Everyone Loves You When You're Dead. Neil Strauss
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Название: Everyone Loves You When You're Dead
Автор: Neil Strauss
Издательство: Ingram
Жанр: Музыка, балет
isbn: 9780857861214
isbn:
Here’s Madonna on life before she was queen . . .
MADONNA: When I first came to New York, I was a dancer for years, but I didn’t know about nightlife. I had no friends. I didn’t have a social scene or anything, and it was very lonely. It wasn’t until I discovered clubs that things changed.
How did you first get introduced to the scene?
MADONNA: I just went by myself. I thought you had to get asked out to go to a club and that you couldn’t dance unless someone asked you to dance with them. But I discovered in New York you could go out on your own and you could go to a club and you could dance by yourself. You didn’t have to have an invitation, and to me that was really liberating.
So what was the first club you went to?
MADONNA: I was kind of a geek when I moved to New York, and I loved to read. You never know when you’re going to get stuck in a room or on the subway with nothing to do—and I hate wasting time. So I always used to bring books everywhere in case it was going to be a drag or things got boring.
So the first club I ever went to was this club called Pete’s Place. It was kind of like a restaurant-bar-disco. And all the lounge lizards were hanging out there. And everybody was so fucking cool. The guys all had forties suits on and porkpie hats. And the women were so glamorous: They all had red lipstick and black eyeliner and high heels. And I felt so dull. Because I was kind of embarrassed, I just sat in my corner and read my book.
What book was it?
MADONNA: It was an F. Scott Fitzgerald book, Jazz Age Stories. I was like, “Okay, I don’t fit in. I don’t know what to do with myself. I’m not dressed appropriately. There’s nothing cool about me. I’m going to go read a book.” So, yeah (pauses). Did you read The Power of Now?
No.
MADONNA: You haven’t? How about The Four Agreements? I can only remember three of them: don’t take things personally, always do your best, and be impeccable with your word. I love that one. I remember the fourth one was a repeat of the others, and I wasn’t impressed with the fourth one.
The book editor probably thought the three agreements didn’t sound as good for marketing.
MADONNA: Did you read that book?
No.
MADONNA: So you haven’t read The Power of Now and you haven’t read The Four Agreements. You must be really busy.
When the news ends and a golf tournament begins, Chris Rock grabs the hotel television remote. “In case you say I was watching golf,” he explains.
As Rock switches channels, he discusses the differences between comedians and rappers. “At the end of the day,” he concludes, “comedy is some nerd shit.”
CHRIS ROCK: I remember the last time I saw Tupac. It was after the MTV Video Music Awards. I had just done [the HBO comedy special] Bring the Pain. And at the last minute, MTV called me up to present. I wasn’t quite big enough to host yet.
So I get up onstage, I present some award, I try a couple jokes, and then I see Suge Knight in the audience. I said, “Hey Suge, don’t kill me.”
And the audience laughs, right? There was that kind of tension. And later on, remember, they had the after-party at Bryant Park?
I’ll never forget that party. Tupac was walking around with this parade of thugs who were carrying Death Row signs and posters. It was really aggressive.
ROCK: Yeah, it was a weird night. First, Eric B. comes up to me. He goes, “Yo, man, I don’t know if you should have done that joke about Suge, man.” He’s like, “The spot is hot right now.”
It was Eric B., man—the original thug life. Eric B. is from around my old way. Eric B. was driving a Rolls-Royce before he ever put out a record. That’s all I’ve got to say. With rims. Nobody else was even talking about rims. My man was gangsta. And he’s telling me this.
Then Hammer comes up and tells me the same thing. “Yo, man, don’t mess with Suge.” And Hammer is gangsta, man. Have you ever been around Hammer?
Are you serious? Hammer?
ROCK: Hammer ain’t no punk, man. Hammer is more gangsta than all these guys. He rolls with the hardest crew, because it’s a combination of jail guys and military guys, because Hammer was in the Navy or some shit. When those motherfuckers rolled up, you fucking listened.
Then Tupac comes up to me. And he says, “Hey, man, that was kinda funny what you did.” He shook my hand, and he had really clammy hands. Like he soaked them in Camay or some shit.
And he said, “I saw you on HBO, saying that ‘niggas and black people’ shit.” He had half a smirk. I got the feeling that Pac was a minute away from punching me—or trying to punch me.
His voice had a tone of menace to it?
ROCK: Yeah, but because I roll by myself and I don’t wear gold or nothing, it actually keeps me out of a lot of trouble. Whereas if I rolled like Eddie Murphy ’88—if I had the shades and the leather and I had ten guys and a diamond ring over my gloves—I’d be getting into fights.
Literally three days after that MTV party, Tupac was shot.
ROCK: What’s weird is, a week after that, I had to go to LA to do videos. And everywhere I went, people were like, “Yo, man, you shouldn’t have said that shit about Suge.” I’ve never seen people fear a guy so much in my life. It was like the whole world had become high school. And these were gangstas—not just punks like me.
That guy made some great records though. Suge Knight’s name is on some of the best records ever.
I remember interviewing Snoop Dogg right after he left Death Row, and he had no bodyguards, no security, nothing.
ROCK: Maybe it was like the end of Donnie Brasco, where Al Pacino knows he’s going to die. But he doesn’t blink. He just takes off his watch and all his rings and he goes down to his death.
That may be. Snoop recorded these songs about how Suge Knight was responsible for Tupac’s death. And he wasn’t scared.
ROCK: The weirdest thing about being really successful is that you are kind of ready to die. Especially now that I’ve got kids. I mean, I want to live. Don’t get me wrong. But I’m not in fear of dying. I’ve made my mark. Death is the enemy of my family—of my wife and my daughters. But to me as an artist, it’s actually my friend.
(Looks at tape deck.) It better be working. You’re getting some good shit.