Is Carlos Santana really all that?

[CarneVaca]

Paul McCartney should have retired gracefully years ago. The man hasn't created an interesting piece of music since perhaps a couple of tunes on Tug of War. His Concert for New York appearance was embarrassing. That "Freedom" song was a stinky piece of drivel with words that couldn't have been more vacuous and meaningless. It was an insult to the spirit it meant to honor. And while I'm at it, let me add that I can't stand his arrogant wife.

McCartney was once a great songwriter, and he's undeniably a wonderful musician. But he was always too commercially minded, his music was always a few notches below his partner John's and his ego was always bigger than one of those supertankers that keep crashing into beautiful pristine shorelines. Sometimes, I wonder if John wasn't right when he said, "The only thing you done was Yesterday," or something like that.

Here's an example of McCartney's overblown ego and arrogance: All rock artists have agreements with all kinds of demands from venues for their shows, but here's one for MaCartney, which is among the most demanding I've seen:

http://www.thesmokinggun.com/archive/mccartney1.html

Later, it is discovered that Ivory soap has animal fat content (You really have to click the link to understand the soap reference.)

McCartney, Rod Stewart, Elton John, Clapton and some of these other guys that have been around forever cranking out album after album remind me of the pathetic phase of the Rat Pack: When Dino and the Chairman, and even Elvis, made caricatures of themselves by turning into lounge singers. This is simply the 21st century iteration of the formerly-relevant-artist-turned-pathetic-joke. Also precariously getting close to this characterization is U2, which is especially grievous.

Hey, old farts, get the hell out of the way and retire. Make room for some of these brilliant new bands that don't get any airplay because you and your corporate backing keep cluttering up the airwaves.

Aaaah.... I feel much better now.