Pinot noir, Vandal Vineyard, los Carneros 2007 - Robert Sinskey ...

Post-Punk Pinot!
by Rob Sinskey
Vandal Vineyard Pinot Noir, not the same old song and dance...
“Technology doesn’t do anything for creativity,”
proclaimed Jack White in the beginning of the seminal music
movie, It Might Get Loud! He continues, “Yeah, it makes
it easier and you can get home sooner... It’s the disease you
have to fight in any creative field - Ease Of Use!” For those
who live or work in a cave, Jack White is the creative force
behind the bands: The White Stripes, The Raconteurs and
The Dead Weather.
The movie places three iconic guitarists of different
generations in a room together: the bombastic old school
rock and roller, Jimmy Page of the Yardbirds and Led Zeppelin
representing the 60’s and 70’s; techno-reliant The
Edge, of U2 representing the 80’s and 90’s; and the postpunk
bluesman, White standing in for the 00’s and beyond.
tween two speakers, absorbing
Page’s solos blasting
from the eight track - I was
more taken by Jack White’s
diatribe. “Technology was
heavily distracting. It was
so processed, it wasn’t real
anymore.” In other words,
technology can actually interfere
with creativity, removing
one from emotional
connections that make
music, or any art or craft,
resonate.
“Technology was heavily distracting.
It was so processed, it wasn’t
real anymore.”
The lessons gleaned from
these three very different
artists apply to any number
of fields. They first had to
learn and master their craft.
They then had to resist the
safe road of mediocrity, ignoring
the swipes of critics
while defining their own,
unique style. Finally, once
they succeeded on their own
terms, they had to constantly
challenge themselves to stay
fresh and relevant.
Though I am of the Zeppelin
era - I still remember
leaning back in the rear seat
of my friend’s Camaro, my
head strategically placed be-
White searches for the
unadulterated emotion of
the early bluesman, choosing
old, funky or cheap
plastic guitars that challenge
him. “Technology is
a big destroyer of emotion
and truth,” he states, feeling
that the things that
make it easy on him interfere
with his ability to
connect with his audience...
that technology makes him
lazy.
Picasso struggled with
these ideas in his art. As he
became more technologically
proficient, he felt that
he was venturing further
( 2 ) Pinot Noir, Vandal Vineyard, Los Carneros, Napa Valley, 2007