he told Stevie Wonder 'I'm taking your bass player!' I didn't think anything of it because I didn't know who Miles was at the time.... until I told a friend in Detroit that Miles Davis wanted to me to work for him, and my friend said 'You fool, you better run!' So I called Miles and he said, 'I'll pay you good. Here's a plane ticket to New York.'"
Sometimes what goes around, comes around.
If you watch that interview and get that Sting has an oversized ego, you wanted to see that going in. He over and over credits other musicians in the songwriting process, credits the momentum of the Police in launching his solo career, etc.
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Ric5
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- Jan 29, 2008
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Sting is really super arrogant, but arrogance is a function of knowing you're really good at something. I suppose that's what you get when you wrote the most played track on radio, worldwide, since radio began - "Every Breath You Take".
If I'd written that, I too would probably be an insufferable a**hole, and I doubt that I would even care about anybody else's opinion. The man is a genius, with a talent for that elusive hook and groove, who wrote or co-wrote some of the most memorable moments of the soundtrack to an entire decade, and at least he's stayed faithful to his wife for 30 years. Now do Clapton.
He's an elite musician AND song writer, and he knows it. I don't see anything wrong with that. Learning to love yourself is an essential part of living a happy and peaceful life.
If I'd written that, I too would probably be an insufferable a**hole, and I doubt that I would even care about anybody else's opinion. The man is a genius, with a talent for that elusive hook and groove, who wrote or co-wrote some of the most memorable moments of the soundtrack to an entire decade, and at least he's stayed faithful to his wife for 30 years. Now do Clapton.
He's an elite musician AND song writer, and he knows it. I don't see anything wrong with that. Learning to love yourself is an essential part of living a happy and peaceful life.
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