Josh Groban Ties Elvis? Really?

This article on Billboard.com is so depressing, even if it is just about a Christmas album. I just can't understand the attraction to this warbly, overgrown hobbit. Clearly, I'm in the minority. -K

Starting my Day with Elvis, Ending it with Bruce

I had an appointment today to get my National Insurance Number, which from what I can tell is the UK’s equivalent to a Social Security Number so I cabbed it over to another town. For some reason, the driver and I talked about Elvis for the entire ride. I don’t even know how it began but this man talked so lovingly about his idol. When I told him that I had visited Graceland he had a lot of questions.

I then spent the day walking all over London and ended the day at the British Library listening to a lecture called Race, Religion and Rock ‘n’ Roll: How Bruce Springsteen Saved My Life. I bought the book after the lecture and began reading it on the way home. I felt a bit like a voyeur sitting in an audience listening to people talk about America and Bruce Springsteen. In my opinion, Bruce is one of those musicians that is very much linked with America and New Jersey. Who would think that he could speak to a young boy growing up in the UK? It was a beautiful thing. The person leading the discussion asked Sarfraz Manzoor, the author, why Bruce, why not Dylan or some other artist and I can’t quote the author directly but I wish I could because his response eloquently explained that intangible connection between the artist and fans. He said something like we all put out a frequency and we are drawn to other things of that same frequency. It really is as simple and complicated as that.

I had a friend Kate, who passed away a few years ago that was from New Jersey. I remember her telling me once that she was at a bar on a remote island and the bar had a jukebox. She walked up to put some money in and she noticed above the jukebox that iconic picture of Bruce strumming a guitar in front of an American Flag background. She thought to herself I can travel a world away and I’m standing in front of a picture of a kid who grew up two towns over from me. --J

"I'm Going to Graceland, Graceland, Memphis Tennessee"...

Work trip – Heading to one of the frequent cities I visit. How can this get fun? I’m traveling with two folks from work and we decide to take a detour and stop in Memphis on our way to the final destination. While I have driven past Graceland a few times, I have never stopped. We decide to stop there before heading on to Beale Street for a quick lunch and then on we go.

Everyone I know who has ever gone to Graceland has said two things to me. First, the 70’s décor is atrocious. Second, Graceland is much smaller than you expect it to be. In the age of MTV’s Cribs, yes, it is smaller than expected, but back in the day, I am sure it was awesome. I wasn’t so shocked by the décor because it just brought me back to my childhood when my mom used to ask me to rake the long shag carpeting in the living room.

Graceland is a business. It is well-organized and every person is given a headset to listen to a guided tour, which contains sound bites from the man himself. I’m such a nerd tourist that I love this. When I go to a tourist destination, I want someone telling me all about it so I can appreciate it more. There are also various monitors throughout the tour running film of Elvis performances and interviews and I believe for me this was the highlight. Watching his press conference when he returned from military service in Germany, watching Ed Sullivan show clips, and the 1968 comeback special, were highlights of the tour. I loved the newspaper clips in the museum reporting on young men thrown out of high school in the Midwest because of their Elvis haircut. It is all relative, but what was controversial then, sure does make you ponder what is controversial now.

There were a lot of people there on a Tuesday afternoon. I found myself censoring anything critical I might say to my travel partners about anything in the museum or of Elvis for fear that I might offend one of the other visitors. I got the feeling that for some, this experience was like church. I said to the women that I was traveling with that if I would have been a young girl when Elvis was on the Ed Sullivan show, I would have been hooked, no doubt.

You may have to be a true fan to pay $22 to tour Graceland, but I felt like it was worth it. Here are a few pics of the infamous jumpsuits and gold records. Maybe because I was prepared for it, I appreciated the over the top décor. Last year I was reading an interview with Krist Novoselic, the bassist for Nirvana. He was being asked to describe his standard of living post-Nirvana and he said that he had a nice house but nothing like the mansions on Cribs. He asked the question, “Why are all the houses on Cribs beige?” Like it or not, Elvis had personal style. I doubt if he were alive today, his house would be beige. --J