Wheelchairs

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Inspired by the Wu vs. Who thread, let's all test our biases against age and disability:

Which musicians would you gladly watch perform in wheelchairs?

The only thoughts I have on this tend to fall along the typical lines of old-disabled-rockers = sort of sad, old-jazzers or old-avant-garders = pretty cool. But Brian Wilson occurred to me as an exception, for his current state strikes me as roughly equivalent to being wheelchair-bound. The material he's performing has been around for nearly 40 years, and he performs it somewhat terribly, really, but I don't mind watching. I think I'd also be happy to hear any Gilberto sing from a wheelchair, and I'm surprised we haven't already seen disabled IDM / laptop folks; I suppose the closest we get is that Neil Young record.

Thoughts? And simultaneously: wouldn't you imagine that there are a lot more great disabled musicians than we'll ever get exposed to, based on no one wanting to take the great marketing leap of promoting them?

― Nitsuh, Thursday, 23 August 2001 00:00 (twenty-four years ago)

Note: apologies for any offense that might be taken over this thread. I'm sure I don't mean it in a dismissive or unfair way at all, but if you think I'm being ... well, wrong, then please publicly call me on it.

― Nitsuh, Thursday, 23 August 2001 00:00 (twenty-four years ago)

When I saw Sun Ra's Arkestra he was in a wheelchair.

― Sean, Thursday, 23 August 2001 00:00 (twenty-four years ago)

I suppose Robert Wyatt is an obvious enough answer.

― Ned Raggett, Thursday, 23 August 2001 00:00 (twenty-four years ago)

Which musicians would you gladly watch perform in wheelchairs?

The ones I like. I honestly don't understand this question. About the only one I'd be disappointed to see in a wheelchair is Puff Daddy, but only because I like his dancing more than his music. But it's not like I'd pay to see Puff Daddy anyway.

― Kris, Thursday, 23 August 2001 00:00 (twenty-four years ago)

If we're doing obvious, might I add Vic Chestnutt?

But really, I'm with Kris: the ones I like. "Old disabled rockers=sort of sad"--true, but there are those artists I'd see regardless of their age/condition. Iggy in a wheelchair would be a bit of a drag, but I'd still go to support him and I'd probably like it, too.

― Arthur, Thursday, 23 August 2001 00:00 (twenty-four years ago)

Well, I guess it's sort of obvious that I'd see the ODB if he was in an iron lung, and I'm just gonna have to shrug shrill haters off.

Hrmm...also I dunno I'd really mind seeing some people in a wheelchair. But then again, I'm a very evil human. I think the Nuge would kick fucking ass in a souped up wheelchair o'death.

― jess, Thursday, 23 August 2001 00:00 (twenty-four years ago)

that of course should be "i'd dunno IF i'd mind"...so evil, i can't even type properly.

― jess, Thursday, 23 August 2001 00:00 (twenty-four years ago)

Stevie Wonder is blind, does that count? I'd like to see anyone who does large scale choreographed dancing in their videos in a wheel chair. Perhaps Christina Aguilera.

― Lindsey B, Thursday, 23 August 2001 00:00 (twenty-four years ago)

TIMMAAAAAY!

― matthew james, Thursday, 23 August 2001 00:00 (twenty-four years ago)

I can't wait for ODB's iron lung.

― Ally, Thursday, 23 August 2001 00:00 (twenty-four years ago)

I'd pay to see Ringo's All-Star Band in a game of musical wheelchairs.

― Kerry, Thursday, 23 August 2001 00:00 (twenty-four years ago)

jimmy webb, lou reed, bob dylan, emmylou harris etc - you know, bastards that hardly move anyway.

― Geoff, Friday, 24 August 2001 00:00 (twenty-four years ago)

Along the same lines as Robert Wyatt -- Teddy Pendergrass.

― Tadeusz Suchodolski, Friday, 24 August 2001 00:00 (twenty-four years ago)

Wouldn't matter who was in the wheelchair, as long as the wheelbrakes were dodgy and the whole thing rolled off the stage into the audience at a random moment for maximum hilarity

― dave q, Friday, 24 August 2001 00:00 (twenty-four years ago)

Ben Harper, he's always sitting anyway.

― Jeff, Friday, 24 August 2001 00:00 (twenty-four years ago)

A few years ago (maybe 4 or 5) there was an "educational" puppet show for children, shown on PBS. It was called the Puzzle Place, and it had six children of different culrural backgrounds. The point of this show was to teach about diversity & morals, like most of their current fare.

There was an episode where their friend Kyle was visiting, and they decided to have a dance party or something similar. But when Kyle arrived- Surprise! He was in a wheelchair. But Kyle proved even puppets in wheelchairs can dance, relieving everyone's monstrous worries about being insensitive to Kyle.

There was another episode where Skye, who is Native American, had a guitar. He played it very well for a puppet with three foam-rubber fingers. It was an impressive feat. But his seemingly non-guitar- friendly hands were not what concerned him about his future in music. It was the fact that Skye was Native American. "I've never heard of a Native American rock band," he moaned. He asked what he should do. Then a video segment was shown of short answers from flesh children. Every last one of them told Skye about RED LIGHTNING, who I have never heard of. A performance by said group was shown. Skye picked up his guitar and let out a ripping solo, relieved and ecstatic to know his way had been paved by Red Lightning.

The funny thing is, Skye looked just like a friendly foam rubber version of James Iha.

― 1 1 2 3 5, Friday, 24 August 2001 00:00 (twenty-four years ago)

about 8 years back or so, there was a pretty good local rock band in my old home town, ottawa, canada, whose lead singer was in a wheelchair. No big deal made about it, and the band was quite rocking, yes. The singer had a pretty powerful voice, and there was 0% whiny self-pity about it. Dammned if I can remember their name, but I think it started with an R. My point is that the fact that someone is in a wheelchair does not mean that the music has to be "sad" at all. Much better if it is not, in fact, "sad".

― pauls00, Saturday, 25 August 2001 00:00 (twenty-four years ago)

Poison Idea are too fat to stand (where does one get a double-wide wheelchair?) but they rock like crazy.

― Kris, Saturday, 25 August 2001 00:00 (twenty-four years ago)

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