Nothing's shocking
July 19, 2024 7:23 AM Subscribe
So ... Farrell been caught stealin' ?
posted by chavenet at 8:15 AM on July 19 [3 favorites]
posted by chavenet at 8:15 AM on July 19 [3 favorites]
That's really interesting! I was never a fan, but I certainly remember the album cover she describes and how big a splash the band made. What a crummy way to treat an ex, and of course what an expected way to treat an ex girlfriend who did a lot of work but was not visible to fans. I hope she gets some significant credit now.
posted by Frowner at 8:18 AM on July 19 [1 favorite]
posted by Frowner at 8:18 AM on July 19 [1 favorite]
Between those two album covers alone, she made Jane's Addiction's vibe eye-catching and memorable. And I had competely forgotten she directed the Been Caught Stealing video.
I hope she gets the recognition she deserves.
posted by Kitteh at 8:22 AM on July 19 [10 favorites]
I hope she gets the recognition she deserves.
posted by Kitteh at 8:22 AM on July 19 [10 favorites]
Farrell is, and always has been, just the biggest asshole. What a massive tool.
posted by aramaic at 8:41 AM on July 19 [8 favorites]
posted by aramaic at 8:41 AM on July 19 [8 favorites]
I had given my all to Perry’s career, only to be locked out of our home and treated like the enemy. It felt like I vanished. Losing a significant relationship is one thing, but losing access to my creative home, and the comforts that go along with that, felt like a betrayal that would continue to haunt me for years to come.
Oh boy, this hit me where I live. Her story is unique but her situation is sadly not.
posted by rednikki at 8:43 AM on July 19 [4 favorites]
Oh boy, this hit me where I live. Her story is unique but her situation is sadly not.
posted by rednikki at 8:43 AM on July 19 [4 favorites]
Citing artistic differences, the band broke up in May
And in June reformed without and they got a different name
I nuked another Grandma's apple pie and hung my head in shame...
posted by Reasonably Everything Happens at 8:46 AM on July 19 [4 favorites]
And in June reformed without and they got a different name
I nuked another Grandma's apple pie and hung my head in shame...
posted by Reasonably Everything Happens at 8:46 AM on July 19 [4 favorites]
I can't say I have even a tiny bit of shock that she was erased once they broke up.
posted by jenfullmoon at 8:53 AM on July 19
posted by jenfullmoon at 8:53 AM on July 19
Reading the various links I started reading about Xiola Blue (the third person on that album cover) and that seems like a horrifying story. She was so young! 18, I think?
posted by Zumbador at 9:11 AM on July 19
posted by Zumbador at 9:11 AM on July 19
Wow.
Despite an influx of comments on the Instagram post asking the band to credit me, I received no response from anyone involved. Sadly, this is a recurring theme in collaborations between men and women in romantic partnerships.
posted by I_Love_Bananas at 9:12 AM on July 19
Despite an influx of comments on the Instagram post asking the band to credit me, I received no response from anyone involved. Sadly, this is a recurring theme in collaborations between men and women in romantic partnerships.
posted by I_Love_Bananas at 9:12 AM on July 19
Even without the title of this post, I read the link blurb and thought "this has to be Jane's Addiction, right?" Either them or RHCP, but I'd give it to Jane's for being more "creative/arty"
It's a damn shame she's gotten jobbed by them. Unsurprising, but disappointing.
posted by drewbage1847 at 9:14 AM on July 19 [5 favorites]
It's a damn shame she's gotten jobbed by them. Unsurprising, but disappointing.
posted by drewbage1847 at 9:14 AM on July 19 [5 favorites]
Our relationship knew no bounds. We explored freely in our lifestyle, lovemaking, drug use, art and music, embodying a sense of limitless creativity that captivated others.
"Look at those two love-birds, injecting black tar heroin into their veins. Springtime truly is the time for lovers!"
posted by Saxon Kane at 9:23 AM on July 19 [2 favorites]
"Look at those two love-birds, injecting black tar heroin into their veins. Springtime truly is the time for lovers!"
posted by Saxon Kane at 9:23 AM on July 19 [2 favorites]
Reading the various links I started reading about Xiola Blue (the third person on that album cover) and that seems like a horrifying story. She was so young! 18, I think?
Good lord, you weren't kidding. Everything I learn about Perry Farrell paints the picture of a dude who would have been a cult leader given the slightest difference in life-trajectory.
posted by Navelgazer at 9:32 AM on July 19 [3 favorites]
Good lord, you weren't kidding. Everything I learn about Perry Farrell paints the picture of a dude who would have been a cult leader given the slightest difference in life-trajectory.
posted by Navelgazer at 9:32 AM on July 19 [3 favorites]
Everyone who did get a chunk of the Jane’s Addiction money (mainly Farrell and the record company, I suppose) has no doubt spent it all and is still hoping for future income related to it. Unless lawyers step in, no one is going to do anything that might force them to calculate how many dollars should come back out of their pockets and go into someone else's.
posted by pracowity at 9:45 AM on July 19
posted by pracowity at 9:45 AM on July 19
The Gift is on YouTube and it was an influential piece of work when it came out - even out in the sticks where I was.
posted by zenon at 9:55 AM on July 19 [2 favorites]
posted by zenon at 9:55 AM on July 19 [2 favorites]
Gift was one of those VHS tapes that we passed around our small Southern town; we'd gather at someone house's to watch it, ill-gotten cheap shitty vodka, weed, and sometimes shrooms were passed around.
posted by Kitteh at 9:56 AM on July 19 [2 favorites]
posted by Kitteh at 9:56 AM on July 19 [2 favorites]
The Gift is the only VHS tape I still own. I've no way to play it, but it stays on my shelf next to my dearest books.
posted by foxtongue at 10:24 AM on July 19 [1 favorite]
posted by foxtongue at 10:24 AM on July 19 [1 favorite]
I can emphasize -- I absolutely adore their work, but in the article she did say she did get her out of court pay day. However shitty the deal was, she did agree to it (with options probably being, "Shitty deal" or "nothing"). Being young and making stupid decisions -- esp. stupid business decisions -- seems the dysfunctional normal for the music industry. It's always crappy when artistic output is mixed in with a romantic relationship. Are you making some anarchist art? Are you running a business? Is THIS what the relationship is built around? Who knows if there was even a contract? You make this work (an album cover, a set design, directing, etc) and I get the rights to use it in-perpetuity, doesn't sound all that otherworldy.
There's a silly anecdote about the guitarist of Slayer, Kerry King, who put down the solo track for the Beastie Boys, "No Sleep Til Brooklyn". He lamented that he was kinda desperate at the time and got paid a few hundred dollars flat for the few hours work, and oh -- wouldn't it have been better if he signed a better deal with residuals, he'd be rich! But the flipside is that three white Jewish dudes from a hardcore band putting out what seemed a one-hit wonder novelty song isn't a great bet for working for residuals.
But her story is like many recording artist's story. Who's getting rich doing this? It's a lottery at the best of times. And not being a part of the actual core part of the band isn't going to get a whole heap of additional sympathy.
You wonder why some artists do everything themselves: record every instrument, produce, etc. They figured out long ago that control of the art was what was absolutely important.
posted by alex_skazat at 10:29 AM on July 19 [1 favorite]
There's a silly anecdote about the guitarist of Slayer, Kerry King, who put down the solo track for the Beastie Boys, "No Sleep Til Brooklyn". He lamented that he was kinda desperate at the time and got paid a few hundred dollars flat for the few hours work, and oh -- wouldn't it have been better if he signed a better deal with residuals, he'd be rich! But the flipside is that three white Jewish dudes from a hardcore band putting out what seemed a one-hit wonder novelty song isn't a great bet for working for residuals.
But her story is like many recording artist's story. Who's getting rich doing this? It's a lottery at the best of times. And not being a part of the actual core part of the band isn't going to get a whole heap of additional sympathy.
You wonder why some artists do everything themselves: record every instrument, produce, etc. They figured out long ago that control of the art was what was absolutely important.
posted by alex_skazat at 10:29 AM on July 19 [1 favorite]
I got the impression that this is less about financial compensation and more about artist's moral rights - acknowledgement that she is the creator, and that she contributed. We sometimes conflate these things.
posted by scolbath at 10:31 AM on July 19 [1 favorite]
posted by scolbath at 10:31 AM on July 19 [1 favorite]
→
She also said that she was unhoused and had drug dependency issues at the time. If this settlement came from the record label, they had massive leverage over her.
posted by scruss at 10:39 AM on July 19 [1 favorite]
However shitty the deal was, she did agree to it
She also said that she was unhoused and had drug dependency issues at the time. If this settlement came from the record label, they had massive leverage over her.
posted by scruss at 10:39 AM on July 19 [1 favorite]
I dunno.
I was a fan of the band when they were around and saw them live a few times and remember her always getting credit for the album art and videos. But this article makes it sound like she was a stiffed member of the band.
There are plenty of people who've made iconic album cover art... they're not band members and are not mentioned in articles about the band years later. Sometimes, if they continue to keep doing stellar work they'll have articles written about their artwork, but she didn't do that, which leads me to believe her and Farrell's work was collaborative, which is how it was always described at the time. Hell, his next band, Porno for Pyros, has album art very similar in style to JA's covers, and she had nothing to do with that one. Cecil Juanarena did that one — he did work for REM and the B52s, as well. And guess what, he's never mentioned in any articles about any of those three bands.
People should be compensated for their work and get credit for it and they should make a point of being legal about it regardless of "love" or relationships. Farrell is indeed an asshole and pretty much always has been, but this article is just weird.
She's an artist and a director... she is not and never has been a member of Jane's Addiction.
posted by dobbs at 10:46 AM on July 19
I was a fan of the band when they were around and saw them live a few times and remember her always getting credit for the album art and videos. But this article makes it sound like she was a stiffed member of the band.
There are plenty of people who've made iconic album cover art... they're not band members and are not mentioned in articles about the band years later. Sometimes, if they continue to keep doing stellar work they'll have articles written about their artwork, but she didn't do that, which leads me to believe her and Farrell's work was collaborative, which is how it was always described at the time. Hell, his next band, Porno for Pyros, has album art very similar in style to JA's covers, and she had nothing to do with that one. Cecil Juanarena did that one — he did work for REM and the B52s, as well. And guess what, he's never mentioned in any articles about any of those three bands.
People should be compensated for their work and get credit for it and they should make a point of being legal about it regardless of "love" or relationships. Farrell is indeed an asshole and pretty much always has been, but this article is just weird.
She's an artist and a director... she is not and never has been a member of Jane's Addiction.
posted by dobbs at 10:46 AM on July 19
→ However shitty the deal was, she did agree to it
People should not make others agree to shitty deals. That's called taking advantage, and my opinion of people goes through the floor if I learn that they made a "great" deal with someone who couldn't negotiate, wasn't aware of how to negotiate or was too sick/frail/messed up to negotiate. If you see someone agreeing to an unfair deal with you, your job is to suggest a fair deal, not to whoop and holler about how good you have it.
And somehow this often happens to exes (often but not always women or maybe younger men) of connected and famous men.
posted by Frowner at 10:57 AM on July 19 [1 favorite]
People should not make others agree to shitty deals. That's called taking advantage, and my opinion of people goes through the floor if I learn that they made a "great" deal with someone who couldn't negotiate, wasn't aware of how to negotiate or was too sick/frail/messed up to negotiate. If you see someone agreeing to an unfair deal with you, your job is to suggest a fair deal, not to whoop and holler about how good you have it.
And somehow this often happens to exes (often but not always women or maybe younger men) of connected and famous men.
posted by Frowner at 10:57 AM on July 19 [1 favorite]
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posted by box at 7:39 AM on July 19