Heroes, I
He was a man with a big loving and creative Heart. He was a man who created for himself a joyride with Chicago busses and beyond. He was a man of what psychologist Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi has called flow. He was a man of pure genius. He has given me more happiness than any MTV video (or so many other things) ever. I love you like a milkshake, Wesley Willis. Big headbutt for you in the great beyond in your honor and for all of my friends in your spirit here on this side of the Universe!Rock over London, rock on Chicago! Nokia - connecting people!
posted by Tapio Kotkavuori at Wednesday, April 19, 2006
11 Comments:
I couldn't agree with you more !
I was lucky enough to live with Wesley for many years-what a joyride !- Carla Winterbottom
It's always great to come across someone with the same intense love of Wesley Willis as myself. He really was special. Truly a beautiful human being. I had the pleasure of meeting him twice and I'll treasure those memories for the rest of my life. I'd give anything for a Wes-headbutt right now.
I miss ya WES!!!!!
Jeff Warsaw
Though I didn't get to speak to Wesley or meet him, he is a man of some inspiration in my life that I remember fondly. Rock over London, Rock on Turku!
I just don't get it.. Guy screaming grotesque, gradeschool level stupidities on top of automatic synth tunes is not what spells "great", "original" or even "authentic" in my books. He might have been a great personality or whatever, but his music (if you want to call it that) simply and utterly sucks.
Dear Anonymous,
thanks for the comment.
You don't need to "get it", that is all fine :-) There are tons of different kinds of "music" in the world (that generally is labeled as "music") that I don't get. But many others do, and that is fine with me.
When it comes to Wesley, it is his energy, honesty, humor, basic positive attitude throughout (he made also tons of songs about things and people he liked, by the way), and in general it is _the way_ how he did it all.
What counts in life in general so often, is not what you say but the way you say it in a given context, space and time.
For many of us who are tired of general "coolness"-mode in music in its lack of genuine spirit, Wesley is an amazingly fresh perspective to things.
One might be annoyed by the automatic background music and such here, but then one has already missed the point of those "who get it".
In its seeming simplicity, Wesley's music is throwing serious and hard questions about the nature of music and of tons of other stuff.
Wesley created his life enjoyable, no matter how much the general "coolness" mode was against him. It is because of this that I call him a Hero, he had his Vision and followed it with a success that satisfied him (and tons of other people who he inspired).
Wesley rocks like a mountain lion!
Ok, thanks, I think I get it now. At least to some extent. I still don't like his music though. But I bet he wouldn't like mine either.
Now that I come to think of it... the reason why he wouldn't like my music would probably be that he'd think it's too unpersonal. Too much common concept of cool, as you put it, and not enough me in it.
Maybe I have something to learn from Wesley after all.
Dear Anonymous,
thanks for the post.
What kind of music you play?
When it comes to Wesley's taste in music, I've understood that he had a wide range in it. In addition to more underground stuff he enjoyed also mainstream "cool" stuff. Britney Spears, The Rolling Stones, and so forth :-)
that was a great post, but what happend to your other one on idealism? i was looking forward to answering that!
Dear Anonymous,
thanks.
The post on idealism is getting back there later. It was a sort of a draft that I didn't really aim to get into the net.
I've been very busy lately and I guess that my next entry to the blog will appear in a day or two. It is most likely going to be based on the one you probably saw.
Thanks Man, you pegged what his music is about, space and context of what he said, "Rock on like a magikist" is one of the many amazing phrases I have heard in his music, it inspired me to reasearch what a damn Magikist is! lol... Wes will surely be missed...
ROL ROC!
Dear Anonymous,
"Rock on like a magikist", indeed! :)
Check out also my MySpace and music on my friendlist! Some really great stuff there! -
http://www.myspace.com/kotkavuori
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