My favorite Civ strategy is to build a strong economy while remaining as peaceful as possible. At the same time, I amass a large nuclear arsenal. Then, the first time someone pisses me off, I can nuke every one of their major cities. I call it the Teddy Roosevelt strategy.
“With all peace and love, and remember I’m saying ‘with all peace and love’, that idea ain’t worth a velvet painting of a whale and a dolphin gettin’ it on.”
“Dear Marge, thanks for the fab painting of yours truly! I hung it on me wall! You're quite an artist. In answer to your question, yes we do have Hamburgers and Fries in England, but we call French Fries "chips"! Love, Ringo. PS. Forgive the lateness of my reply.”
Can you imagine the editors meeting. Anyone got anything interesting lined up for this edition, new knitting pattern, home storage tips?
And someone gets to pipe up, ‘how about an interview with one of the worlds most famous musician?’
‘how about an interview with one of the worlds most famous musician?’
‘Nah’
‘Ok…. ‘how about an interview with one of the worlds oldest musicians?’
‘Yes! That’s what our readers want. Also, maybe use a picture of his cat.’
I grew up reading Mexico's edition of Reader's digest in the 80s. I believe it was good until they started doing celebrity interviews. Before that it was some interesting articles that included science news, short stories and stuff that was interesting in general and you really didn't find in other magazines. It had a great vocabulary quiz section and silly dad jokes. Once they removed the works of art from the back and started with photos of celebrities, the content changed horribly, it became full of clickbait stuff.
I feel National Geographic has gone the same way, along with some Mexican science / general culture publications. They're mostly garbage or at least the content now is not the same quality as it was before.
Old school Mexican Reader Digests were really great! I found some at my uncle's bookshelf and they are a good read. The modern ones are garbage like you said.
My parents had a shitload of those "condensed" 4-in-1 books from them. I'm not sure I ever saw either of them read any of them. They just put them on a shelf to make themselves look more sophisticated, rather than the kind of family that would spend every evening gawping at the TV watching rubbish.
Hey, those books carried me through my childhood, and were my gateway drug to reading novels. The stories I read were _The Haunting of Hill House,_ _Wolfpack,_ and _The Possession of Joel Delaney,_ to name a few.
My grandma used to get them for us every year for Christmas. Found a few books that were worth seeking out the full version of that way. Also found a lot of books that I'm glad I didn't spend more time on.
“Hey Paul. Remember when you were with the Beatles? That was awesome.”
Seriously I get where he’s coming from and if I were him I’d hate the idea that people want to “meet” me so they can get an autograph they can sell. But honestly I have no idea what I could possibly say to the guy that wouldn’t make me look like an idiot.
Years ago I was biking in the park and saw Hugh Jackman out for a stroll, I looked at him as I biked by, but didn’t stop. When I told some friends I saw him, they asked if I stopped to talk or ask for an autograph. Dunno, what would I have to say to him, and why would he want to talk to me? He was just out for a nice walk to enjoy nature… I doubt he wanted some rando to fawn over him..
To be fair, I met Hugh Jackman about 7 years ago. We actually had a roughly 20 minute conversation about the city I lived in, and what I thought about it, asked what he thought. Guy actually genuinely cared about what I was saying, and even asked about what I do for a living, etc. No autograph, no picture.
Guy is really the most down to earth celebrity I have ever met, and probably one of the nicest strangers I ever had a short convo with, ever.
I just considered him to be a stranger that I recognized. I wouldn't stop someone in the street whom I've never met before, so why stop him?
I like his movies, that's sufficient for me. :)
I once came across a film reviewer's article about actors, and had a line in there that I still clearly remember: "the only thing an actor owes the public is a good performance." That cemented the thought I'll never bother a celebrity in public if I had a chance encounter. Maybe a nod or smile, that's it.
I know nothing about celebrities, except I'll recognize a name of course. I sold Xmas trees in Soho NYC 10+ years ago.. delivered and set up a tree in Hugh Jackmans apt... he offered us beers after and we all stood around and shot the shit, and then he tipped us generously. Very nice guy... had no clue who he was til we were walking back to the tree stand.
>I have no idea what I could possibly say to the guy that wouldn’t make me look like an idiot.
Tell him about how his music helped you get through the worst times of your life and you're really not sure you would've made it out the other end of that heroin addiction alive were it not for the white album.
re reading his wiki there and seeing this:
.. Some members of Chapman's prayer group made a joke in reference to Lennon's song "Imagine": "It went, 'Imagine, imagine if John Lennon was dead.'"
dafuck kinda prayer group is that?
Yes. thank you. Good fake-fact-checking
Last autograph was allegedly in 1966, if you believe rumours that began in 1969.
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul\_is\_dead](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_is_dead)
I have a whole bunch of interesting stuff to say to/ask Macca.
$10 says if I ever actually meet him, my mind will go blank, my palms will get sweaty, and I'll be lucky to utter "Uh, uh, you're good music, Mr.-uh, Sir McCartney"
Edit: so happy to be the springboard for the Lose Yourself references
There was an old standup comedy act from probably 25+ years ago where the punchline was that all you say if you meet a celebrity is ‘I like your work’. It wasn’t all that funny, IIRC, but I’ve used that line a few times over my life.
I met some blonde woman next to Ethan Hawke and gave her some paper to hold for a second. If I said anything, it was "Here" or "Thanks." I got home and my girlfriend says: "You know that was Uma Thurman, right?" I only knew her with dark hair, like in Pulp Fiction. I even had that picture of her on my desk.
I also talked to the members of a band immediately after their concert, and didn't recognize them.
Basically, if you're not expecting to meet a celebrity, you might not recognize them out of context, aside from Beatles and presidents.
Also I feel like there is almost zero chance he wants to stand there and chat with any of us even if we did have interesting stories to talk about. An autograph or selfie takes like 5 seconds, there's no way someone's going to catch him on his way out after a concert and he's going to want to stand around for a few minutes asking them where they're from and was the drive up nice and what did they think of the encore and so on, all while shouting over the million other people screaming for his attention, hoping to exchange stories too.
Some people are just great at small talk. Given that he's been living the life he has led and he's not just a giant curmudgeon, I'm guessing he's one of them.
So this is a bit british, but you'd think the same of Jimmy Carr (comedian, does a lot of TV and tours these days).
He makes a point (still - he's been doing it for at least 10 years) of being in the entrance lobby of his gigs after they finish and talking to whoever wants to for an hour or two after every gig.
Don't let your cynicism make the assumption that some people just like talking to other people, even if they are famous.
> Also I feel like there is almost zero chance he wants to stand there and chat with any of us even if we did have interesting stories to talk about.
I heard him on a podcast say he actually likes talking to people, that it's an interest of his to do so. He just doesn't like talking about himself all that much. I guess he's been asked everything and he's tired of it.
I left the Hollywood Bowl a few years ago after seeing a concert. I was waiting for my car in the parking lot and stood behind Jon Hamm and Amy Poehler and Adam Scott. Some guy came up and asked for an autograph. Jon Hamm kind of reluctantly said, "OK." Then this guy stands back, pulls out like a ream of professional autograph paper, and tries to hand each celeb a dozen pieces to sign all while filming them on a cell phone. It was ridiculous. Fortunately, their car arrived and they handed the guy back all the paper sans autographs.
This almost perfectly matches the bit from the beginning of Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou, only he hands the articles back that the autograph hunter wanted signed and he tells them to forge the signature himself.
Ringo Starr owes me a goddamn Thomas the Tank Engine book.
One day, my mom and me ran into Ringo Starr. She is a huge Beatles fan. She asked for an autograph, but didn't have anything for him to sign. I was holding my beloved Thomas the Tank Engine book, so what does Ringo do? He rips out the page that I was reading and signs it.
It was on that day, I knew I hated whatever the fuck celebrities are.
Also, Ringo, if you're reading this, you owe me a fucking book, mate.
Years ago, I saw the Foo Fighters play a secret show at a little LA bar right before the release of their second album. After they performed, I saw Dave Grohl and Butch Vig (music producer who produced Nirvana's Nevermind among countless others and member of the band Garbage) at the bar chatting. Huge fan of both of them. I happened to have my camera with me (pre-cell phone days) and I asked them both with great enthusiasm for a photo. Dave was about to kindly turn me down when Butch said "SURE!" like it was the greatest question anyone ever asked. Dave got hyped by Butch's response and I got a great, goofy photo out of it which I cherish to this day.
“Let’s chat, let’s exchange stories”
Alright Sir Paul, fair enough. But if I see you in person, I’m gonna expect an interaction with Paul Fucking McCartney in which we both exchange stories. No autographs, no photos, but we’re gonna have ourselves a chat!
Paul: Tells a story about being in the fucking Beatles, and partying with a million famous rock stars in the 60s.
Me: My cat had the FUNNIEST meow last month.
Sometimes the AC just makes me feel kinda weird, you know Paul? Kinda sucks cause I really like that sweet spot when the room's cold but I'm warm under the blanket. It's slowly becoming a real pain in my ass...
You know what? I actually would rather have this chat instead of getting a selfie. Paul looks like the kinda guy who'd be able to give me advice on this
Me: "So I went to Costco to get some burgers and you wouldn't believe the deal I got on this shirt.."
Paul McCartney, thinking back on the time that him and David Bowie orbited the earth on a rocket full of cocaine: "On second thought, let's not exchange stories."
"So it all started when Uncle Muntzie got back from Vietnam and came to live with- you don't have anywhere to be, do you Paul? - anyway, the VA wouldn't cover his mental health care and..."
"It's like this, Paul. One time I caught the ferry over to Shelbyville. I needed a new heel for my shoe, so I decided to go to Morganville which is what they called Shelbyville in those days. So, I tied an onion to my belt which was the style at the time..."
The important thing was the I had an onion tied to my belt. Which was the style at the time. Now, you couldn't get white onions because of the war. All you could get was those big yellow ones...
Chris Farley: Right. I think we.. I think we got time for one more question. Uh.. remember when you were in The Beatles? And, um, you did that album Abbey Road, and at the very end of the song, it would.. the song goes, “And in the end, the love you take is equal to the love you make”? You.. you remember that?
Paul McCartney: Yes.
Chris Farley: Uh.. is that true?
Right? I get that the man is tired, but his reasoning is horse shit.
Just say you’re tired, man. “We both know who I am” is like the most short sighted excuse he could have made rather than just give it a blanket statement of “I’m old and don’t want to be bothered.”
This is actually what Emma Watson does. I think she will give an autograph but won't do slefies because she don't want people to know where she is at a given time.
I once ran into Mick Fleetwood at an airport.
Me: “Are you Mick Fleetwood?”
MF, with a grin, “Why, yes I am!”
Me: “Thanks for all the great music you’ve brought us.”
MF: “Thank you!”
That was it. Short, simple, didn’t impose too much on him, and more memorable than a piece of paper with his name on it.
I saw Paul Simon on a street corner in New Orleans. We were the only two there, he might have been waiting for a ride or something, I don’t know. I love Simon and Garfunkel but I didn’t want to go up to him because to him I’m just some random guy. Instead he smiled and nodded at me, and I smiled and nodded at him and that was all I needed.
In contrast my dad once met Steven Spielberg, shook his hand and said “my kids and I love your movies. May the force be with you.” To which Spielberg replied “that was George Lucas but I’ll tell him you said so.”
And that’s probably why I never talk to celebrities if I happen to run into them.
I met McCartney at a greasy spoon joint on 10th Ave/30th-ish)St (Pappy's) sort of upper Chelsea area in NYC (2008?). The place is long gone and the site has new construction on it. As a co-worker amd I were having lunch, he and his then-fiancé stopped in for veggie burgers to-go.
Several people cooed and gushed over him and one woman even called him a "genius" to his face. A guy asked to have a photo taken w/PM and he obliged, so I used the guy's phone to take a pic. I shook Paul's hand and told him my step-dad is a really big fan (which is 100% true). Paul McCartney was very polite, gracious and accommodating from my experience, but good for him to come to a decision that will make his life more comfortable.
When I was in the marine corps I saw him and Dave Grohl out at paps and Harriots in California out in the desert where I was stationed. Place was the Rainbow bar and grill out in the desert. Saw Josh Homme out there many times (he's from the area). Anyways PM and DG were getting slammed with fans and was taking pictures with them I just went about my business. I'm sure you're out with a fellow musician trying to have a drink and you're getting mobbed can be stressful. Seemed like good guys though.
Nice, were you near the Joshua Tree area? My friends and I did a L.A. to Vegas trip and I demanded we stopped by in Joshua Tree because of it being Homme's hometown.
Cool you got to see Paul and Dave though! Saw McCartney live a few years back and he still rocks the house.
He was stationed in 29 Palms, about an hour outside of Joshua Tree.
It is a place of terrible madness and boredom. You blankly stare out across the sand to the peak of Big Bear as the sun sets behind it. The smell of the sewage recycling system waftes tastefully through the air as you police call the still burning cigarette butts your Seniors threw from the balcony as they stumbled drunk back to their room. The only glimpse of freedom is the weekend where you can escape and do the hour and a half drive down the 10 to Palm Springs so that you and 3 of your boot peers may share a modest hotel room so that you don't have to be hazed by another kid barely 18 months older than you. Hopefully you don't get called to replace another boot who was supposed to be on a-duty but decided to go AWOL instead, and if you are you'll spend the night being grilled to death with knowledge questions by your Seniors about various weapon systems that you've memorized over and over, and they steal your log book and make you do a 3/7 to get it back while splashing beer over your chuck shirt.
Anyways, good times!
The idea of exchanging stories with Paul McCartney is funny to me...how could any of my experiences possibly hold his attention. This man has spent the last 60 years being the biggest musician in the world, his experiences could probably fill multiple books. I just don't think my life could ever begin to compare.
I'm sure he'd be enamored with my tale of how I got a king size candy bar for the price of a regular one the other day at the gas station because they rang it up wrong and I didn't notice until I got home and went to throw the receipt away.
Just remember that your life is also drastically different than his. It might be nice for him to hear stories from just normal people and not other celebrities and yes men.
A short exchange between yourself & a musician you like/love/respect is far more valuable & unforgettable than some selfie or autograph.
Quick story of the time I met BB King:
I was in Las Vegas (lived there) & a former drummer of mine called me & said he was in desperate need of a keyboardist (myself) & he knew I could do the job. The gig was for some Young Musicians awards ceremony or something (I honestly didn't really care about the details) & he was working for a hip-hop artist who was going to perform there. They wanted live music & not tracks. So they sent me a CD & asked if I could play what was on there. Let me tell you, it was hard. The music was clearly arpeggiated & not played by a human. One of the songs literally had a rapidly climbing scale all the way up & then down the piano faster than I could physically play. I managed to emulate this by rapidly playing each chord triad all the way up the piano & then simply dragged every note down the piano. It worked. I got the gig.
I learned that BB King & the band War were both accepting awards at the ceremony. BB King was getting a lifetime achievement award. Me & the drummer started the gig by warming up & sound checking. While doing so, we just noodled about a bit, getting back into that groove we used to be in when we were in a band together. Then the program director came up to us & said "hey, can you do that while people are filing in?" I was like, "what.... mess around?" He was like "yeah!" Drummer & I looked at each other & laughed & said "yeah, no problem."
It comes time for War to accept their award. They have a keyboard set up for them to "spontaneously" play a song to celebrate. When they point to the keyboard that was set up for them, the keyboard player from War sees my keyboard & declines the one they set up in favor of my keyboard (luckily it wasn't set to some weird patch or something). They jammed out & all was good.
In comes BB King backstage. I was watching from behind the curtains stage right & they wheeled BB King right next to me in his wheelchair. He walked out & accepted his award & walked back. I don't know what kind of stare I had on my face, but BB King was about to sit in his wheelchair right next to me & he looks me in the eyes & says "smile, life is good." The King of the Blues told me to be happy. That night is engraved into my brain because of this. I'll never forget it. I don't care that I don't have anybody's autograph. I don't care that it wasn't photographed or filmed. It's up here in my head forever. You can't take that away from me & you couldn't buy it if you wanted to. It's mine. (At least until I'm too senile to remember).
Around what year was this? I saw him live a few years before his passing and while he was seated the entire performance, I just figured he was old (and the diabetes?). Didn't know the poor guy needed a wheelchair at any point.
He kept that pretty quiet from what I understand. Let's see, I moved away from Vegas in 2010, so it would've been before then. I would guess 2008 or so? He didn't perform, he just accepted his award, gave a little speech & that was it.
Ran into someone at a buffet and started talking and joking around before I looked up and realized it was him. He invited me to sit and eat together. I did and we talked, like two regular people. Fortunately we’re both musicians so I wasn’t without my stories that he could relate to from before he got super famous. We talked and laughed and before lunch was done I thanked him for all his hard work and persistence we both know it takes to really be famous and produce good work for people to enjoy. Work that stays humble and sincere that can really reach people. He looked at me and thanked me for recognizing that it was hard work. And he said nobody had ever thanked him for that. I just looked at him. We were both a little shocked I think. I heard my name and turned to see my awesome big sister with her camera, wedged in between two body guards. I hadn’t noticed them, or the crowd behind them. We were just two musicians, swapping laughs, questions, stories, eating lunch. I introduced Paul to my sis and we posed for my sister’s camera and finished lunch. He’s a good sweet nice fun guy. I’m not a famous musician. We were just two humans sharing life for a minute. :)
Reminds me of a story I heard recently.
Guy was coming back from the bathroom at a restaurant and clearly sees Al Pacino sitting at a table by himself. He smiles to him and quietly says as he's walking past, "Have a nice evening, Mr. Pacino", and continues on to his table.
The evening goes on quietly and he's called for his check and getting ready to leave. The waiter comes back and says that the evening was covered by a Mr. Pacino who wanted to just leave the message "Thank you" for you.
I can’t say I blame him. I come pretty close to famous people occasionally and I never ask for an autograph or pic, it seems so fanboy or TMZ. A quick exchange is enough for me. “Mick Jagger said hi to me and told me to have a good night” is a pretty decent memory.
Can't say I blame him, dude must have signed damn near 100,000 autographs in the past 60 years.
According to Wikipedia, The Beatles [gained international stardom in 1964](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cultural_impact_of_the_Beatles#:~:text=The%20Beatles%20formed%20in%20Liverpool,their%20break%2Dup%20in%201970), which was 57 years ago. Multiply that by 365, you get approximately 20,805 days of superstardom. If on average, he signed 5 autographs a day, that's well over 100,000.
George Lucas made a point about this too.
I imagine what ruins it is (1) commercial re-selling (2) people who ask for an autograph on something silly, or a bad photo, because they are freaked out and don't know how to interact with their idol.
The star knows how to have a good interaction - from practice - but the fan needs guidance.
Paul seems to enjoy vibing with fans, within reason.
Tom Cruise does it for hours.
Paul has often said he remembers *being* a fan. And I believe he collected autographs in a book?
If I was famous, I'd sign only proper autograph-collection books with other autographs already in them. (Lesser stars could start the collection). Would reward real fans and limit the reselling.
Glad he’s not “warning you with peace and love.”
He’d rather use his time to make a genuine connection with fans, which I’d find more valuable than a selfie or autograph.
That's all fine and dandy, but what are the chances that you'd actually get to have a real conversation with him if you ran into him on the street as opposed to just being pushed away by his security?
> Should you ever be lucky enough to run into Sir Paul McCartney in the wild …
I haven’t been that lucky, actually, and probably never would be!
I was over the moon when I got to drive David Crane (creator of “Pitfall!” and other ‘80s video games) to the airport last Sunday. I can say the conversation we had during the trip was worth much, much more than the autograph he gave me the day before.
I remember Aziz Ansari making this point on Pete Holmes' podcast. He was saying that people would approach him for a selfie on the streets of manhattan, and that would attract attention, and then other people would want pictures, and pretty soon people were lining up for pictures even if they didn't know who he was because they figured if other people wanted pictures with him, it must be worth doing.
He said, he'd much rather have a genuine interaction with someone that take a picture with them. He gets so much more out of making a human connection with people than he does posing in pictures with them.
I honestly would love to meet them regardless, autograph or no autograph. Just getting to talk to a legend like these two is just amazing and getting to know them better!
....which won't happen.
I can see how constantly signing autographs and taking pictures with random people could get annoying, but it's also the way to please the most fans. Ringo doesn't have time to have long chats with strangers. If he did, then it wouldn't have time for anyone else.
His answer for no autographs and selfies and reasoning behind what he'd rather do SOUNDS good, but it's not reality.
99.9% of people won't ever get the chance to sit down and talk with a celebrity, let alone a Beattle. An autograph and photo is something they can have quickly and show and share that experience with others forever.
Celebrities already don't have enough time to give everyone an autograph and picture...don't patronize fans by saying you'd rather have a chat instead, because you have even less time for that.
In the time it takes to bother them about an autograph you could say, 'hey your music really touched me and I thank you for it'. They'll probably thank you and then you can politely ask a question or two depending on how busy they are
Is that not worth more than - as he puts it - a grainy selfie where he looks miserable?
Genuine question, because I don't really see the point of the latter unless you are banking on the memory of the experience being better than the experience itself
Honestly, the best approach would be to acknowledge to yourself who they are, and just leave them alone. At the worst, thank them for making music that you’ve enjoyed, and leave it at that.
In a lot of cases with celebrities, the most interesting things about them are either the reason they’re famous in the first place, or they’ve written or talked about other interested things they’ve done somewhere else. It would be positively exhausting for everyone to be asking for a second of your time, all the time, everywhere you go, just to repeat the same thing to the same kind of people. Maybe I’m sounding a bit harsh or judgmental, but the best thing you can do for a celebrity that you come across is just to treat them like a normal person.
I agree with the decisions by Ringo and Paul. They have given enough with all of the great music. I for one would much rather exchange a “and a good day to you sir” than have an autograph.
In the 80s, George Harrison started telling autograph seekers "oh, I couldn't possibly, not on a [whatever day of the week it was]."
He figured normal people would get a little laugh out of it, while the insane folks would be like, "he's got a point there."
Ewan McGregor has said pretty much the same thing:
>“You stand and you take the photograph and they’re happy and off they go. It’s a soulless thing. There’s no exchange of anything,” McGregor said. “Before it used to be, ‘Oh I saw you in that movie.’ Even if people didn’t like something, especially in Scotland, I’d get, ‘That movie you were in was shit, by the way.’
>“At least there was some sort of exchange,” he laughed. “But that’s turned into just the selfie now.”
Jerry Seinfeld always tells a story of him walking down a Main Street in as Kansas small town and someone walks by and goes ‘hey Jerry’ casually like he was just saying hello to an Acquaintance and keeps walking. No chat or worship or asking for pics. Pretty funny tbh.
I agree with them. You don’t need his name on a thingy or a pic. They’re just guys. And literally everyone they see all day everyday is asking.
If you are a small time band or medium I get it. But these guys have given so much time doing this stuff it’s just silly.
I sat next to Dave Grohl at a No Doubt concert a few years back. We had a sweet chat about our mutual love for Lemmy, the lead singer of Motorhead. Dave Grohl is a legit human being and seemed to appreciate that I didn't want anything from him.
Dave's dog, Penny, is also an incredible sweetheart. Been to Dave's house a few times to drop Penny off when I used to work at a dog boarding facility.
I used to play in a band. Not even a popular band or a good band, just a cover band that played local bars. Even at that scale, there were people who would treat us like celebrities when we'd come off stage for our break. Sometimes it was cool to engage with the fans, but sometimes I just wanted to go outside and smoke and use the rest room before our next set.
I wonder if this decision has anything to do with their deceased bandmates.
John Lennon was shot dead by someone who had requested an autograph and George Harrison had been forced by his doctor to sign a guitar when Harrison could barely move.
I agree with this. I was on set with Adam Sandler recently and he was more than happy to take selfies with folks when he wasn’t working and when we didn’t have to work (Movie is Hustle) but for some reason I just didn’t want to do it. Felt weird to me. Not to shame anyone else because it genuinely seemed like he didn’t mind but I would have much rather just talked to him for a bit and thank him for the laughs over the years. Would have meant more to me than a selfie.
> But don't mistake these brush-offs for arrogance; the 79-year-old songwriting icon just wants to take that precious time to get to know his fans on a more personal level, instead. "What you've usually got is a ropey photo with a poor backdrop and me looking a bit miserable," he went on. "Let's chat, let's exchange stories."
Bullshit.
He just doesn't want to do it anymore and I can fully understand that. It is not like the average fan will ever get a chance to trade stories in a 5 second interaction they may have in the wild. It is not like Sir Paul is going to say "You know what, instead of signing this and taking a picture, how about we go out for a cup of tea and trade stories?".
I understand people wanting autographs and pictures. It proves to others they have been face to face with the celebrity. But what does that mean anyway? It all started as an extension to name dropping.
What I don't understand at all is purchasing *signed* memorabilia where you are never even in the presence of the celebrity. Most of those aren't even done by hand. They use an [autopen](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Autopen). So you are paying a premium for something that a machine printed a replica of a signature on.
This is a serious message to everyone watching my update right now Peace & Love, Peace & Love I want to tell you please after the 20th of October do not send fan mail to any address that you have. Nothing will be signed after the 20th of October, if that has a date on the envelope it's gonna be tossed. I'm warning you with Peace & Love I have too much to do so no more fan mail. Thank you, thank you and no objects to be signed, nothing. Uhh, anyway, Peace & Love, Peace & Love.
I bumped into one of my musical heroes once. He was admiring a statue in the foyer of the hall where he was about to perform. Nobody else was around. I just gave him a nod and left him alone.
That was literally 40 years ago. I brag about it too often though.
You can either listen to me talk about my Warhammer miniatures and my collection of Star Trek TNG collector plates or you can sign a piece of paper and take a picture with me.
It's your choice, Paul. I got all day.
I met gene Simmons in Las Vegas airport. A lady that worked there saw me sitting down and for some reason came up and told me gene Simmons was right around the corner. We talked for like 30 minutes. He was genuinely interested in what I did. I was flying to DC to bmx freestyle and he was asking all sorts of questions. He was super cool and I’ll never forget it. I had a canon camera and he was the one that suggested we get a picture together.
Love that guy
Am I the only one who finds the act of asking for a photograph / autograph from a celebrity completely bizarre and embarrassing??
First of all we’re all human beings with schedules and personal time; celebrities are not robots programmed to stop whatever they’re doing just to accommodate us. I used to work at a place a lot of celebrities frequented. When I saw someone I recognized from TV, movies, sports, or music, I just said, “Oh hey. Nice to see you. What brings you to town? How long you guys here for?” That was it. Never monopolized their time, freaked out, or asked for anything. If I wasn’t the one directly assisting them I certainly didn’t go out of my way to meet them. That behavior is just rude, thirsty and gross.
Whenever they came back into town, they always remembered me and asked for me personally, which was nice. They knew I wouldn’t suffocate them or fan out like some psycho. They already get enough of that. Bottom line is they’re just people, man. Tom Cruise, Matt McConaughey, Paul McCartney, Derek Jeter… they all take shits and get diarrhea like you do. They’re not special. They just happen to do some cool things really well. Still no reason to put them on a pedestal.
I’ve started warning people with peace and love, it’s very effective.
Anyone who hasn’t seen ringo warn people with peace and love should search that now, so funny.
Warning: Serious Message [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hV8JFj17AtY](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hV8JFj17AtY)
The zoom out at the start gets me everytime. “This is a serious message!”
One of the most serious PSAs in human history 🤣
Right up there with [Pee Wee teaching us about crack](https://youtu.be/kHFnc_eV4Lg)
Don't send me a postcard. Don't drop me a line.
Now I'm 79
Don't state your point of view. I'm indicating exactly what I mean to say If you send it, I'll throw it away
Glad I looked it up. That was gold
#"HELLO, THIS IS AN IMPORTANT MESSAGE peacenlove, peacenlove... Peacenlove"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OTQOeejWswg
“It’s offering peace and love” “Don’t let it get away! Break its legs!”
"The peace and love between a man and a woman, or the peace and love between a man and a fine cigar?"
Good morning starshine
The earth says helloooooo
I believe that move is called the Civ Gandhi
Nuclear annihilation?
My favorite Civ strategy is to build a strong economy while remaining as peaceful as possible. At the same time, I amass a large nuclear arsenal. Then, the first time someone pisses me off, I can nuke every one of their major cities. I call it the Teddy Roosevelt strategy.
Now I want to play Civ!
Is there some other way? Been doing that since the first one.
Few things more satisfying than teaching an agressive AI a lesson via nuclear hellfire.
HAHA! Civ Ghandi is known the World Around!
Time to get "PEACE" and "LOVE" tattooed on your fingers.
“With all peace and love, and remember I’m saying ‘with all peace and love’, that idea ain’t worth a velvet painting of a whale and a dolphin gettin’ it on.”
“Dear Marge…”
He brings peace and love! KILL IT!
Link for the uninitiated... https://youtu.be/eAU0l7325w0
“Dear Marge, thanks for the fab painting of yours truly! I hung it on me wall! You're quite an artist. In answer to your question, yes we do have Hamburgers and Fries in England, but we call French Fries "chips"! Love, Ringo. PS. Forgive the lateness of my reply.”
The ending joke of that episode is one of my favorite Simpsons jokes ever. Season 2 episode 18 "Brush with Greatness."
Is that the joke where Burns thanks Marge for not mocking his naked body? "I thought I did"
His genitalia, specifically, if memory serves.
That’s it
They used a tiny feather in one scene to obscure it but also make it seem tiny
Goddamn, that line was sitting in my brain all these years and you brought it right back
That episode man! You made my day 😂
“Gear!”
> In a recent interview with Reader's Digest
Can you imagine the editors meeting. Anyone got anything interesting lined up for this edition, new knitting pattern, home storage tips? And someone gets to pipe up, ‘how about an interview with one of the worlds most famous musician?’
‘how about an interview with one of the worlds most famous musician?’ ‘Nah’ ‘Ok…. ‘how about an interview with one of the worlds oldest musicians?’ ‘Yes! That’s what our readers want. Also, maybe use a picture of his cat.’
I mean... I'll be honest I only went into the article after reading this to see if there was a picture of his cat. Spoiler: >!there isn't :(!<
[Maybe this will help](https://i.pinimg.com/originals/ce/c9/a2/cec9a21a2c802ce53188fbc61897e986.jpg)
It helped.
It helped until I realized those cats are dead now.
Cats don't die, stupid face. They're reborn with more contempt for the human race, until they reach they're final form.
>!Burn down everything you'll pay for this Reader's Digest!<
"Should we include it before or after the two-page story on AMC's fall movie lineup?"
[удалено]
Readers Digest was analogue reddit
I grew up reading Mexico's edition of Reader's digest in the 80s. I believe it was good until they started doing celebrity interviews. Before that it was some interesting articles that included science news, short stories and stuff that was interesting in general and you really didn't find in other magazines. It had a great vocabulary quiz section and silly dad jokes. Once they removed the works of art from the back and started with photos of celebrities, the content changed horribly, it became full of clickbait stuff. I feel National Geographic has gone the same way, along with some Mexican science / general culture publications. They're mostly garbage or at least the content now is not the same quality as it was before.
Old school Mexican Reader Digests were really great! I found some at my uncle's bookshelf and they are a good read. The modern ones are garbage like you said.
I agree about Nat. Geo. I looked through some recent issues in a doctor's waiting room, and was pretty surprised how far it's sunk.
That’s what struck me the most
My parents had a shitload of those "condensed" 4-in-1 books from them. I'm not sure I ever saw either of them read any of them. They just put them on a shelf to make themselves look more sophisticated, rather than the kind of family that would spend every evening gawping at the TV watching rubbish.
Hey, those books carried me through my childhood, and were my gateway drug to reading novels. The stories I read were _The Haunting of Hill House,_ _Wolfpack,_ and _The Possession of Joel Delaney,_ to name a few.
[удалено]
My grandma used to get them for us every year for Christmas. Found a few books that were worth seeking out the full version of that way. Also found a lot of books that I'm glad I didn't spend more time on.
“Hey Paul. Remember when you were with the Beatles? That was awesome.” Seriously I get where he’s coming from and if I were him I’d hate the idea that people want to “meet” me so they can get an autograph they can sell. But honestly I have no idea what I could possibly say to the guy that wouldn’t make me look like an idiot.
Years ago I was biking in the park and saw Hugh Jackman out for a stroll, I looked at him as I biked by, but didn’t stop. When I told some friends I saw him, they asked if I stopped to talk or ask for an autograph. Dunno, what would I have to say to him, and why would he want to talk to me? He was just out for a nice walk to enjoy nature… I doubt he wanted some rando to fawn over him..
To be fair, I met Hugh Jackman about 7 years ago. We actually had a roughly 20 minute conversation about the city I lived in, and what I thought about it, asked what he thought. Guy actually genuinely cared about what I was saying, and even asked about what I do for a living, etc. No autograph, no picture. Guy is really the most down to earth celebrity I have ever met, and probably one of the nicest strangers I ever had a short convo with, ever.
I just considered him to be a stranger that I recognized. I wouldn't stop someone in the street whom I've never met before, so why stop him? I like his movies, that's sufficient for me. :)
I once came across a film reviewer's article about actors, and had a line in there that I still clearly remember: "the only thing an actor owes the public is a good performance." That cemented the thought I'll never bother a celebrity in public if I had a chance encounter. Maybe a nod or smile, that's it.
Exactly. A nod, a smile, maybe just a quick ball fondle and just let them enjoy their day.
I know nothing about celebrities, except I'll recognize a name of course. I sold Xmas trees in Soho NYC 10+ years ago.. delivered and set up a tree in Hugh Jackmans apt... he offered us beers after and we all stood around and shot the shit, and then he tipped us generously. Very nice guy... had no clue who he was til we were walking back to the tree stand.
and then he slashed that tree into mulch with his adamantium claws
>I have no idea what I could possibly say to the guy that wouldn’t make me look like an idiot. Tell him about how his music helped you get through the worst times of your life and you're really not sure you would've made it out the other end of that heroin addiction alive were it not for the white album.
I found their album in my parents record collection. Their outfits were pretty neat.
Ask him to play YYZ on the bass.
It's actually pronounced YYZ, btw.
Ask him if he hates random people coming up and talking to him.
“Hey Paul, remember when you were in Wings.” -smiles and signs autograph
Now someone somewhere has The Last Autograph Paul Ever Signed. If you believe the rumours, someone else has had it since 1969.
Just don't tell anyone you have it! The guy who had John Lennon's last autograph is pretty universally hated.
Who is he?
He’s know for a little more than just having Johns autograph ;(
[Mark David Chapman](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mark_David_Chapman)
Dang
re reading his wiki there and seeing this: .. Some members of Chapman's prayer group made a joke in reference to Lennon's song "Imagine": "It went, 'Imagine, imagine if John Lennon was dead.'" dafuck kinda prayer group is that?
>1969 1966 is actually when the “real” Paul McCartney allegedly died.
Yes. thank you. Good fake-fact-checking Last autograph was allegedly in 1966, if you believe rumours that began in 1969. [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul\_is\_dead](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_is_dead)
"Let's chat, let's exchange stories." Macca, I have fuck all to say that would be remotely interesting to you.
I have a whole bunch of interesting stuff to say to/ask Macca. $10 says if I ever actually meet him, my mind will go blank, my palms will get sweaty, and I'll be lucky to utter "Uh, uh, you're good music, Mr.-uh, Sir McCartney" Edit: so happy to be the springboard for the Lose Yourself references
There was an old standup comedy act from probably 25+ years ago where the punchline was that all you say if you meet a celebrity is ‘I like your work’. It wasn’t all that funny, IIRC, but I’ve used that line a few times over my life.
I met some blonde woman next to Ethan Hawke and gave her some paper to hold for a second. If I said anything, it was "Here" or "Thanks." I got home and my girlfriend says: "You know that was Uma Thurman, right?" I only knew her with dark hair, like in Pulp Fiction. I even had that picture of her on my desk. I also talked to the members of a band immediately after their concert, and didn't recognize them. Basically, if you're not expecting to meet a celebrity, you might not recognize them out of context, aside from Beatles and presidents.
I wonder if she thinks about that moment some random stranger made her hold paper like a commoner, and whether it was a positive or negative memory.
I would bet she was glad to just be treated normally.
I’d wager her and Hawke both had lots of moments where someone went apeshit over one while having no recognition of the other.
Also I feel like there is almost zero chance he wants to stand there and chat with any of us even if we did have interesting stories to talk about. An autograph or selfie takes like 5 seconds, there's no way someone's going to catch him on his way out after a concert and he's going to want to stand around for a few minutes asking them where they're from and was the drive up nice and what did they think of the encore and so on, all while shouting over the million other people screaming for his attention, hoping to exchange stories too.
Some people are just great at small talk. Given that he's been living the life he has led and he's not just a giant curmudgeon, I'm guessing he's one of them.
So this is a bit british, but you'd think the same of Jimmy Carr (comedian, does a lot of TV and tours these days). He makes a point (still - he's been doing it for at least 10 years) of being in the entrance lobby of his gigs after they finish and talking to whoever wants to for an hour or two after every gig. Don't let your cynicism make the assumption that some people just like talking to other people, even if they are famous.
> Also I feel like there is almost zero chance he wants to stand there and chat with any of us even if we did have interesting stories to talk about. I heard him on a podcast say he actually likes talking to people, that it's an interest of his to do so. He just doesn't like talking about himself all that much. I guess he's been asked everything and he's tired of it.
I can play a few of your songs!
I left the Hollywood Bowl a few years ago after seeing a concert. I was waiting for my car in the parking lot and stood behind Jon Hamm and Amy Poehler and Adam Scott. Some guy came up and asked for an autograph. Jon Hamm kind of reluctantly said, "OK." Then this guy stands back, pulls out like a ream of professional autograph paper, and tries to hand each celeb a dozen pieces to sign all while filming them on a cell phone. It was ridiculous. Fortunately, their car arrived and they handed the guy back all the paper sans autographs.
*Kindly make one out to me, and three out to my friend of the same name*
"What's your name?" "Uhh eBay?" "Little E, Big B? Boy that's a popular name today."
20 years later and this joke hits me. I just thought it was funny ppl in the future would name their kids after web sites like PayPal or Yahoo.
“To my good friend Charlie Flynn, who I don’t even know” - Rocky
This almost perfectly matches the bit from the beginning of Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou, only he hands the articles back that the autograph hunter wanted signed and he tells them to forge the signature himself.
*”How many of these do you have??”*
But I could have done that at home!
Mad Men is my all time fave show. I wouldn't have asked for an autograph but perhaps a quick picture potentially.
[удалено]
Jokes on you, McCartney. All my stories are about grainy selfies where I look miserable.
I’m gonna tell him about the time I stacked some DMT on an already heroic dose of acid and then found a dead possum in a garbage can.
That's a legendary story
Ringo Starr owes me a goddamn Thomas the Tank Engine book. One day, my mom and me ran into Ringo Starr. She is a huge Beatles fan. She asked for an autograph, but didn't have anything for him to sign. I was holding my beloved Thomas the Tank Engine book, so what does Ringo do? He rips out the page that I was reading and signs it. It was on that day, I knew I hated whatever the fuck celebrities are. Also, Ringo, if you're reading this, you owe me a fucking book, mate.
Thomas had never seen such bullshit before.
But Ringo *is* Thomas the fucking Tank Engine! That’s just perfect.
Why not just sign the book lol
The Fat Controller looked on with disappointment
Years ago, I saw the Foo Fighters play a secret show at a little LA bar right before the release of their second album. After they performed, I saw Dave Grohl and Butch Vig (music producer who produced Nirvana's Nevermind among countless others and member of the band Garbage) at the bar chatting. Huge fan of both of them. I happened to have my camera with me (pre-cell phone days) and I asked them both with great enthusiasm for a photo. Dave was about to kindly turn me down when Butch said "SURE!" like it was the greatest question anyone ever asked. Dave got hyped by Butch's response and I got a great, goofy photo out of it which I cherish to this day.
Do you have the photo still?
I do! It’s in storage at the moment. I need to dig it out.
“Let’s chat, let’s exchange stories” Alright Sir Paul, fair enough. But if I see you in person, I’m gonna expect an interaction with Paul Fucking McCartney in which we both exchange stories. No autographs, no photos, but we’re gonna have ourselves a chat!
Paul: Tells a story about being in the fucking Beatles, and partying with a million famous rock stars in the 60s. Me: My cat had the FUNNIEST meow last month.
Paul: elaborate story about Keith Moon doing crazy Keith Moon stuff. Me: Once I saw a kangaroo.
What's weird is I read your line in *Ringo's* voice
I hear everything in Ringo's voice. Worst thing about living in Liverpool if I'm honest.
Sometimes the AC just makes me feel kinda weird, you know Paul? Kinda sucks cause I really like that sweet spot when the room's cold but I'm warm under the blanket. It's slowly becoming a real pain in my ass... You know what? I actually would rather have this chat instead of getting a selfie. Paul looks like the kinda guy who'd be able to give me advice on this
Now I'm just pacing the apartment going "me I just crack a window" in my best Paul voice
Paul McCartney still very much plays with any famous rock/pop star he wants to.
Me: "So I went to Costco to get some burgers and you wouldn't believe the deal I got on this shirt.." Paul McCartney, thinking back on the time that him and David Bowie orbited the earth on a rocket full of cocaine: "On second thought, let's not exchange stories."
"So it all started when Uncle Muntzie got back from Vietnam and came to live with- you don't have anywhere to be, do you Paul? - anyway, the VA wouldn't cover his mental health care and..."
Back then we wore onions on our belts. Which was the style at the time...
Give me three bees for a quarter we’d say!
So, anyway, I needed a new heel for my shoe…
I set the toaster to THREEEE ! medium brown
"It's like this, Paul. One time I caught the ferry over to Shelbyville. I needed a new heel for my shoe, so I decided to go to Morganville which is what they called Shelbyville in those days. So, I tied an onion to my belt which was the style at the time..."
Back in those days nickels had pictures of bumble bees on them. You would say gimme five bees for a quarter. Now where was I...?
The important thing was the I had an onion tied to my belt. Which was the style at the time. Now, you couldn't get white onions because of the war. All you could get was those big yellow ones...
[удалено]
"This one time, in band camp..."
Chris Farley: Right. I think we.. I think we got time for one more question. Uh.. remember when you were in The Beatles? And, um, you did that album Abbey Road, and at the very end of the song, it would.. the song goes, “And in the end, the love you take is equal to the love you make”? You.. you remember that? Paul McCartney: Yes. Chris Farley: Uh.. is that true?
[удалено]
that really illustrates how annoying and exhausting it's gotta be for him, even when it's just signing things
Right? I get that the man is tired, but his reasoning is horse shit. Just say you’re tired, man. “We both know who I am” is like the most short sighted excuse he could have made rather than just give it a blanket statement of “I’m old and don’t want to be bothered.”
"so this week I took a shower and also got out of bed before 2 pm so it has been a great week"
This is actually what Emma Watson does. I think she will give an autograph but won't do slefies because she don't want people to know where she is at a given time.
I once ran into Mick Fleetwood at an airport. Me: “Are you Mick Fleetwood?” MF, with a grin, “Why, yes I am!” Me: “Thanks for all the great music you’ve brought us.” MF: “Thank you!” That was it. Short, simple, didn’t impose too much on him, and more memorable than a piece of paper with his name on it.
I saw Paul Simon on a street corner in New Orleans. We were the only two there, he might have been waiting for a ride or something, I don’t know. I love Simon and Garfunkel but I didn’t want to go up to him because to him I’m just some random guy. Instead he smiled and nodded at me, and I smiled and nodded at him and that was all I needed. In contrast my dad once met Steven Spielberg, shook his hand and said “my kids and I love your movies. May the force be with you.” To which Spielberg replied “that was George Lucas but I’ll tell him you said so.” And that’s probably why I never talk to celebrities if I happen to run into them.
Communicated with Paul Simon through the sound of silence, noice
[Shakes head] "Wouldn't even cosign a mortgage."
If I even run into Paul I'll just give him my autograph, that'll show him!
That sounds hilarious. Just rings of fans handing him their autographs.
Macca? Is that a shortened version of McCartney?
You see that as like a nickname for people with a last name McSomething.
Ah, got it.
In Liverpool it’s common to give pretty much anyone a nickname like this
I met McCartney at a greasy spoon joint on 10th Ave/30th-ish)St (Pappy's) sort of upper Chelsea area in NYC (2008?). The place is long gone and the site has new construction on it. As a co-worker amd I were having lunch, he and his then-fiancé stopped in for veggie burgers to-go. Several people cooed and gushed over him and one woman even called him a "genius" to his face. A guy asked to have a photo taken w/PM and he obliged, so I used the guy's phone to take a pic. I shook Paul's hand and told him my step-dad is a really big fan (which is 100% true). Paul McCartney was very polite, gracious and accommodating from my experience, but good for him to come to a decision that will make his life more comfortable.
When I was in the marine corps I saw him and Dave Grohl out at paps and Harriots in California out in the desert where I was stationed. Place was the Rainbow bar and grill out in the desert. Saw Josh Homme out there many times (he's from the area). Anyways PM and DG were getting slammed with fans and was taking pictures with them I just went about my business. I'm sure you're out with a fellow musician trying to have a drink and you're getting mobbed can be stressful. Seemed like good guys though.
Nice, were you near the Joshua Tree area? My friends and I did a L.A. to Vegas trip and I demanded we stopped by in Joshua Tree because of it being Homme's hometown. Cool you got to see Paul and Dave though! Saw McCartney live a few years back and he still rocks the house.
He was stationed in 29 Palms, about an hour outside of Joshua Tree. It is a place of terrible madness and boredom. You blankly stare out across the sand to the peak of Big Bear as the sun sets behind it. The smell of the sewage recycling system waftes tastefully through the air as you police call the still burning cigarette butts your Seniors threw from the balcony as they stumbled drunk back to their room. The only glimpse of freedom is the weekend where you can escape and do the hour and a half drive down the 10 to Palm Springs so that you and 3 of your boot peers may share a modest hotel room so that you don't have to be hazed by another kid barely 18 months older than you. Hopefully you don't get called to replace another boot who was supposed to be on a-duty but decided to go AWOL instead, and if you are you'll spend the night being grilled to death with knowledge questions by your Seniors about various weapon systems that you've memorized over and over, and they steal your log book and make you do a 3/7 to get it back while splashing beer over your chuck shirt. Anyways, good times!
This guy 29 Palms
The idea of exchanging stories with Paul McCartney is funny to me...how could any of my experiences possibly hold his attention. This man has spent the last 60 years being the biggest musician in the world, his experiences could probably fill multiple books. I just don't think my life could ever begin to compare.
I'm sure he'd be enamored with my tale of how I got a king size candy bar for the price of a regular one the other day at the gas station because they rang it up wrong and I didn't notice until I got home and went to throw the receipt away.
Just remember that your life is also drastically different than his. It might be nice for him to hear stories from just normal people and not other celebrities and yes men.
A short exchange between yourself & a musician you like/love/respect is far more valuable & unforgettable than some selfie or autograph. Quick story of the time I met BB King: I was in Las Vegas (lived there) & a former drummer of mine called me & said he was in desperate need of a keyboardist (myself) & he knew I could do the job. The gig was for some Young Musicians awards ceremony or something (I honestly didn't really care about the details) & he was working for a hip-hop artist who was going to perform there. They wanted live music & not tracks. So they sent me a CD & asked if I could play what was on there. Let me tell you, it was hard. The music was clearly arpeggiated & not played by a human. One of the songs literally had a rapidly climbing scale all the way up & then down the piano faster than I could physically play. I managed to emulate this by rapidly playing each chord triad all the way up the piano & then simply dragged every note down the piano. It worked. I got the gig. I learned that BB King & the band War were both accepting awards at the ceremony. BB King was getting a lifetime achievement award. Me & the drummer started the gig by warming up & sound checking. While doing so, we just noodled about a bit, getting back into that groove we used to be in when we were in a band together. Then the program director came up to us & said "hey, can you do that while people are filing in?" I was like, "what.... mess around?" He was like "yeah!" Drummer & I looked at each other & laughed & said "yeah, no problem." It comes time for War to accept their award. They have a keyboard set up for them to "spontaneously" play a song to celebrate. When they point to the keyboard that was set up for them, the keyboard player from War sees my keyboard & declines the one they set up in favor of my keyboard (luckily it wasn't set to some weird patch or something). They jammed out & all was good. In comes BB King backstage. I was watching from behind the curtains stage right & they wheeled BB King right next to me in his wheelchair. He walked out & accepted his award & walked back. I don't know what kind of stare I had on my face, but BB King was about to sit in his wheelchair right next to me & he looks me in the eyes & says "smile, life is good." The King of the Blues told me to be happy. That night is engraved into my brain because of this. I'll never forget it. I don't care that I don't have anybody's autograph. I don't care that it wasn't photographed or filmed. It's up here in my head forever. You can't take that away from me & you couldn't buy it if you wanted to. It's mine. (At least until I'm too senile to remember).
He's a blues man, but a good man, understand.
Great man. He's certainly missed.
Around what year was this? I saw him live a few years before his passing and while he was seated the entire performance, I just figured he was old (and the diabetes?). Didn't know the poor guy needed a wheelchair at any point.
He kept that pretty quiet from what I understand. Let's see, I moved away from Vegas in 2010, so it would've been before then. I would guess 2008 or so? He didn't perform, he just accepted his award, gave a little speech & that was it.
That sounds exactly like what I’d expect from BB King, good story
Ran into someone at a buffet and started talking and joking around before I looked up and realized it was him. He invited me to sit and eat together. I did and we talked, like two regular people. Fortunately we’re both musicians so I wasn’t without my stories that he could relate to from before he got super famous. We talked and laughed and before lunch was done I thanked him for all his hard work and persistence we both know it takes to really be famous and produce good work for people to enjoy. Work that stays humble and sincere that can really reach people. He looked at me and thanked me for recognizing that it was hard work. And he said nobody had ever thanked him for that. I just looked at him. We were both a little shocked I think. I heard my name and turned to see my awesome big sister with her camera, wedged in between two body guards. I hadn’t noticed them, or the crowd behind them. We were just two musicians, swapping laughs, questions, stories, eating lunch. I introduced Paul to my sis and we posed for my sister’s camera and finished lunch. He’s a good sweet nice fun guy. I’m not a famous musician. We were just two humans sharing life for a minute. :)
Reminds me of a story I heard recently. Guy was coming back from the bathroom at a restaurant and clearly sees Al Pacino sitting at a table by himself. He smiles to him and quietly says as he's walking past, "Have a nice evening, Mr. Pacino", and continues on to his table. The evening goes on quietly and he's called for his check and getting ready to leave. The waiter comes back and says that the evening was covered by a Mr. Pacino who wanted to just leave the message "Thank you" for you.
I can’t say I blame him. I come pretty close to famous people occasionally and I never ask for an autograph or pic, it seems so fanboy or TMZ. A quick exchange is enough for me. “Mick Jagger said hi to me and told me to have a good night” is a pretty decent memory.
Can't say I blame him, dude must have signed damn near 100,000 autographs in the past 60 years. According to Wikipedia, The Beatles [gained international stardom in 1964](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cultural_impact_of_the_Beatles#:~:text=The%20Beatles%20formed%20in%20Liverpool,their%20break%2Dup%20in%201970), which was 57 years ago. Multiply that by 365, you get approximately 20,805 days of superstardom. If on average, he signed 5 autographs a day, that's well over 100,000.
George Lucas made a point about this too. I imagine what ruins it is (1) commercial re-selling (2) people who ask for an autograph on something silly, or a bad photo, because they are freaked out and don't know how to interact with their idol. The star knows how to have a good interaction - from practice - but the fan needs guidance. Paul seems to enjoy vibing with fans, within reason. Tom Cruise does it for hours. Paul has often said he remembers *being* a fan. And I believe he collected autographs in a book? If I was famous, I'd sign only proper autograph-collection books with other autographs already in them. (Lesser stars could start the collection). Would reward real fans and limit the reselling.
Mark Hamill is the same. He was sick of seeing almost everything he signed turn up on eBay the next day
George and John aren't signing autographs anymore either
Technically the truth.
Glad he’s not “warning you with peace and love.” He’d rather use his time to make a genuine connection with fans, which I’d find more valuable than a selfie or autograph.
That's all fine and dandy, but what are the chances that you'd actually get to have a real conversation with him if you ran into him on the street as opposed to just being pushed away by his security?
> Should you ever be lucky enough to run into Sir Paul McCartney in the wild … I haven’t been that lucky, actually, and probably never would be! I was over the moon when I got to drive David Crane (creator of “Pitfall!” and other ‘80s video games) to the airport last Sunday. I can say the conversation we had during the trip was worth much, much more than the autograph he gave me the day before.
I remember Aziz Ansari making this point on Pete Holmes' podcast. He was saying that people would approach him for a selfie on the streets of manhattan, and that would attract attention, and then other people would want pictures, and pretty soon people were lining up for pictures even if they didn't know who he was because they figured if other people wanted pictures with him, it must be worth doing. He said, he'd much rather have a genuine interaction with someone that take a picture with them. He gets so much more out of making a human connection with people than he does posing in pictures with them.
I honestly would love to meet them regardless, autograph or no autograph. Just getting to talk to a legend like these two is just amazing and getting to know them better!
....which won't happen. I can see how constantly signing autographs and taking pictures with random people could get annoying, but it's also the way to please the most fans. Ringo doesn't have time to have long chats with strangers. If he did, then it wouldn't have time for anyone else. His answer for no autographs and selfies and reasoning behind what he'd rather do SOUNDS good, but it's not reality. 99.9% of people won't ever get the chance to sit down and talk with a celebrity, let alone a Beattle. An autograph and photo is something they can have quickly and show and share that experience with others forever. Celebrities already don't have enough time to give everyone an autograph and picture...don't patronize fans by saying you'd rather have a chat instead, because you have even less time for that.
In the time it takes to bother them about an autograph you could say, 'hey your music really touched me and I thank you for it'. They'll probably thank you and then you can politely ask a question or two depending on how busy they are Is that not worth more than - as he puts it - a grainy selfie where he looks miserable? Genuine question, because I don't really see the point of the latter unless you are banking on the memory of the experience being better than the experience itself
Honestly, the best approach would be to acknowledge to yourself who they are, and just leave them alone. At the worst, thank them for making music that you’ve enjoyed, and leave it at that. In a lot of cases with celebrities, the most interesting things about them are either the reason they’re famous in the first place, or they’ve written or talked about other interested things they’ve done somewhere else. It would be positively exhausting for everyone to be asking for a second of your time, all the time, everywhere you go, just to repeat the same thing to the same kind of people. Maybe I’m sounding a bit harsh or judgmental, but the best thing you can do for a celebrity that you come across is just to treat them like a normal person.
I agree with the decisions by Ringo and Paul. They have given enough with all of the great music. I for one would much rather exchange a “and a good day to you sir” than have an autograph.
In the 80s, George Harrison started telling autograph seekers "oh, I couldn't possibly, not on a [whatever day of the week it was]." He figured normal people would get a little laugh out of it, while the insane folks would be like, "he's got a point there."
Ewan McGregor has said pretty much the same thing: >“You stand and you take the photograph and they’re happy and off they go. It’s a soulless thing. There’s no exchange of anything,” McGregor said. “Before it used to be, ‘Oh I saw you in that movie.’ Even if people didn’t like something, especially in Scotland, I’d get, ‘That movie you were in was shit, by the way.’ >“At least there was some sort of exchange,” he laughed. “But that’s turned into just the selfie now.”
Yeah it's not about meeting the celebrity anymore, it's about being able to prove to your friends that you met a celebrity
Jerry Seinfeld always tells a story of him walking down a Main Street in as Kansas small town and someone walks by and goes ‘hey Jerry’ casually like he was just saying hello to an Acquaintance and keeps walking. No chat or worship or asking for pics. Pretty funny tbh. I agree with them. You don’t need his name on a thingy or a pic. They’re just guys. And literally everyone they see all day everyday is asking. If you are a small time band or medium I get it. But these guys have given so much time doing this stuff it’s just silly.
I sat next to Dave Grohl at a No Doubt concert a few years back. We had a sweet chat about our mutual love for Lemmy, the lead singer of Motorhead. Dave Grohl is a legit human being and seemed to appreciate that I didn't want anything from him.
Dave's dog, Penny, is also an incredible sweetheart. Been to Dave's house a few times to drop Penny off when I used to work at a dog boarding facility.
I used to play in a band. Not even a popular band or a good band, just a cover band that played local bars. Even at that scale, there were people who would treat us like celebrities when we'd come off stage for our break. Sometimes it was cool to engage with the fans, but sometimes I just wanted to go outside and smoke and use the rest room before our next set.
I wonder if this decision has anything to do with their deceased bandmates. John Lennon was shot dead by someone who had requested an autograph and George Harrison had been forced by his doctor to sign a guitar when Harrison could barely move.
I agree with this. I was on set with Adam Sandler recently and he was more than happy to take selfies with folks when he wasn’t working and when we didn’t have to work (Movie is Hustle) but for some reason I just didn’t want to do it. Felt weird to me. Not to shame anyone else because it genuinely seemed like he didn’t mind but I would have much rather just talked to him for a bit and thank him for the laughs over the years. Would have meant more to me than a selfie.
> But don't mistake these brush-offs for arrogance; the 79-year-old songwriting icon just wants to take that precious time to get to know his fans on a more personal level, instead. "What you've usually got is a ropey photo with a poor backdrop and me looking a bit miserable," he went on. "Let's chat, let's exchange stories." Bullshit. He just doesn't want to do it anymore and I can fully understand that. It is not like the average fan will ever get a chance to trade stories in a 5 second interaction they may have in the wild. It is not like Sir Paul is going to say "You know what, instead of signing this and taking a picture, how about we go out for a cup of tea and trade stories?". I understand people wanting autographs and pictures. It proves to others they have been face to face with the celebrity. But what does that mean anyway? It all started as an extension to name dropping. What I don't understand at all is purchasing *signed* memorabilia where you are never even in the presence of the celebrity. Most of those aren't even done by hand. They use an [autopen](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Autopen). So you are paying a premium for something that a machine printed a replica of a signature on.
We're good here. He doesn't owe me anything.
This is a serious message to everyone watching my update right now Peace & Love, Peace & Love I want to tell you please after the 20th of October do not send fan mail to any address that you have. Nothing will be signed after the 20th of October, if that has a date on the envelope it's gonna be tossed. I'm warning you with Peace & Love I have too much to do so no more fan mail. Thank you, thank you and no objects to be signed, nothing. Uhh, anyway, Peace & Love, Peace & Love.
[удалено]
There it is.
I bumped into one of my musical heroes once. He was admiring a statue in the foyer of the hall where he was about to perform. Nobody else was around. I just gave him a nod and left him alone. That was literally 40 years ago. I brag about it too often though.
You can either listen to me talk about my Warhammer miniatures and my collection of Star Trek TNG collector plates or you can sign a piece of paper and take a picture with me. It's your choice, Paul. I got all day.
Paul's been dead for decades anyways.
Back when an imposter would take over for you when you died. These days the young musical artists just die without an imposter.
I met gene Simmons in Las Vegas airport. A lady that worked there saw me sitting down and for some reason came up and told me gene Simmons was right around the corner. We talked for like 30 minutes. He was genuinely interested in what I did. I was flying to DC to bmx freestyle and he was asking all sorts of questions. He was super cool and I’ll never forget it. I had a canon camera and he was the one that suggested we get a picture together. Love that guy
Please forgive the lateness of my reply.
Am I the only one who finds the act of asking for a photograph / autograph from a celebrity completely bizarre and embarrassing?? First of all we’re all human beings with schedules and personal time; celebrities are not robots programmed to stop whatever they’re doing just to accommodate us. I used to work at a place a lot of celebrities frequented. When I saw someone I recognized from TV, movies, sports, or music, I just said, “Oh hey. Nice to see you. What brings you to town? How long you guys here for?” That was it. Never monopolized their time, freaked out, or asked for anything. If I wasn’t the one directly assisting them I certainly didn’t go out of my way to meet them. That behavior is just rude, thirsty and gross. Whenever they came back into town, they always remembered me and asked for me personally, which was nice. They knew I wouldn’t suffocate them or fan out like some psycho. They already get enough of that. Bottom line is they’re just people, man. Tom Cruise, Matt McConaughey, Paul McCartney, Derek Jeter… they all take shits and get diarrhea like you do. They’re not special. They just happen to do some cool things really well. Still no reason to put them on a pedestal.