Joe Walsh on Howard Stern this morning (06-04-12)

[jellyman10]

Originally Posted by HejiraNYC

The common theme here seems to be drugs. My *theory* is that, in the process of recovery, addicts take inventory of the people in their lives and determine who to keep and who to toss out. In the trash heap, theoretically, would be the enablers, the hangers-on, the triggers, etc. who can be perilous to one's recovery. In addition, there are those who have witnessed the addict's rock bottom, which can be a very, very dark place. Perhaps Joe has some kind of lingering resentment for Stevie because she was an enabler or she just couldn't/wouldn't save him from himself; after all, Stevie herself pretty much said that their addictions were spiraling out of control together. And who knows what Stevie witnessed when Joe was scraping along the bottom; perhaps he is so mortified by his own behavior that he has effectively blocked that period of time out of his mind. I suspect something similar must be going down with James Taylor...

Wow, I never even thought of that. But it makes a lot of sense, especially if it's possible that Stevie's recovery is/was fundamentally more robust than his? Because that would give Walsh a motive to want to ensure she didn't threaten to become part of his life again. I mean, if I think about what I'm like when I see people I played in bands with in my twenties, but whom I don't see regularly - mostly what we talk about are our 'war stories' of partying. So I can see how that could be a very serious reason to not want contact or even to give headspace to someone you associate with a time like that.

I still think it's vindictive, though, to not even say something blandly complimentary about her songwriting. He would know that that's hitting her where she lives.

One thing I noticed on re-reading is that he called her 'a soulmate'. Just gets curiouser.

Thanks, Hejira.