Inspiration

Since November I've been working as a creative director in an advertising agency  fifty miles away from where I live. The commute has been brutal but the experience has been great. In a few days I'll be traveling to South America to spend two weeks shooting a campaign.

Since beginning there, the brief was all about inspiration. It's a funny word because it doesn't mean much until you apply an example to it. Some films are inspiring but not all films. Some day-to-day experiences are inspiring but they are few and far between.

Music is a whole other beast.

On the way to work today, I was listening to a channel on Sirius XM. It was some underground vinyl or something like that. When I put it on, I heard a song I hadn't heard since college. It was Jimi Hendrix doing a cover of the Troggs' "Wild Thing." He took the admittedly simple chord progression and completely changed it and added some psychedelic soul to it. In short, it crushed the original like a grape.

I don't claim to know what Hendrix's motivation was for covering songs like this and other hits of the day, but I believe he was inspired to do his own take on them. Perhaps some of it was one-upmanship, but perhaps he just like the song and wanted to play it. Maybe it was both.

I remember reading something about the Beatles being blown away when Sgt Pepper came out and Jimi Hendrix covered only three days after the album came out. That sounds like a tribute and a tip of the hat more than a "Oh yeah? Watch this," kind of thing.

The more intriguing one to me, and one that shows how important it was to have been in the U.K. and close to Europe at the time was Hendrix's cover of La poupée qui fait non.

For all I know this was in response to the cover by The Byrds and maybe he didn't have a chance to lay down the vocals. Maybe it was just a jam.

The original version by Michel Polnareff shows just how much the zeitgeist transcended languages.

But damn you don't really get the same amount of hat-tipping among peers. Probably because there's not the same sort of sharing and openness in the Selfie Age.

Too bad.

For the record my favorite cover of this song is the one by Luna. The guitar kills. If Hendrix were around, I think he'd approve.

Either way– the world needs more genuine inspiration, even friendly competition  and less division.

But if you are looking for more inspiration, you might enjoy my novel "New Roman Times," about the Camper Van Beethoven album of the same name. Or you might enjoy A-Sides and B-Sides, my short story collection. Though I am linking Amazon, they are available on iBooks, or Nook, as well.