How can a person promote someones induction into the rock and roll hall of fame when they say stupid things like this:

Melanie does things her way

By ED CONDRAN
The Intelligencer

British singer-songwriter/ DJ/arbiter of taste Jarvis Cocker touched Melanie Safka, best known simply by her first name, when he asked her to perform at the uber-hip Meltdown Festival nine months ago in London.

“It's just good to perform, but it's especially wonderful to perform at an event people are going to come to see,” Safka says.

Well, Safka is part of another event — the Hippiefest: A Concert For Peace and Love — which will draw crowds.

The show, part of a tour that includes Jack Bruce of Cream fame, Eric Burdon & The Animals, The Turtles featuring Flo & Eddie and Badfinger featuring Joey Molland and Jonathan Edwards, will stop tonight at the Mann Center for the Performing Arts in Philadelphia.

Safka, 61, grew up in the hippie era and was born to be part of the counterculture. Safka wanted to be to just blend in while attending high school during the early 1960s in central New Jersey.

However, that didn't work out well.

“I didn't want to be noticed,” Safka recalls. “I got in trouble for doing nothing. I was always getting called down to the principal's office. Mostly for violating the code of dress. I remember buying these earthy boots and, all of a sudden, they made up a rule that you weren't allowed to wear these type of boots at school. Then I had an affair with the drama teacher but I didn't get thrown out of school. I was just the scandal. I had nothing but trouble at that school.”

After graduating, Safka tried her luck as a folkie.

It's obvious from her adolescence that Safka couldn't play the industry game, like many of her peers. Safka was uncompromising.

Some recording artists are chameleons. They can adapt to whatever environment necessary in order to survive in the very competitive music business.

And then there's Melanie.

The affable performer, best known for her lone chart-topper “Brand New Key,” hit a valley during the early '80s. The straightforward singer-songwriter was advised to add a little glitz to her unpretentious music.

“I was told to make like Barry Manilow or something,” says Safka. “I was told that I should put my guitar down and be a bit more glamorous. I couldn't do it. I'm not Madonna. I was given schmaltzy ballads and I couldn't do them. I would feel stupid.

“A lot of really great artists like Paul McCartney and Neil Young made concessions at the time. McCartney collaborated with Michael Jackson (for the hit “Say Say Say”) and Neil did his techno and rockabilly thing during the early '80s. I just couldn't do that kind of stuff. I would rather not record than just put out something that's not me.”

So 24 years passed between albums for Safka, who broke her disc-less streak in 2002 with “Crazy Love.” She followed with “Paled By Dimmer Light” in 2004.

“I just do things my way,” says Safka. “I don't know any other way to do things. If I didn't do it the industry's way when I was young, why would I do it now? I'm never going to change.”

July 29, 2008 7:32 AM


I guess Melanie forgot she made at least 10 albums from 1979 - 2000????

I guess she forgets abou the 1983 album of cocaine driven disco songs "Am I real or what".

DAMN, she sure makes it hard to promote her!
Jim

Ya know Jim, the next step after a Melanie website ban might be a restraining order, be careful!

Hi Larry,
Restraining order? Why would you warn me to be careful? Of what? I'm creating a "tell all" website. I don't think anyone has the right to say anything about what might write on my own website. This IS America, isn't it?

I used to be a union organizer for the United Auto Workers. Nothing frightens me.
Jim

Hay Larry,
How do you think I should deal with all this crap going on on this message board? http://HippieFest.net

These women are trying to make me look bad by pretending they are me on some posts. Some posts are mine but not all. If anyone needs to be sued it's THEM. I hate these old hippie Bitches.

I blame the hippiefest people for setting up thier board the way they did. Nobody has to register to post. It'sa damn free-for-all .

as long as the website you're creating is somewhere else... that's your business to do with what you like.
However, what you're posting here is not on 'your' website, and it's not ours either.
It's arlo net.
Not Melanie-net, not piss off everyone net...
just plain old arlo.net
Just remember why we're here, and try and get along with all the other riff-raff, and we'll have a dandy old time.
Thanks.

I think Arlo and his fans are cool. That's why I post here. This post is about my problems with Melanie and her fans. I wouldn't have posted ANYTHING in this thread about Melanie but, the Arlo.net board set up this section to post about OTHER artists. I just thought I could vent a little with people that aren't Melanie fans (per-say). Those Melanie fans are a screwy bunch.
Jim

i'm sorry you have issues with other websites. Venting can be cathartic.
I suggest you limit your venting to the Topical Tropical forum.
More often than not, this forum is for discussion and celebration of other folk (and some non-folk) folks... Not to rip them (or their fans) a new one.

Having said that, I'm having the final word here.

Thanks again for participating at arlo.net