No drug charges for Amy Winehouse

[laughingwillow]

LOL I kinda forgot about the olsen twins making their way into this conversation.

lw

[Syd]

The Olsen twins don't count, they are a media creation, not world class artists, and didn't one of them have a serious eating disorder?

Not to mention the drug problems.

[laughingwillow]

Man, I need to read the tabloids more!

lw

[Stonehenge]

If you don't like calling it a "character flaw", call it something else. What difference does it make? My basic point is that people create their lives by the choices they make. No one makes them do those things, they do them for their own reasons. The junkie who gets off the stuff or drunk who gets dry did it because they decided to do it. Most of you seem to be saying 'poor little Amy' because she has all that nasty wealth and fame which we all know is a terrible burden.

"And whose idea was it to rush her from rehab to a concert in front of 90,000 people??"

Another variation on the theme of "it's not her fault" No one put cuffs on her and dragged her there or put the pipe in her mouth. Sal, you seem to wonder why I'm down on her. Didn't you have 1000 chances to go back to addictive substances since you quit? Couldn't you have made up dozens of good sounding excuses? When you are down and life keeps handing you more and more bad breaks, that's when its easy to slip and go back. When you don't have to worry about the rent, food, transportation etc, it's much much easier. No one made her do whatever it was that put her in the shape the fans saw in that last concert. No one forced her to be late or sing with a cracked voice (pun intended). It was all her own choice.

Rehab takes away the withdrawal symptoms but it can't make you decide to quit and straighten out your life. You have to decide that for yourself. When you do things that are clearly your own choice and legions of fans say in various ways "it's not her fault" then they are co-enablers to her problem. They are not helping.

Some addicts go into rehab or detox just so they will get a better high and enjoy it more when they get out. They were planning to do that the whole time they were in. A few do it because the substances got too expensive and a lower tolerance makes it cheaper. Make all the excuses you want, it's still her choice.

The Olsen twins "don't count" JRL, you flip flop on your logic from one post to the other. First it's money and fame at a young age is so very difficult. Then it's something else. It always comes back to some variation of it's not her fault. It is her fault and only she can fix it.

[laughingwillow]

Talk about flip-flop and an inability to stay on topic. This thread is about the problems of a recording artist. The music bidness if you will. The Olsen twins are not part of the scene we have been discussing. Imo, they would belong in a thread concerning the troubles of Paris Hilton way before any thread found in the groove.

lw

[laughingwillow]

And speaking of red herring.....

I'm old enough to know that the vast majority of parents 40 YEARS AGO, didn't see the Beatles as good roll models for their children, regardless of the fact that they refrained from smoking on TV 40 YEARS AGO.

lw

[senorsalvia]

Yeah, I guess I have had many many chances to indulge in the hard drug scene, but I think that for me, it comes down to something a bit short of having some sort of 'exemplary character'...  I'd say that I have a certain character composition that has a large dose of realism attached...   By that, I mean that I knew full well that I did not have, and was not going to have, the financial means to be a junkie...  In that sense, the fact I quit was just a pragmatic acceptance on my part;  not some form of enlightened actions on my part.... Hell,  I've watched countless peeps fall victim to uppers; meth, coke, crack, but I never had to worry about that.  Not because I'm so serenely centered, but just because I have always totally despised uppers.. Tried 'em all a couple of times each, and just could not wait till the buzz subsided...That's just my own physiology...  On the other hand,  I have always had a certain affinity for downers...As such, I've lost jobs/gals/places/been in jails/hospitals/financial ruin from them....  Yeah, I quit Heroin 'cuz of the money I did not have, but it took a real social embarrassment of waking up with a catherter getting removed from my cock, me nude on an emergency room table, the death certificate already signed, before I swore off downs. like Tuinol, Seconal etc...  Hell, how much more did I have to experience before I fianally 'got it'.??...  The bottom line for myself, is that, upon reflection,  I finally came to realize that as far as a 'BUZZ' went,  I  really always felt  like the 'head' buzzes, (smoke, 'cid, shrooms, etc) were  safer and more easy on the user than the other alternatives....   In the final analysis,  I have the distinct feeling that it's not so much a matter of personal fortitude that saves one from what can be the "ravages of drugs', as much as it is the personal psysiological makeup of the individual....  Some peeps truly come into the "drug scene" with a 'losing hand' to begin with...  Then, add the pressures of fame/finance/etc.  It's not for me to cast aspersions, that's 'fer sure............

[Stonehenge]

Yeah, it may take a near death experience for Amy to quit. I'm not sure even that would do the job. I am sure that it's up to the person to decide for themselves.

[JRL]

" "And whose idea was it to rush her from rehab to a concert in front of 90,000 people??" "

Hey, it might have been her idea. Her decision making is obviously not that good. Regardless, it doesn't seem like a wise choice. But my point also was: do yu think 90,000 people would be there to see her on the strength of her music? Her music is way sophisticated, beyond what usually has mass appeal.

I hear you Senor. My therapist talked about the "cost" of using a substance, not just monetary but the costs to health, mental health, work,relationships. In reality I think people get clean because the cost becomes to much, not because of any moral imparitive. If you are a celebrity you are sheltered from the cost.

Addiction is just not that simple, but if I bought into the character flaw theory why would I ever want to clean up? Addicts and artists both tend to be antiauthoritarion to a fault.

"Some peeps truly come into the "drug scene" with a 'losing hand' to begin with.." Most definitly, there are vast differences in body chemistry.

"Then, add the pressures of fame/finance/etc. It's not for me to cast aspersions, that's 'fer sure." From what I've seen it's more than most people can handle, and if I had my druthers I would be like Tom Petty "You get to be famous I get to be rich"

[JRL]

Who knows what its gonna take. She seems to me like someone who is living out a script, the one that says the star must die. I know this: she won't turn it around because anyone else wants her to. Maybe a near death experience, maybe if she makes it through the next couple of years she will just grow out of it. I think it's gonna be hard for her to get it together n the glare of the spotlights. she should dissapear for a couple years away from our inquiring eyes. Some of it depends on her business situation, what kind of deals she has made. No matter what anyone thinks, sustaining a career like Amy's is really hard. she seems to be in no shape to move it forward. The pressure on her to top her first two records is gonna be huge, inspiration has it's own agenda and the focus required to create something great is intense beyond description. Of course she is talented but at some point she must have been a brilliant relentless worker. Digging that deep to bring up those emotions that the music is forged from takes its toll, sometime the hardest thing is to shut it off. The temptation for seeking "inspiration" in substances is very real.

So much is riding on her every move, millions of dollars, the livelyhood of people she is connected to, her own artistic pride. More pressure than I would want......

[senorsalvia]

I was thinking about the fact that she's one of the rare ones to have won 5 grammys...  There's gotta be an almost insurmountable heavy weight to that...  Everyone will be looking for her to surpass what is already something incredibly rare....  Talk about pressure to preform / Jeez!!!----  Yeah, If I was her handler I'd pull her off the circuit for a year...  She could cool out. do interviews write new stuff etc....  What with her grammy count, her audience would still be there for her return....

[JRL]

That would make sense for sure, maybe the hoopla would die down. You know the vultures will be following her everywhere, it's hard to have secrets these days.

Not a lot of people have more than one or two albums in them. THey shoot their wad  on the first one and end up chasng themselves. Maybe Amy could have collaberators, Stevie Wonder maybe? Or Harry Connick?
Or the Neville Brothers? What about a girlfriends record with Queen Latifah? Have you heard her jazz cd? Maybe Amy could a thing or two about staying sane from her.

[senorsalvia]

If she's gonna hook up with someone:  How's about some of the heavy hitter wordsmiths?  A Jonathan Prine maybe??  If she goes duet with a female, how about Rickie Lee Jones???........ Amazing the permutations one can think about eh???

[JRL]

Well Amy's got her own way with words. Ricki Lee ones is intruiging, they share the jazz thing for sure. I saw Ricki on the cable recently, she seemed a bit unfocused.

Everyone like to play fantasy baseball, how about Miles Davis, Stevie Wonder and Prince?

[laughingwillow]

I think Amy and Prince would have potential.

We really like John Prine, but Amy might be a little "quick" for him. (The last couple of times we've seen JP he's appeared lit up to the point of pairing well on duets with southern belles with lilting drawls.....

Phil and jackie would be something with Amy. (until Phil's old lady found Amy's rigs and threw her off the tour. j/k)

lw