Gossip, or Scholarly Pursuit?

[Amy B.]

The "Who.....Cares?" thread got me thinking about something...  I'm not interested in the technical aspect of the music, mostly because I don't understand it. I am interested in the personal stories of the BBs-- their personalities, their actions, their reactions, their motivations, their strengths and flaws. Why? Because it affects their work. It doesn't make sense to me when people say they could care less whether Brian had a fight with Marilyn when he wrote "She Knows Me Too Well," or whatever. To me, it matters, because I want to know if the song was simply Brian putting in a day's work with an album due, or Brian writing with something in his heart.

Scholars talk about Mozart. They speculate about whether he was a womanizer, whether he drank, his sense of humor, his taste in friends, his financial situation. Why? I suppose it's because they want to know the man behind the music, and how his life affected his music. Scholars discuss Lincoln, Franklin, Jefferson, and a whole bunch of others on the same level. Yet, when you're talking about someone who is alive, it's not scholarly-- it's gossip. At what point does gossip pass into the more noble pursuit of studying someone as a historical figure?  I suppose it comes down to respect for the person who is still alive. It's just an interesting dichotomy to me.

[RONDEMON]

I agree. For songs as deep as Brian's are (whether on a musical or personal level) the real-life stories are just as important to my knowledge on the songs. Others' reactions, influence, etc are definitely detrimental to the full experience and wonderment of knowing the history behind the music (no pun intended).
For example, it's well-known "Rhapsody in Blue" was critically panned on it's premiere. This kinda stuff could be considered trivial, but we aren't dissecting the bible or anything...

[brianc]

I'm completely uninterested in their personal lives, unless it has to do with blocking great music from coming out, or unless they are doing something positive for society. Otherwise, people are messed up, they hurt eachother for who knows what reason, and these guys are no different.

[Bicyclerider]

For Brian 66-67, I want to know everything - where he was, what he was doing, who he was with, what he was eating (Reddi whip most of the time I guess), what conflicts or troubles were on his mind.  It all affected the work, or the inability to finish the work, and it's all interesting to me.

[brianc]

Same here, Louis. But then again, I think a lot of us in the '90s approached that mystery as journalists or artists being influenced by "Smile." I was certainly coming from the journlism side, and it peaked my interest in college and early professional life more than any other subject I was pressed to write about.