more commentary on KC v. JB

doxadive · Post by **doxadive** » February 5, 2005 7:13 pm

I agree a lot with this. there are a couple songs i know of KC's that i enjoy. mostly when ihear him i immediately think of plagarism. kenny 'big chance' is like stephen king trying to write a book in the vain of hiemingway titling it 'an old man and the bay.' jimmy, in my opinionn, branched out in a unique form and has developed a legion of people who want the same things. the dream of life by the sea isnt new and neither is writing about it. beach boys, jan and dean, etc. led the way. but the way it is written is a unique stamp. i think many music stars would have liked to base some of their music in jimmys genre but he never won an award, never had major air play so who would have taken the chance to actually work to build a fan base the way jimmy did. anyway, i could write a lot more on this but no need to, i am sure i will get bashed for writing this. however, read on to others opinions...

Yes I Am a Pirate...400 years too late....

The next few minutes were tense, and by the end of that time I had two new partners and my own marine salvage business. The terms of the deal were not complex, and the spirit was deeply humane.
The captain refused to cooperate at first, screeching hoarsely from the other end of the wreck that he had silent partners in Tampa who would soon come back and kill all of us...
But you hear a lot of talk like that in The Keys, so we ignored him and drank all the beer and hammered out a three-way agreement that would give the captain until sundown to take anything he wanted, and after that the wreck would be ours.
It was the Law of the Sea, they said. Civilization ends at the waterline. Beyond that, we all enter the food chain, and not always right at the top.
The captain seemed to understand, and so did I. He would be lucky to get back to shore with anything at all, and I had come close to getting my throat slit.
It was almost dark when we dropped him off on the dock, where he quickly sold out to a Cuban for $5,000 in cash. Mother ocean had prevailed once again, and I was now in the marine salvage business.

--From Generation of Swine, by Hunter S. Thompson
From CNN.com:

"This ["Be As You Are," Chesney's new album] isn't necessarily a Kenny Chesney country album," said Butch Waugh, executive vice president of RCA Label Group Nashville. "This is a look at Kenny Chesney's life in the islands."
Waugh compares the boldness of the move to "Nebraska," Bruce Springsteen's 1982 album of bleak, demo-quality songs released during one of singer's commercial peaks. At the time, the album puzzled some fans, but today it's regarded as one of Springsteen's finest. In more recent years, Dave Matthews has taken a similar turn.
"You can only do this when you have a fan base that wants to know more about you," Waugh says.
There are many eloquent and sharp words etched into American letters and conscience about the seas South of Florida; but, Chesney's latest effort is more like the chum bucket on the shrimper that is that canon. To equate "Be As You Are" artistically with "Nebraska" is like equating the Mattel company's production of the Barbie Doll with the many castings of the works of Auguste Rodin. If you open the liner notes and begin to count--and believe me, I was conservative about this--by the time you reach the end, you find no less than 8 commercials/product placements in this masterwork of self-discovery and soulsearching. Dont' get me wrong, I'm all for country concept albums, but this disk is neither country, nor a concept album. It's a collection of 13 of the most banal, unoriginal, and slightly plagiarized thoughts on "the Caribbean" that I have ever had the displeasure of subjecting myself to. And make no mistake, after the producer of this steaming turd told me I needed to go watch monkeys ***** in a zoo, I was pretty sure the label wouldn't float me a free copy to review. So I decided to join the human race and PURCHASE a copy. Believe, it's $16 and 3 cents I'll never get back.

If I were Jimmy Buffett, I'd hire an army of lawyers and go after these guys. Don't go buy this record, but, if you have already because some f**** moron named Butch Waugh said it was the equivalent of Springsteen recording "Nebraska," then put yourself through this exercise and load the songs up in your computer's music player like this:

Song List
Old Blue Chair - then - A Pirate Looks at 40, Buffett
Be As You Are - then - A Pirate Looks at 40, Buffett
Guitars and Tiki Bars - then - Changes in Latitudes, Buffett
Island Boy - then - He Went To Paris, Buffett
Somewhere In The Sun
Boston - then - Fins, Buffett
Something Sexy About the Rain - then - Wildfire, Michael Martin Murphy
French Kissing Life - then - Come Monday, Buffett
Key Lime Pie - then - Grapefruit, Juicy Fruit, Buffet
Sherry's Living in Paradise
Magic - then - Don't It Make My Brown Eyes Blue, Crystal Gayle)
Soul of a Sailor - then - A Pirate Looks at 40, Buffett
Old Blue Chair (Ocean Mix)

There's a lot of hints about being an old pirate on this record, but the only thing Chesney and his "writing partners" have pirated is someone else's ideas, if not entire lines, chords, and melodies of music. If this is Chesney letting us know more about him, Buffett ought to get a restraining order, because Chesney obviously thinks he and Mr. Margaritaville are one and the same.

I mean, really, where is the shame? At the end of his liner notes, Chesney offers:

THANKS TO EVERYONE WHO IS INVOLVED IN MY CAREER FOR UNDERSTANDING THAT THIS ALBUM WAS SOMETHING I NEEDED TO DO. THANKS TO EVERYONE AT CRUZAN RUM FOR BEING A PART OF THE RIDE.
In case you're wondering, that's product placement number 8 in this brochure that was most likely sponsored and printed by the Virgin Islands Information Society, disguised as liner notes for an album. Sometimes I have to take a s***, but I don't call all my friends in the bathroom to look at it, and there certainly isn't a sponsor for the viewing.

When Buffett took on his island persona and explored what was "going on" with the whole bit, he wrote about 10 good songs on the topic, 10 fairly original songs that looked into different aspects of "the life," and left it at that. And that's stretching it. To call Chesney's album redundant and repetitive, even within itself, is an insult to the depth, complexity, and beautiful inflection of the words redundant and repetitive. At the end of the day, this record is a self-masturbatory exercise on what it's like to be dumb, but rich enough to have a boat where you can get drunk someplace tropical. Expect this whore to show up at Xcel in a month with banners for Cruzan and Foxy's Firewater Rum all over the arena and Virgin Islands brochures in the lobby, right next to the K102 banners, right next to the cash registers.

sonofabeach · Post by **sonofabeach** » February 5, 2005 7:34 pm

I agree!!!
Don't these other tropical performers know that they are not allowed to write songs about the life they lead?
Jimmy has a copyright on the Caribbean and any songs that mention anything related to it.
The following artists should be sued:
Kenny Chesney, Eddy Raven, Jim Morris, Sunny Jim, Bertie Higgins, Jerry Jeff Walker, Barefoot Man, Gene Mitchell, Eric Stone, Mark Mulligan, and well over a thousand others that I can't think of at the moment.
The nerve of them!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Brown Eyes · Post by **Brown Eyes** » February 5, 2005 8:06 pm

Funny, I know Butch, and never thought of him as a f***ing moron...

VB for Buffett · Post by **VB for Buffett** » February 5, 2005 8:07 pm

doxadive wrote:I agree a lot with this. there are a couple songs i know of KC's that i enjoy. mostly when ihear him i immediately think of plagarism. kenny 'big chance' is like stephen king trying to write a book in the vain of hiemingway titling it 'an old man and the bay.' jimmy, in my opinionn, branched out in a unique form and has developed a legion of people who want the same things. the dream of life by the sea isnt new and neither is writing about it. beach boys, jan and dean, etc. led the way. but the way it is written is a unique stamp. i think many music stars would have liked to base some of their music in jimmys genre but he never won an award, never had major air play so who would have taken the chance to actually work to build a fan base the way jimmy did. anyway, i could write a lot more on this but no need to, i am sure i will get bashed for writing this. however, read on to others opinions...

well said.........

Ilph · Post by **Ilph** » February 5, 2005 11:55 pm

self edit

phinhead · Post by **phinhead** » February 6, 2005 12:21 am

I just wish this topic would go away. I'm soooo tired of reading how nobody, other than Buffett, has the right to sing about the Islands. These Kenny Chesney posts are alot like tv reality shows. As soon as one goes away, another pops up, and they all look, or sound the same. I'm not saying what anyone can, or cannot post, but their have been way too many posts on this same subject. I'm not writing this to upset anyone, and please don't take any of this personal. I'm just writing this out of pure frustration of seeing this same subject over, and over, and over, and...
Later
Phin

Wooohoooo!!!!! Jimmy in 2 weeks!!!!

cowboyjunkie · Post by **cowboyjunkie** » February 6, 2005 2:17 am

Even mentioning Springsteen's "Nebraska" in the same breath as a Chesney cd shows how ignorant the music labels have become. Springsteen's album stands as one of the most important moments in rock and roll. It is an integral piece of rock and roll history in America on the same level as the finest Faulkner novel or the early Robert Johnson recordings.

There is nothing wrong with Chesney releasing this album and everyone has the right to listen to what they like. However, trying to compare Chesney to Buffett or Springsteen is like comparing Britney Spears to Billie Holiday. Justify your tastes all you want but most intelligent music fans will not take you seriously.

shortieblue20 · Post by **shortieblue20** » February 6, 2005 4:47 pm

As being a loyal Jimmy Buffett fan for the last 10 years (I'm only 24) and seen many of his concerts, I will have to disagree with all the Kenny Chesney bashing on this discussion board. Kenny Chesney is one of the best country singers out there and is very entertaining to see. As we all know that Jimmy isn't the youngest fish in the sea, and will not be around forever. Kenny is just simply picking up the pieces, and if I remember correctly, Kenny and Jimmy are friends and enjoy each others music. Everyone will have to face the fact that Kenny Chesney is the next Jimmy Buffett, but in his own way. There is no Kenny vs. Jimmy. One is a legend, one is a up and coming legend, both with great music!!

Buffett and Chesney Fan Out!

BoozeInTheBlender · Post by **BoozeInTheBlender** » February 6, 2005 4:59 pm

sonofabeach wrote:I agree!!!
Don't these other tropical performers know that they are not allowed to write songs about the life they lead?
Jimmy has a copyright on the Caribbean and any songs that mention anything related to it.
The following artists should be sued:
Kenny Chesney, Eddy Raven, Jim Morris, Sunny Jim, Bertie Higgins, Jerry Jeff Walker, Barefoot Man, Gene Mitchell, Eric Stone, Mark Mulligan, and well over a thousand others that I can't think of at the moment.
The nerve of them!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Jerry Jeff Walker??????? Who do you think gave Buffett his first taste if KW, when JJW took him there in the old Packard in the early 70's I would personally like the thank JJW for starting all this! And I'm sure Jimmy would too!

BoozeInTheBlender · Post by **BoozeInTheBlender** » February 6, 2005 5:09 pm

Yes, I am the man who introduced Jimmy Buffett to Key West. I am responsible for all that island junk that he does so well - that golf, Gulf, and Western music. Buffett thought Key West was heaven, man- the boats, the Caribbean. Me, I didn't like that whole steel drum thing. But I'd say it worked out nicely for Buffett.
-- Jerry Jeff Walker

RinglingRingling · Post by **RinglingRingling** » February 6, 2005 5:53 pm

shortieblue20 wrote:As being a loyal Jimmy Buffett fan for the last 10 years (I'm only 24) and seen many of his concerts, I will have to disagree with all the Kenny Chesney bashing on this discussion board. Kenny Chesney is one of the best country singers out there and is very entertaining to see. As we all know that Jimmy isn't the youngest fish in the sea, and will not be around forever. Kenny is just simply picking up the pieces, and if I remember correctly, Kenny and Jimmy are friends and enjoy each others music. Everyone will have to face the fact that Kenny Chesney is the next Jimmy Buffett, but in his own way. There is no Kenny vs. Jimmy. One is a legend, one is a up and coming legend, both with great music!!

Buffett and Chesney Fan Out!

Funny, this is what they said about Garth Brooks when he came up.. and he seems to have been relegated to the bargain bin.. I have a feeling Chesney is going to be gone with the cash he makes long before he becomes "a legend", much less before 20 years have passed.

Ilph · Post by **Ilph** » February 6, 2005 11:15 pm

There is a huge differenece between Kenny Chesney and Garth Brooks. Garth Brooks (like it or not) redefined the genre and brought country music to a new level. Kenny Chesney will not do this.

Brown Eyes · Post by **Brown Eyes** » February 6, 2005 11:27 pm

Don't y'all be dissing Garth, or I'll put my pointy toed boots on and come kick your ass.

Joni Tyring · Post by **Joni Tyring** » February 6, 2005 11:42 pm

I agree everyday is a new adventure

tropicalfever · Post by **tropicalfever** » February 7, 2005 1:03 am

phinhead wrote:I just wish this topic would go away. I'm soooo tired of reading how nobody, other than Buffett, has the right to sing about the Islands. These Kenny Chesney posts are alot like tv reality shows. As soon as one goes away, another pops up, and they all look, or sound the same. I'm not saying what anyone can, or cannot post, but their have been way too many posts on this same subject. I'm not writing this to cause to upset anyone, and please don't take any of this personal. I'm just writing this out of pure frustration of seeing this same subject over, and over, and over, and...
Later
Phin

Wooohoooo!!!!! Jimmy in 2 weeks!!!!

Well said and I can't wait for may 14 when chesney comes to dallas and what ever date buffett comes to town.

VaPHead · Post by **VaPHead** » February 7, 2005 9:36 am

I have been a Buffett fan for many years. I have seen a lot of his concerts. I do realize that Jimmy is not as young as he used to be. Although I will attend as many concerts as possible until the black day when he decides to hang his hat up. I believe that Kenny is trying to work his way in to that type of market. I think that he is trying to pick up the Parrotheads that will still need to attend concerts once Jimmy decides he wants to call it quits. I also believe that Kenny enjoys this type music. So, why shouldn't he give it a shot? I am not saying that Kenny could replace Jimmy in anyway. I am just saying that if you like Kenny's music about the islands. What does it matter?

Jahfin · Post by **Jahfin** » February 7, 2005 10:18 am

Ilph wrote:There is a huge differenece between Kenny Chesney and Garth Brooks. Garth Brooks (like it or not) redefined the genre and brought country music to a new level. Kenny Chesney will not do this.

I think all Garth Brooks is responsible for its watering down what was once thought of as country music enough to make it palatable to the masses. Oh and to see how many records he could sell in the name of greed.

diver down · Post by **diver down** » February 7, 2005 10:20 am

ok guys, get off this subject. i am so tired of the kenny bashing around here. i have been a buffett fan for a long long time (20 plus years). why cant others sing about the islands and the fun they have down there. last time i checked this is america and you are free to do as you like. have you guys looked back and read what you are saying, you sound like a bunch a 2nd graders to me. hey, if you dont like it, dont listen to it. life is to short to complain all the time, get over it already!!!!

GB

a1aara · Post by **a1aara** » February 7, 2005 10:24 am

diver down wrote:ok guys, get off this subject. i am so tired of the kenny bashing around here. i have been a buffett fan for a long long time (20 plus years). why cant others sing about the islands and the fun they have down there. last time i checked this is america and you are free to do as you like. have you guys looked back and read what you are saying, you sound like a bunch a 2nd graders to me. hey, if you dont like it, dont listen to it. life is to short to complain all the time, get over it already!!!!

GB

Why can't Cheney fans accept the fact that not everyone likes Chesney?

LIPH · Post by **LIPH** » February 7, 2005 10:28 am

Why can't people who don't like him accept the fact that a lot of people do?

Personally, I have no opinion. I've only heard a couple of his songs, we don't have a country radio station in NYC or on LI, I don't get CMT on my cable system and I don't own any of his CDs.

BuffettNews.com

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