Sometimes it’s awful being right.
Obviously, I’m one of probably several million people who foresaw an early, tragic end for Amy Winehouse, I’m not claiming some kind of clairvoyant superiority here. But it doesn’t change the fact that it’s not fun to have “Man, that poor girl’s going to wind up dead” confirmed.
What is it about talent and addiction that so often seem to go hand-in-hand? Would everything from Rubber Soul on have happened if the Beatles had never discovered drugs? What about Alice in Wonderland? I’d never deny that mind-altering drugs can open gateways to new ideas and thus, new art. But are they necessary? Would Aaron Sorkin and David Milch still be in the company of David Chase, David Simon and Matt Weiner if they’d been clean and sober all their lives? (I am assuming the latter three do not have addictions in the AA sense – I’ve never read anything suggesting that they do, anyway.)
More importantly, how do you separate the survivors from the non? What makes Keith Richards different from Winehouse, not to mention Joplin, Cobain and Hendrix (all of whom died at the tender age of 27)?
I don’t know the answers to these questions. It’s something I think about from time to time, but I’ve yet to come to any conclusions. The most definitive piece I’ve ever read on the issue was from Baked Potatoes: A Pot Smokers Guide to Film and Video, which took the examples of Caddyshack, early SNL, Animal House and various other well-baked comedies of that era and compared them to, well, Caddyshack II, later SNL, etc. As you’d suspect from the title, the authors of the book were in favour of the effect of drugs on comedy, and using those examples it’s hard to disagree, although I’d argue that, say, Christopher Guest’s work is funnier than anything John Belushi ever did (both on SNL and in film) and so far as I know he’s never been a user.
(Can you even imagine what Chris Guest on drugs would be like? Worst. Trip. Ever.)
Anyway. The real tragedy of Winehouse’s death is that she wasn’t able to pull herself together enough to create more music. It’s possible she might never have surpassed Back to Black, sober or no. But we’ll never know one way or the other. This news means mourning not only the life snuffed out, but the art she might have created. “Of all sad words of tongue or pen, the saddest are these: ‘It might have been.'” Winehouse married a retro vibe with contemporary lyrics in a way that hadn’t hit the mainstream for ages – Harry Connick, Jr’s, Red Light, Blue Light was a forebear and Cee-Lo Green’s “Fuck You” was a descendant. Back to Black also introduced the Dap Kings to a wider audience, for which we should forever be grateful.
Rest in peace, Amy. I hope you’re happier now.
The Film Cricket 