A sad but important truth that we celebrate on this site is the healing power of the nervous breakdown. Some call it “God’s alien work”, some call it the “rock-bottom” moment, we call it the nervous breakdown that precedes new life. The acceptance of defeat that produces soul-deep prayer, opening a person up to the reality of deliverance. Anyway, rock n roll is rife with songs that describe these moments of acquiescence. The Rolling Stones’ “19th Nervous Breakdown” is one particularly awesome example. Their use of “19th” may be pejorative (an almost dismissive description of the girl-in-question’s manic tendencies), but to me, it underlines the endlessly cyclical nature of repentance and absolution that marks (the Christian) life. I also happen to believe the song represents the highwater mark of their pre-1968 output, far outstripping “Satisfaction.” Watch them as they catch fire in Australia in 1966:
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7zyFkBE-nbo&w=600]
A second, less misanthropic example is Freedy Johnston’s excellent “Bad Reputation,” also known as the tune that plays over the credits of Noah Baumbach’s hilarious first film Kicking & Screaming. In it, Johnston’s breakdown doubles as a cry for love out of weakness, as these things often do, and the vulnerability is stunning. Death Cab did a note-for-note cover a few years ago, but Johnston’s version remains definitive:
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OVqBYkrlsmw&w=600]
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3 responses to “(19th) Nervous Breakdowns and Bad Reputations”
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The Stones were the BEST. I don't think Sinatra knew what to do when Mick Jagger came on the scene.
By the way, is that Brian Jones I see on the rhythm guitar?
That's Brian Jones, alright. And it's interesting to see Keith's mannerisms, so different from the gunslinger crouch he goes into nowadays.
I've always been conflicted about the Stones, even when I was a big fan — such great riffs, but such degenerate living, and so much of that degeneracy right up front in the songs and on stage. They aren't degenerate here, just characteristically scornful.
Leave it to DZ to find something positive where I hadn't. And the Johnston song is a beauty I hadn't heard. Thanks, DZ.