Sir Paul...

This text has been on hold for several weeks. The reasons are many, but mainly because I know the strong fan appeal concerning The Beatles and its presence in the web, particularly here, in Mexico. But I need to get this out of my system, so here it is. I'd like to point out that the following text presents a personal opinion and I think it wouldn't be honest to say otherwise.

I hate Paul McCartney.

OK, maybe hate its to strong a word, but I don't have any other word that manages to express the growing dislike I have for him. And this is an important point: I'm talking of Paul as a person, not a musician or composer. As the latter, McCartney co-wrote some of the best popular songs of the XX Century. I've always been partial to his partner for most of my life. His solo career seems far less impressive and in recent years his work has lost some punch. In my opinion, the last time he wrote a pop anthem was more than ten years ago, My Brave Face, a collaboration with Elvis Costello, one of my favorite songwriters -Veronica, another Costello/McCartney collaboration, it's one of my favorite pop songs ever-, but the fact that he has remained an admired and respected figure in more than thirty years of solo career must mean something more than nostalgia. And as for his talent, well, he's arguably one of the best bass players of the last fifty years, and his ability to sing while performing his elaborate bass lines it's something that not many musicians can brag about.

But as a person it's another story. The fall from grace -in my eyes, obviously- must have started back in the early nineties, when McCartney visited Mexico for the first time to offer a couple of shows in the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez -the Foro Sol wasn't even a project then-, because he came with a hollier-than-thou attitude. He asked galons and galons of purified water, his brand of choice, of course; a deluxe hotel suite that he didn't use because he didn't even sleep in Mexico. Arguing that the smog made him sick he arrived in Mexico just hours before his show and decided to fly to L. A. (sure, we all know that L. A. air is crystal clear and smog-free) after each one of them, flying back two days later for the second show and leaving the country right after.

If that attitude of his weren't enough some other things were adding to my dislike for him:

A few years back he tried to change the credits to some songs from The Beatles. Instead of the traditional Lennon/McCartney he wanted some of the songs to be credited as McCartney/Lennon, even though he made a deal with John to sign everything they did as part of the band with the credits, in alphabetical order as a team, no matter who did what. Yoko, George and Ringo opposed him and eventually he discarded the idea.

His obsession with vegetarianism. It is one thing to choose the way you want to live your life and another thing entirely to try to impose your ideas on the people around you. Chris Witten, the talented drummer who worked for him on the Flowers on the Dirt sessions and the subsequent Tripping the Live Fantastic Tour, quit his job after being reprimended along with the rest of the band when McCartney caught'em eating hamburgers in a recess. (Whitten went on to join Dire Straits on what would be their last tour, On the Streets and since then he has become one of the most looked-after session drummers. He has worked with Tom Jones, Johnny Cash, The Pretenders and The The. Recently he has played drum sequences for electronic drums, beatboxes and drum emulators).

For not being the man of the house. Sure, having a wife 25 years younger than you must be motivation enough to renew your image, including wardrobe and hair, but to let her take control of your life and your career it is too much. Heather, the new Mrs. McCartney has practically become his manager, spokeswoman, image designer and, according to some, she is now writing lyrics for him.

On the last point. When he announced that he'll be marrying again, McCartney said that he would keep the ring from his marriage to Linda and that he would be wearing both rings. However, a few weeks after the ceremony the old ring was gone without a word about it.

Because with his well mannered, pretty boy image -more so since he was ordered a knight- he has reinforced the collective perception of The Beatles as a pop band, distant but certain ancestors of today's boy bands, leading people to forget that they were, from the very beginning, a Rock & Roll Band.

Lastly, on February 6th this year McCartney was part of a show than year after year loses more of its appeal. His act during the Halftime on the Superbowl was not a bad one -he played mostly Beatles songs-, but it felt out of place. A strong feature of football it is the enormous ammounts of testosterone and adrenaline in play, and the idea of 70,000 people rocking a lighter as they sing Michelle it's something of a turn off. I don't think it was his fault, but the second half of the game was one of the most bland and unexciting ones in recent years.

That day I was hanging around with the usual bunch of friends and the Halftime Show became a conversation topic. We all agreed than it felt as a bad choice for the main act. We started talking about what-ifs and at one point I suggested than maybe, if things were different and Paul were the one who died instead of John, we would have seen again the greatest band of all, perhaps still touring the world much like their all time counterparts, The Rolling Stones.

Something to think about.