it comes in pints?

"Pete who?"

That's my reaction too. For that matter, I only kinda sorta know who Kate Moss is. And don't care.

Well, I do realize that you're above it all, but when a successful young woman, no matter how vacuous a career she may have, risks ruining her life with drug addiction, especially considering she's the mother of a young child, I actually do kind of care. Not that I spend hours crying over it or anything, but many girls look up to people like her and the example she sets is kind of important in that respect.

Ugh. I know that comment came off nasty. I didn't mean it that way. Sorry.

Nobody In America Would Have Even Heard Of Him

So?

That's almost as daft as this. It's not about you!

Um...Mark...I'm not saying it's all about us. Maybe I should have written I never would have heard of them or made it clear that in terms of the comparison, Pink Floyd had actually made a splash and toured the US while Syd was with the band, whereas Babbyblubber or whatever his band is called hasn't made a dent outside the obscure college radio circuit. And I hardly argued that it makes Doherty completely anonymous or useless to the rest of the world.

Nor does your point cancel mine. The only reason this guy ever makes the papers here is because of his drug problems and police encounters, not at all because of his artisitic output. That's a FACT, call it provincial or otherwise.

"pssst - Pete. When you get busted using drugs and the papers run stories about it, they are not ruining your life. You are ruining your own"

I like that. Nice post.

BTW, Emily, right below the Mr. T headline you linked was this fun item:

"Pete Doherty wants implant to kick drugs"

LONDON, England (AP) -- Pete Doherty told a judge Thursday he plans to have a chemical implant put into his abdomen to help him kick drugs.

That's right, the best solution for a drug habit is an implant to feed you chemicals 24/7.

Doherty, the 27-year-old frontman of Babyshambles, appeared for a progress review of his drug rehabilitation program that was ordered after he was arrested several times on drug charges.

Not to be confused with a parole hearing or some such.

He said he hoped to have the fingertip-sized implant, which releases a drug to prevent highs from opiates, fitted within two weeks.

Judge Jane McIvor told Doherty she was pleased with his progress but was still waiting for his first negative test result.

"You are going in the right direction. It's not easy, especially in your circumstances. I appreciate that entirely," McIvor said. "I think your concentration should be, within six months of the order, to get a negative test."

Isn't that sweet, the Judge is rooting for him. It must be so hard to have wealth, youth, a supermodel GF, and (arguably) fame and talent; no wonder he turned to drugs!

Doherty was two hours late for the court appearance in east London. The former lead singer of the Libertines wore his signature suit and trilby hat.

This woman is bending over backwards to give him a fourteenth chance and he was TWO HOURS LATE. Splendid, mate!

Good job, Nightfly. But to be fair to people in a position like Doherty, he works in a business where that kind of temptation is bountiful, to say the least. It doesn't excuse his indulgence, but I don't come to the office everyday and have people offer me cocaine and heroin, so it's a lot easier for me to pretend I'm of higher moral fiber when I'm not faced with the same choices. He's also around a lot of people who do not necessarily appreciate or care about how he's hurting himself and aren't supportive in the way he needs when he's trying to kick the habit.

One of the saddest quotes I've ever read was from Syd Barrett's bandmate, David Gilmour, talking about how he and the rest of Pink Floyd were trying desperately to pull Barrett away from the crowd of people that surrounded him and encouraged his over-use of LSD. There were even times when some of these so-called "friends" would spike his drink with the stuff because they preferred happy, fun, doped up Syd to normal Syd trying to pull himself together for the sake of saving his life. He wasn't a person to them; he was a rock star, almost an object to be manipulated for personal ends until he'd outgrown his usefulness to them. Gilmour said "in the end, they won and we lost." Tragically. I imagine Pete Doherty may be facing the same challenges.

Wandered over here from the Swilling as I normally do.

Well, I'll throw Pete a bone. But not really.

I'll congratulate him for not actually comparing HIMSELF to Syd Barrett. This separates him from his other loser contemporaries who liken themselves, publicly, shamelessly to icons of the past.

To wit:

Exhibit A: Paris Hilton saying this week that every generation has a blonde bombshell icon, in the manner of Marilyn Monroe, Princess Diana, et al. She is this generation's icon. (Pause... does this mean she will die an untimely, young death, too? Hmmmm. No, probably not, since she actually sucks out loud and the above-mentioned had some redeemed qualities. Some.)

Exhibit B: Lindsay Lohan quoted many, many times comparing herself to legendary redheads such as Ann-Margaret. Really, now. Really? Whatever. I guess if being "legendary" includes the ability to snort coke off the male appendages of a different male every 24 hours, well, then, bravo, Lindsay, you are lengendary.

Great post. I shall return. More often, if you'll have me.

I promise to check my spelling next time.

Babbyblubber or whatever his band is called hasn't made a dent outside the obscure college radio circuit.

That's the same here really. He's a darling of the NME and perhaps Xfm quite possibly, sadly, for vicarious association with his "heroin chic" than for his artistic output. He's certainly not a star, for a cause célèbre. The little I've heard of his stuff I actually quite liked. As the article alluded to, he writes in a sort Kinks/Suburban/British/wistful way that is firmly and proudly rooted in a make believe smokey, streets paved with gold olde London town.

He's obviously a talented fellow with enough problems of his own without his "friends", sychophants and hangers on encouraging him. That strikes me as not dissimilar to Syd Barrett.

As for not getting arrested on the otherside of the pond, you guys have tons of earnest, turgid rock bands that sell out enormodomes from coast to coast but we've never clasped to our bosoms: Counting Crows, Hootie and the Blowfish, John Cougar Melloncamp. These are just mere names. That doesn't mean they're useless because frankly I wouldn't know.

Of course we'll have you!

The funny thing about Paris Hilton is I think she really, really believes she's some adored celebrity and not a complete laughing stock. People only pay attention to her in the same way that they crane their necks to look at the aftermath of a car accident. Um, honey, you're famous because of a sex tape, m'kay?

And Lindsay Lohan is a textbook case of what can happen when someone experiences fame as a child without anything to keep them grounded in reality as they mature. She's not even 21 yet and is already a legend in her own mind.

He's obviously a talented fellow with enough problems of his own without his "friends", sychophants and hangers on encouraging him. That strikes me as not dissimilar to Syd Barrett.

Mark,
In that case, he's not dissimilar to any other celebrity on the planet who succumbs to the more dangerous elements that come along with fame. Hell, even Paris Hilton has sycophants and hangers-on and nobody would compare her to Barrett for a second.

And nowhere did I proclaim him as "useless" just because nobody here bothers with him. Just like I can say that nobody in the US cares about soccer without invalidating the sport's popularity in the rest of the world. I wouldn't take any kind of strange offense (excuse me, I mean offence) if somebody in the UK noted that British people don't follow baseball or never would have heard of Pete Rose if he hadn't been pinched for gambling. I'm merely pointing out the Doherty/Barrett comparison is ridiculous because the former isn't known here for anything except scandal, whereas Barrett has had a huge, consistent following for decades.

Emily - you're right on as far as the temptations, of course; we don't face such perils, but neither do we have the resources to haul ourselves back out of the holes we do fall into, nor the people willing to pour so much into our causes based solely on our celebrity. It would be all they could handle if our family or friends had to pass the hat to keep us from foreclosure; and the most they could do if we were busted for drugs would be to visit us in stir and make sure we stuck with rehab.

I'm not saying that the guy's of inferior moral stuff or that he doesn't have people who genuinely love him. Nor could I say what kind of a guy I'd be if I met that much deference and tuchis-smooching. I'm just amazed that he doesn't recognize how astonishingly lucky he is and take better care of it.

Good point, Nightfly, but in the same vein, I know how lucky I am to be born in a modern, Western country (won't say "U.S." for fear of making it all about "us") as opposed to Iran or Ghana or something, but I don't remind myself of this every day or with every gesture and decision I make. I think it would be easy to get to the point where fame and wealth are taken for granted.

I have to disclaim myself, as well: I've never heard Pete Doherty. I've only heard OF him. And it seems that some people always want to christen a new "too sensitive/too lost" drug-addled artist, eulogizing his talent before anyone's ever seen the full fruits of it.

Who is the new Kurt Cobain? Who is going to take the mantle of Elliot Smith or Hillel Slovak? All they require is that never-ending struggle leading to eventual overdose. Then, the writers can come out in force to wax philosophical about the pitfalls of fame.

It's morbid, really. If the editorials have you half-dead you may begin to believe that press, too.

Had Barrett had a huge, consistent following for decades by 1969? Cos' that's where Pete Doherty is in terms of his career progression right now? For all we know he might be cherished by legions of fans 20 years from now we just don't know. I don't think that's likely because "music" is much more fragmented than it used to be. There's a lot more niches rather than what the industry deems hip.

Whatever, I think the fact that you'd barely heard of the man is irrelevent and, whether you like it or not, to the casual observer at least, the similarities between Doherty & Barrett are striking.

Had Barrett had a huge, consistent following for decades by 1969?

No, but like I said, people had heard of them. Pink Floyd had a couple of hit singles here.

For all we know he might be cherished by legions of fans 20 years from now we just don't know.

I know. I wrote almost exactly the same thing at end of my post.

to the casual observer at least, the similarities between Doherty & Barrett are striking.

Again, that was my point. The similarities are casual. I just used the word "shallow" instead. The only similarities I really see is they're both two guys in pop bands with mussy hair that have a more-than-casual drug habit. Like I said before, the same could be said for half of rock and roll.

And I find it a complete joke that someone would describe a guy who's been arrested for assault a hundred times in five years as "fragile."

I am convinced that his "handlers" want him to do a Cobain so they can spin him as a tagic figure and spin his "legacy."

BTW I can seem to remember any tales of Barrett projectile vomiting over an audience in Scotland nor was he ever caught injecting heroin into a school girl.

I have heard his music and its shite.

In case anyone cares, the Babyshambles album "Down in Albion" is fantastic. Definintely worth buying.

I might give it a try the next time I'm in one of those CD shops that allow you to listen before you buy, if I can find it. I don't have any reservations about giving the guy's musical output a chance at all and am completely open to the idea that I might like it.

Oh Andrew for fuck's sake get your facts straight, you sound like a cheap tabloid reporter exaggerating the facts. I was there and he did not "projectile vomit" OVER the fans he simply threw up ON the stage (much like a famous footballer throwing up on a pitch for example)and if you honestly believe he was "injecting a schoolgirl with heroin" then you must be the kind of retard who believes everything he reads in the Sun. The girl herself has admitted he was not injecting her with anything. Give him a fucking break, we are all human and I am sure you too have MANY flaws.

Cassie,
It'f fine if you want to correct factual errors made by either myself or other's commenting, but it would be nice if you weren't so hostile about it, especially when your comment is directed at a friend of mine.

And I don't see how vomitting on stage as opposed to on your audience is actually some sort of improvement of character. I'd say Doherty is slightly more than "flawed."