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Music

Grey but great

Rating: NNNNN


Who Willie Nelson 70 Burt Bacharach 75 Neil Diamond 63 Tom Waits 55 Iggy Pop 56 but looks 76 Leonard Cohen 69 Kris Kristofferson 68
Contributions to Music as we know it Walks the line between country and pop, folk, rock, blues, jazz and rock ’n’ roll, paving the way for new country and the alt-country movement every hipster likes to think s/he discovered. Redefines Brill Building pop with sophisticated melodies and daring arrangements that paved the way for generations of rock, punk, pop and lounge. Sweet Caroline, Red Red Wine and more, including the Monkees’ break-out hit, I’m A Believer Poetry for macho men. Creates common ground between clueless posturing art boys in crushed fedoras and freshly scrubbed first-year female psych majors, no doubt resulting in sexual liaisons. A prototype for skinny guys who can’t sing. His Stooges set the tone for punk as we know it. Making the Byronesque Euro melancholy romantic-poet-as-sex-god image accessible to North American music audiences, inspiring would-be Casanovas in coffee shops everywhere to put pen to paper. Wrote 450 songs, including Janis Joplin’s biggest hit, Me And Bobby McGee, and stars in cool movies like Semi-Tough, Blade and two John Sayles pix.
Covered By X, Ryan Adams, Butthole Surfers, Cake, L7, Johnny Cash Alicia Keyes, Cher, Dionne Warwick, Aretha Franklin, Ted Nugent, Pizzicato Five Korn, Ron Sexsmith, UB40, Phish, Deep Purple, Murder City Devils, Johnny Cash, Smash Mouth Sarah McLachlan, Primus, Neko Case, Meat Loaf, Johnny Cash Lunachicks, 7 Year Bitch, Nick Cave, the Damned Jeff Buckley, the Pixies, Tori Amos, REM, Nick Cave, Johnny Cash, Willie Nelson Aside from Joplin, Supersuckers, Skid Row, Johnny Cash, Jennifer Love Hewitt (!), Calexico
Why he’s still the coolest guy at the seniors’ dance. He handled that IRS kerfuffle with such grace, but those long, lush locks say, “I’m still a wild man.” Plus, he works doggedly for causes like Farm Aid. People Magazine named him one of the sexiest men alive in 2000. Was your dad on that list? I don’t think so. He’s the one in blue jeans. The older and uglier he gets, the hotter he gets. Your mom might be the right age to date him, but she’d still hate him. He’s probably the only Buddhist monk who is also a Companion to the Order of Canada. He’s got brains – he was a Rhodes scholar – and brawn. And have you seen those eyes?

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