... or that brilliant music theory is instinctive to Sting and Sting doesn't look at it that way?
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Why I lost a bit of respect for Sting (Rick Beato Interview)
- Thread starter tb-player
- Start date
... or that brilliant music theory is instinctive to Sting and Sting doesn't look at it that way?
Many, many years ago I had an email conversation with one of my heroes, and it wasn't bad. No arrogance, just a different plane of existence. I did get some useful tips out of it, though. But then I doubt Sting would have responded to my emails. I exchanged a few emails with Tony Levin too, and he was really gracious. I even got on really well with Carol Kaye, although I never told her I hate playing with a pick.
Probably due to the income differential...
He did, but it's common for people to hate on anyone who is successful. There's a certain amount of pain involved in watching someone who is accomplished acknowledge that they accomplished something. People deflect their feelings of inadequacy by labeling that in a negative way.Did he not credit them in the interview?
In my case the person made a comment on a email list, back when the internet was relatively young (mid 1990s), and I simply emailed back to ask for more information and got into a short conversation with them. It ran its course because it was a bit over my head. Using email bypassed the standard assistant-curated methods back then, although I don't think it was someone who got a lot of fan mail back then. It was occasionally possible to talk directly to relatively big stars.
I don't know if anybody mentioned it, but Sting wrote memoir that I think was quite telling. He came from a pretty provincial working class background. He got good at music early, teaching himself to read with Mel Bay books and he eventually worked as a pit musician at a local theater where they opened for acts from Jimi Hendrix to Return to Forever. Although he tested well, he was not confident in his chances in college and did not go until working as a ditch digger, an older co-worker told him he better take advantage of his test scores, and get educated. I wonder if the confident/cocky and urbane Sting is simply a persona he created as he saw musical success. For perspective, he was quite close to thirty when The Police became a hit.
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He's right. Bachs use of harmony and note placement is up there with Jamerson...or is it the other way around?
Well I will totally agree with that. And he has a lot more talent too
Peter Drake teacher Hexham USA
I need to get another copy because it was a good book. I think Americans forget how much less diverse the UK is relative to America. Last I heard, the nation is 2% Black, and that means many places are probably still nearly all white. This was much more so the case when Sting was a youth. He said that Jimi Hendrix was the first Black person he ever saw in the flesh, and he was likely 17-19 years old at the time.
Off topic: my wife bought me the Dave Grohl memoir for Christmas. I need to get deeper in it today before classes start again on Monday.
Really? I don't see what race has to do with this thread but I think you need to go to the UK and see for yourself about some places being all white, there are places in the US that are all white. The UK is an incredibly divers country and the US pales in comparison. Sting was raised in a town called North Shields a town not far from Newcastle on the river Tyne, A working class industrial city with coal mining and ship building as the primary industry. Yes a predominantly Anglo-Saxon population but there were certainly many other peoples of the world there due to the global British colonies and from other parts of Europe. Newcastle was a major industrial hub and an important harbour for trade so lots of diversity there, more than likely Hendrix was the first black American he has ever seen or he simply didn't get out much as a young lad.View attachment 4532660
I need to get another copy because it was a good book. I think Americans forget how much less diverse the UK is relative to America. Last I heard, the nation is 2% Black, and that means many places are probably still nearly all white. This was much more so the case when Sting was a youth. He said that Jimi Hendrix was the first Black person he ever saw in the flesh, and he was likely 17-19 years old at the time.
Off topic: my wife bought me the Dave Grohl memoir for Christmas. I need to get deeper in it today before classes start again on Monday.
I have been to the UK five times all total, and I did research at the university in Durham, pretty close to Newcastle, back in the 1990's.
I simply quoted a story Sting mentioned in his memoir. I am not putting your country down. I simply contrasted British demographics with those of the USA. In Texas, Florida, and Georgia alone, there are about 13,000,000 Black people, and since the last decade, Blacks are only the second largest minority, after Latinos. Your country has some very large communities of color, but not on the scale of America. Your country was even less racially diverse fifty plus years ago, when Sting saw Hendrix.
As I said before, I shared a story Sting told in his book, and this is a thread about Sting. I mentioned the book because I felt it showed Sting before he had his major success, and he did not come off cocky at all in it.
Well my family is from Durham and I know the north of England very well, but I still don't see what this has to do with Sting, I understand you are quoting him but why even throw race into this at all. You Americans seem to love the race thing and it seems to be the topic of the day over there but it really has no place in this thread. I am sure you could have quoted a myriad of other things from the book that would have complemented this thread quite a bit better than the racial diversity (or lack thereof) in the north of England in the late 60's. In other words what does your post have to do with this subject other than throw race into the ring? What is the point?
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If you are offended, I cannot help you. It was something that stuck with me from the book. The fact I am Black surely played a big part in that, and I a have right to mention things from books that strike a chord with me. I also thought it was more relevant to music than Sting recalling his pubescent efforts at self abuse (I guess you Brits still use that term?)
You have made it clear that you see my post as irrelevant while I stand by my feeling that it is relevant. Unless you want to continue drawing attention to something you see as needless, this should be the end of our interaction on this subject.
It's fine, I don't get offended. Your posting was indeed irrelevant but perhaps even more so out of place and in bad taste. You pushed your racial narrative "after" quoting Stings book and I have called you on it. You have the right to mention anything you like but choose your place and time wisely as this is not a suitable platform for the subject and yes this is where it ends.
A mention of demographic differences is not a narrative. It is a fact.
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I loved the Police back in the day but Sting to me was just another guy in another band.
Never cared for his solo stuff.
Don't know him, don't play in a band with him so I could care less about what kind of person he is.
I don't know much about theory but stumbled across Beato on YouTube and have learned some things that have expanded my music knowledge.
Is Rick a jerk? Dunno, don't care. I take what I need and leave the rest.
I watched the interview and found it interesting and entertaining.
How they carry on is not my concern. They are just people. Nothing more…. nothing less.
Never cared for his solo stuff.
Don't know him, don't play in a band with him so I could care less about what kind of person he is.
I don't know much about theory but stumbled across Beato on YouTube and have learned some things that have expanded my music knowledge.
Is Rick a jerk? Dunno, don't care. I take what I need and leave the rest.
I watched the interview and found it interesting and entertaining.
How they carry on is not my concern. They are just people. Nothing more…. nothing less.
I haven't watched the Beato interview, but my wife gave me Sting's 2003 "Broken Music" autobiography this Christmas. I felt like he honestly examined a number of his less than charming personality traits there (albeit more in the context of personal than musical relationships). Definitely made me want to check out Andy & Stewart's autobiogs.
Reading the book inspired me to pull out the classic Police albums I grew up with in the '80s. Sting may have a gargantuan ego IRL, but I find his Police basslines to be remarkably egoless - bass notes only appear where they work for the song and never get in the way of the vocal or the drums and guitar. Almost always in a groove with few fills, great tone, and total commitment to serving the music.
I just picked that book up on Audible. I'm really curious to listen to it. (side note: Foo Fighters are touring again. I'd love to see them! Dave's a total legend and Nate Mendel is solid).Off topic: my wife bought me the Dave Grohl memoir for Christmas. I need to get deeper in it today before classes start again on Monday.
I finally watched about 15 minutes of the video, which was about all I could take and that was less Sting than Beato whom I usually like. Sting did not come off nearly as bad as I expected which was mostly based on hearsay I have to admit and I came away with some newfound respect for him.
