Before: So at this point I haven’t yet listened to Joseph Arthur’s “Robin (A Tribute to Robin Williams).” So far I’m just thinking about the very idea of taking an admittedly B-list celebrity’s death and whipping up a response track in less than 48 hours. As of now I feel like this could go either way: A joke-eulogy for any human being would be sort of inappropriate in principle, but I also don’t see how his career could really evoke too much in the way of genuinely profound emotion from someone who didn’t personally know the guy. Kitschy and opportunistic, or poignant and heartfelt? Let’s see:
After: Wow, definitely the latter. I’m pleasantly surprised, or rather relieved (and impressed) that Joseph Arthur managed to take these totally goofy movie clips that he pairs with his track and make them seem somehow like a tearful goodbye. Kudos to Arthur for walking that very fine line. I’m always wary of outpourings of grief over celebrities, but he convinces me that maybe there is something really special about a gift for making people laugh, and that that something deserves whatever small tribute one can offer. As a track, however, it’s a two (every once in a while, three) chord acoustic number without much effort put into the “music” side of the equation. R.I.P., Genie!
• Joseph Arthur: http://www.josepharthur.com
