I hate James Taylor.

Is that the kid Carly fucked?

OP IS Carly Simon.

r2, how could you not snake-oil salesman James Taylor?

*not hate

I am simply indifferent to James Taylor, R3 R4. Let me explain it this way: I have 300 songs in iTunes by Carly, only 71 by James. And all of James' songs are unclicked except for the covers by Linda Ronstadt and Tom Rush, and one that intersects with Carly.

I may not hate him, but neither do I listen to his music.

Bizarre thread, about entitled people.

So we are only allowed to hate, or discuss, the non-entitled, R6?

He's looking at the kid something like a pedophile would. Fatherly love hiding the lust.

People famous a long time ago - its so out there. Who just posts a random I hate this person thread. Puts up a clip from like the 70s.

r9, are you a blind millenial? There IS one. Holy Fuck.

OP = Carly

At least I didn't fuck my son.

Because you fucked your daughter.

I used to smoke pot and listen to Sweet Baby James. It made me fear a trip to the insane asylum; then I realized I wasn't a WASP, so I was probably safe.

Well, it made sense in 1970.

I agree with everything OP says, but I can't help loving JT. I'm from Massachusetts and also grew up in the 70s and 80s, so he's just simply a major part of the soundtrack of my life.

No I am not a millennial - but fuck this music is from like the dark ages - its so white. Martha's Vineyard interview by a British guy talking about a music scene nobody gives a fucking rats ass about in this day and age. Talk about the way back machine. And yet they think its the center of the Universe. Ring Ring wake up the next century is calling.

The are talking about singing folk music in little clubs on Martha's Vineyard that had a problem with the crowd slagging off out of the summer season! For real? This is as dated as an avocado refrigerator and macramé. Your so vain is spot on. Talk about navel gazers. Should we talk about Warren Beaty and Patty Hearst now too?

Are you an idiot, R15, or merely a cunt? Almost no one who's posted so far is positioning this music at "the center of the universe."

Did you watch the self indulgent little clip reply 17? This has to be Carley Simon posting. Who even thinks about James Taylor these days, let alone hates him. FFS

Both of them pedophiles for their own kids makes sense.

He's a combo of sleazy, fascist, stupid and smelly.

Can you imagine what his balls smell like, then and now? And all that man jungle.

And now he's old.

Wait I do remember she had been molested. Are you saying she repeated with her own children as well as JT?! Do tell hater...

JT's adolescent mental illness and subsequent addiction after a fraught relationship with his father was a classic shutting down after repeated sexual abuse. Add to that his clinical narcissism. And his relationship with his brothers and how damaged they were. It was a sausage asylum.

And then add son Ben Taylor.

The gentle boring singer songwriter does not vibe with the junkie, manic depressive, abusive, poor little rich boy. It's weird!

Ben is hopefully able to move on.

take a pill.........sheesh.

The couple of 40 plus years ago, both over-indulged, self-absorbed, and neurotic as hell. He's a nasal Ichabod Crane who does 300 nostalgia shows a year, she's a bundle of phobias still trading on who's who in You're So Vain. She had the better voice and the better songs.

He was a good looking dude, but his eyes always freaked me out. If he was one step deeper steeped in his cold brand of narcissism, he'd be a cult leader.

He was also emblematic of the kind of middle-class "rebel" back then, sticking their finger up at the "man", living by their own "free-love" credo, living a Jesus Christ Superstar heterosexual existence. They all grew up to be sad, tired, bitter old men who expect the very government they railed against to take care of them.

Ben is hot. He never married???

Ben was a little...busy.

R15 has a problem with "white" music from "the dark ages".

Meaning what r30???

r32--continuing the male pattern of behavior. Remember his father has had everything wrong with him. And now he's turned on Ben.

Molestation, drug addiction, alcoholism...

That is so horrible if it's true!!!! Feeling up your own child.

J&C were both strip searched when they arrived in Bermuda cause the cops thought they had smack.

James Taylor signed with Apple Records out of nowhere with nothing to speak for him at that point because it was known occasional bisexual John Lennon took a shine to the skinny little drug addict James and was John's butt boy for the duration.

I'd guess OP is Joni Mitchell, except I don't think she can speak or write yet . . .

James Taylor has a serial killer face and so does his son.

Here's the home he grew up in. I love how you can google and come up with anything.

James was so so so so so hot back then. Gorgeous man. Boring music, but "Fire And Rain" is pretty good.

Ben is so so so so so hot right now. Are either of them hung?

I never thought of James as stinky, but now his smelly groin is ALL I can think about.

Any more gossip?

Please don't say anything mean about Carly. She's a good woman, and was a great songwriter. Interesting albums in the early 70s. Bipolar and suffers from stage fright and panic disorder. Has anyone read her book? I've been meaning to pick it up.

I have no idea what's up with the DLer who thinks these people are a forbidden topic. Who the fuck do you think you are, the Topic Police? Block the thread and move on, idiot.

Back in the day:

Flowing:

Gorgeous:

But is he HUNG

[quote] [R15] has like, a problem with like, "white" music from like "the dark ages, like".

I like, fixeted it for you, R31. I think that, like the midwife..you know, like dropped him, like on the floor of the birthing hut. Like.

That' s some mouth on Carly Simon, isn't it?

Americans LOVE those TEETH.

Love the house, R40. Thanks.

R41, I read Carly's book and enjoyed it very much. Another surprisingly good read is by her ex-husband (post-JT), James somebody. They were married for 20 years, turned out he was gay. Very well written.

This is one if the weirdest DL threads I've ever come across (and I've been here for awhile).

The strong hate and *intense* negative emotion towards James Taylor coupled with all of these odd accusations about him (that he molested his son, that he was repeatedly molested as a child himself) all seemingly out of nowhere...It's bizarre.

Has the man even been in the news lately? I like both Taylor's and Carly's music (Carly's much more), but I'm not getting the hate for and innuendos towards this man.

Is this gossip that's actually been around about Taylor or is OP a total psycho who randomly fixated on James while listening to one of his songs earlier today?

Well James Taylor doesnt vex me, so I shall post my fav JT song in this hate thread.

So Joaquin Phoenix is playing him in the movie right?

Have you ever heard Ben Taylor sing, R53?

I think Carly's music is worlds better than boring-assed JT.

Taylor, along with Bob Dylan, is completely overrated.

After Carly she married a great soap actress from Search of tomorrow I think she was also in a great nuclear bomb movie.

r57 that would the very tweedy Kathryn Walker, an actress of great pretension. She was in that CBS bomb Beacon Hill as well as Another World where she dared to steal John Randolph from his loving wife Pat!

Taylor and Walker hang with a soap crowd that includes Peter Simon and his wife Courtney, Maeve Kinkead and Harry Streep.

Another Massachusetts lad here who grew up with Taylor's music. I continue to love his first four albums (His Apple debut , Sweet Baby James, Mud Slide Slim, One Man Dog). The three Warner Brothers albums are way overdue for a fresh remastering. I saw two great concerts back in the 70's and would love to see him again. Thank you for the music, James.

James had two brothers: Livingston, who had a minor singing career, and Alex, who seemed like a slob along for the ride.

I used to know Kathryn Walker back in the late 60's/early 70's. Always liked her, very funny, and very accomplished actress. I was actually somewhat sad to hear she'd married JT; I'd have thought she could have done better. I don't think it lasted very long.

Personally, I prefer Lucy Simon, Carly's sister, who wrote a couple of beautiful scores for two Broadway shows: "The Secret Garden" and "Doctor Zhivago," which was a flop on Broadway, but I saw it in tryout, twice, at the La Jolla Playhouse, and still love the score, which had several beautiful songs. Which is a major plus for any show score nowadays, all of which have about one good song, with the rest unmemorable noise.

I love Country Road. And he was extremely hot for about 8 years.

I always got him mixed up with Jackson Browne and Steve Winwood.

[quote]Sweet Baby James, Mud Slide Slim, One Man Dog). The three Warner Brothers albums are way overdue for a fresh remastering.

Steve Hoffman remastered all three on the Audio Fidelity label. Google the label name with each title. For some reason, the site lacks a search function.

In 1971 every young guy in America wanted to look like James Taylor.

His first 2 albums were excellent and still sound great today.

What is the story on Carly having sex with the son? That can't be true and if it is why is it known by the public?

THE best James & Carly story is the one about the wedding of one of their kids.

It was at Taylor's home (The Vineyard or Nantucket?) in summer on the lawn with big tents.

The two of them were long estranged and he was pissed-off that she wouldn't stop talking publicly (and in the media & her book) about his abuse of her and of drugs & alcohol during their relationship (NOT good for the image he likes to project!).

Anyway, Carly has to use the restroom so she goes up to the main house and ask if she can use it. Taylor told her "sorry Carly but you have to use the port-o-potties on the lawn like everybody else."

I also like both of their hits.

Walker's wedding attire was... interesting.

I like him and I like Carly. I don't think either was as good solo as they were together.

I like this clip of a sweet duet they did together during the interview in the OP. Check out how they look at each other. There was genuine love between them once.

Yes R45, he is very hung, at least according to Sheila Weller's GIRLS LIKE US.

R66, they—or you—stole that from Tard Kim Zolciak's wedding episode, in which her mother was not allowed to use the bathroom in just that manner.

Their duet ^^ is lovely.

But what about the heinous molestation innuendos on both sides???

Had no idea Carly was jewish. Shouldn't be surprised though, I guess. Comes from a mega rich family in publishing.

Rumored to be an Aspie.

[quote]What is the story on Carly having sex with the son?

DL alternate facts.

Half-Jewish, on her father's side. On her mother's side, she's pure slut. Listen to Hello, Big Man, and read the latest bio.

Shit, I'd fuck Ben, too. He is hot.

Brilliant song writer/beautiful voice

OP Please take your meds.

Half a mile down to Morgan Creek, leaning heavy on the end of the week.

Hercules and a hog-nosed snake, down on Copperline we were down on Copperline.

My dad looked enough like him in the early 70s that he would be regularly stopped and asked if he was him. My dad was better looking than James, but also crazier.

I hate Beyonce

I like a couple of his songs and thought he was very handsome when young.

I listened to and watched the DVD extras of Two-Lane Backtop which featured an interview with him...and there was a vibe about him that was awful - toxic, narcissistic crazy and ice cold nasty.

Get the seem feeling with Daniel Day Lewis, who I also thought was handsome and appealing when he was young.

Why didn't he go all bald versus the toilet seat look? No wonder he's a bitter, old man.

[quote] vibe about him that was awful - toxic, narcissistic crazy and ice cold nasty.

And you took all of that from how many minutes of conversation.

Whatever his personal flaws may be or perceived to be (and we all have them) hes still a brilliant songwriter and very talented singer.

r89, guys of that generation who were not in Vietnam tend(ed) to be kind of precious about their hair and frequently end up with the 'some is better than none' outlook.

.....

James Taylor and Carly Simon were the soundtrack for my self-absorbed, yuppie Boomer parents and all their self-absorbed, yuppie Boomer friends.

Dad Loves His Work was a pop/folk/blue eyed soul gem, though. I gathered he was a bit of an asshole though. Lots of creative people are.

.....

[quote] Dad Loves His Work was a pop/folk/blue eyed soul gem, though. I gathered he was a bit of an asshole though. Lots of people are.

Fixed For R95

Love his music and could not give two shits about the drama between these two. You might need to create your own life, OP, if you are still this fixated on something that doesn't involve you that happened so long ago.

In my mind I'm going to Carolina....

Fire and Rain can bring tears to my eyes in less than ten seconds.

No one has mentioned that Carly is the heiress to Simon and Schuster? Her father founded the company.

I grew up around the family and always thought her sisters, Lucy and Joanna, were much more fun. Especially Joanna, who was enormously tall, a gifted opera singer, and who dated lots of minor literary and television celebrities. I saw her on the UES a few years ago and she still looks fabulous.

Ben is not remotely hot looking now. The rumors about he and his mom emanate from interviews she gave where she said her "Fisherman's Song" was written for Ben. It's a sexy love song. She's also talked about lying in bed next to him when he was sleeping, when he was an adult. Ben still lives with his mom and his fiancee Sophie, who likes to pose for pictures in his mother's clothes. They're majorly fucked up.

Taylor is estranged from Carly's side because he's sober, and they all still drink and take drugs. Simon went into rehab for her drinking, came out, and started drinking again. Simon is on anti-depressants, but admits she messes around with her meds.

The family's really fucked up, but Taylor didn't molest anybody. He's just a very cold person. Simon is the opposite, but has zero boundaries. Her whole side of the family is like that.

And Simon never had sex with her son, she's just really inappropriate in her relationships.

Sorry, R96 the JT/CS version @ R68 is much better.

[quote] its so white.

When I come across a statement like this, I immediately stop reading. It's racist, offensive and reductive.

What r51 said. A lot mental illness in this thread.

I read Carly's book and was astounded at her lack of self awareness. He was born with a creative silver spoon in her mouth. Over and over in her life she took advantage of amazing, to die for contacts and was supported by family money, though she acts like she made it to the top of the music industry all on her own.

^SHE was born.....etc.

Also no perspective about having been molested by her sister's boyfriend, which she seems to think was some kind of romance. When he was a teenager and she was 7.

I love the DL threads about Boomer music. Keep them coming.

I've loved that at-home performance of "You Can Close Your Eyes" at R68 for a few years now (it's used to be on YouTube in a 4:3 aspect ratio (its original, I believe). But the lyrics are Soooo DUMB. It's great because of Carly's singing, and his fingerpicking is okay. But it's a shitty, amateurish, maudlin composition.

Still: Carly's voice. Nothing else like it.

[quote]He was also emblematic of the kind of middle-class "rebel" back then, sticking their finger up at the "man", living by their own "free-love" credo, living a Jesus Christ Superstar heterosexual existence. They all grew up to be sad, tired, bitter old men who expect the very government they railed against to take care of them.

They were douchebags with poli-sci degrees.

Sounds like Peter Fonda too^^.

Oh my goodness! How can you people be so men about Sweet Baby James? I guess it all has to do with when you came to know them (they were such an amazing combo to be coupled) but I was hitting puberty when James was completely gorgeous ... with that voice! I was sunk.

Richard Simon sold Simon & Schuster long ago; the money is gone.

r51 and r105--take care of your own mental houses. Sorry if you're so in love with an icon you don't even know to hear anything against him, but life sucks.

"Is this gossip that's actually been around about Taylor?"

r51, Taylor's toxic personality and addictions are well known and documented.

I thought Carly was the one with a weird fixation on a kid. I remember reading an interview with her and her son was 4 or 5 and still breastfeeding.

Another poster who thinks he's terribly clever dissing a great artist. Really, how can you hate James Taylor? I won't answer.

r118--"great artist"? He wrote and sang some very pleasant songs. That doesn't make a great artist.

An artist is different from the person. Picasso was pretty scummy--and he actually was a great artist.

He was a huge supporter of Obama and gave free concerts in several NC cities in one day to get out the vote. I went to the one in Raleigh and then walked with the crowd to go vote. It was a great moment.

Lester Bangs wrote an essay entitled "James Taylor Marked For Death," OP. You might want to track it down.

He was always considered "chick music" when I was in college-- sappy songs that women with limited musical taste were into. SEE ALSO: Dan Fogelberg, Bread

James Taylor was a middle-road talent whose songs that people remember are pretty different from what he is as a person. That's all.

r121, Lester Bangs knew what he was talking about.

Carly Simon is financially comfortable, but she's not really wealthy. The family money disappeared decades ago.

Wow, its cant just be the loss of hair. but i cant figure out how james taylor went from so very hot to so very ugly I wonder how jackson browne looks now. i loved jackson brown or was in love with jackson brown. the hair was amazing also

I always thought JT's songs were mediocre, that he was not among the great singer-songwriters of his era, but some damn thing about him struck me as creepy. He might well be entirely sane, reasonable and decent, but he somehow comes across as disturbing.

Jesus Christ, R126. He's almost 70 years old.

[quote]An artist is different from the person. Picasso was pretty scummy--and he actually was a great artist.

I disagree.

He's not that bad. Drug addicts are narcissists by default, creative genius or not. Two siblings also had mental issues so maybe it runs in the family.

[quote] some damn thing about him struck me as creepy. He might well be entirely sane, reasonable and decent, but he somehow comes across as disturbing.

Have you posted in the "I tried to take a picture of a guy's ass on the subway" thread? That thread is the definition of "creepy" if you ask me!!

R128.???? hello , 70 is the new 40. At least thats what i keep telling myself at 53yrs. so that makes me mid 30s. , according to my aol profile, (aol profile dead give away you are old) look clint eastwood looks great at almost 90. tim daly at 60 . before he died bill pullman looked good, If james taylor had hair (his own) he would look good i bet.......btw. why have they not discovered a way to treat baldness yet?

Yeah, R42. I SO would have done him.

Plus I love his voice.

The world stands corrected, r129. Picasso wasn't a great artist.

r129, whose taste cannot be accounted for.

But Picasso did have a big dick

r132, you meant Bill Paxton, not Bill Pullman. A very easy mistake to make.

LOL. I don't know much about him and haven't (voluntarily) listened to much of his music, but I love OP's passion/rage.

Alex Baldwin interviewed Carly on his podcast "Here's the Thing" back in May. Interview is on the podcast home page, and it's pretty interesting. Alec is a pretty good interviewer, which isn't that surprising since the podcast is basically a hobby and he chooses who he wants to talk to.

He's not offensive in any way, but I just don't like a lot of his music, save for a few songs.

"He's not offensive in any way."

r139, would you stake your life on that?

I meant his music.

Why would someone have to stake their life (even figuratively) on whether James Taylor is offensive in any way? Who asks that?

R132, well hot damn. I'm 23 again!

Thank you, R138. I can't wait to listen to that.

I know Carly. She may have her issues, but she is the opposite of dumb.

And James is a very cold, controlling man who was very jealous of her success. He always tried to keep her off balance by never complimenting her talent. But she was totally in love with him. Still is.

I think her odd relationship with Ben has a lot to do with the fact that he looks and sounds like his father.

OP should enjoy this great parody of JT

r146--fantastic. Just as good as the man himself.

What about Bianca Jagger calling the house and giving James and earful about Carly & Mick?

What ever happened to Livingston? One good album, lots of blond hair, then....?

R145, can you say, specifically, what her "issues" are, as referenced in your first paragraph? Without giving yourself away, that is.

She's always come across as highly intelligent. Well-read, very thoughtful and introspective, great lyricist. "Embrace Me, You Child" is such a cool song. And what a powerhouse singer.

Wow, R146, that's a really great tune!

All of JT's music sounds alike. Heard one, you've heard them all.

I prefer that nutcase Cat Stevens. Or whatever he calls himself now - Ali Mohammed Ishmael Islam...

James Taylor hangs out with Ed Bauer and Vanessa Chamberlain?!

What is art?

I don't think Carly Simon has anything near the stature of Joni Mitchell, in terms of her singing, composing or lyrics, but I will say that I thought her duet with JT was much more moving and effective than Joni's.

Thanks for the tip R138. That was an interesting interview.

Steve Hoffman is a gem, thanks r63

Agreed, R156. The Joni version seems cold by comparison. Check out this live performance of Mockingbird:

^ wow I guess you had to be alive then - they are very off putting, goofy to be honest. I do think Taylor was sexy but she seems so amateurish.

I'm a JT fan. However, I wish he had retired from studio recording after Hourglass (1997) and October Road (2002) -both gems. The last album he released a couple of years ago stunk to high heaven.

R160, back then artists could perform in street clothes looking like they just rolled out of bed. No fancy choreography. No elaborate costumes or tranny make up. No back up dancers, lasers, tight ropes or trapezes were necessary...... because they had true talent.

Pop performers today have to pull out all the stops and provide OTT theater to disguise the fact that their music SUCKS.

He molested me.

- Lorna

To [R63], [R59] here. Thank you. Have ordered all 3.

You're very welcome. I hope Audio Fidelity doesn't become too addictive (try Pet Sounds next).

The take-home about James Taylor is that he is boring. That droning dullness of his music. Ugh.

r164, his best albums from the 70s are Gorilla and JT.

"Terra Nova" from JT.

From Gorilla.

What a strange object of obsession the OP has chosen.

Well, it's better than talking politics

That he went to UNC is one of many reasons my family and I are all Duke fans.

R145 And manipulative. Don't forget that.

And her relationship with Ben has damaged him completely. He's a complete mess.

Kinda 1970s weirdos. Elizabeth Wurtzel has that character in Prozac Nation say " James Taylor of the early seventies is who every young girl should lose her virginity to." I'm sure she said it a bit better than that.

Taylor had some beautiful heroin evocative voice...lazy singing in a beautiful tenor, acoustic. He looked like that, those songs of deep casual longing - it's sexy. Turns out that's all he could do. For decades now he sings them with a stupid grin and assorted dumb hats.

I can't think of any reason to listen to Carly Simon, ever.

Billy Crudup. Biopic. Alas, eyes too small.

WTF? Judy Garland and Valley of the Dolls get discussed her but somebody is bitching about people from the 70's being from the dark ages? Are they new to DL?

Maybe this is OP

OMG YES! I can't stand this man....so many singers in his genre from his time frame had such flat voices. His singing is so emotionless. Listen, my black friends tell me there's two types of white people music....James Taylor and those with his style of flat singing....then there's "good white people music" Kansas, Creedence Clearwater Revival, and so on. Also James Taylor is bat shittingly crazy but I believe doing heroin isn't exactly great for the brain chemistry. Before you all cuss me out it's just-an-opinion, but God his voice is....eh.

LOL, [R142], I was thinking the exact same thing!😆😂😆

[quote]Listen, my black friends tell me there's two types of white people music....James Taylor and those with his style of flat singing....then there's "good white people music" Kansas, Creedence Clearwater Revival, and so on.

Really? All your black friends say this? If this were true (it isn't), then your "black" friends are morons

It isn't, r177, but there ya go. Another person who hates James Taylor and calls it like it is.

I listen to Carly Simon music and go on "Carly kicks" about once a year. JT? No.

James Taylor's music was bland and boring. Ugh!

Carly Simons music was interesting and could be fun at times. James Taylor? bland and boring as hell.

"...then there's 'good white people music' Kansas, Creedence Clearwater Revival"

Look, CCR I can buy, but KANSAS??? Black people like Kansas, seriously?

I won tickets in a radio contest to an Eagles concert. Lots more black people than I expected. Who knew? They were the only ones dancing.

Snake hips

R168 & R169:

RATTY KOREAN WIG ALERTS!

This is a great song by Carly Simon, wherein she says, "I agree with OP!"

James Taylor had two good songs.

Face it, James Taylor and Carly Simon lack the sheer talent of Beyonce.

Another Massachusetts person chiming in to say JT and Carly were the soundtrack to my life in the 70s/80s. All this thread did was make me want to put on their music as I sip some chilled rose wine and remember trips to the Vineyard, so thanks OP!

Poor Ben Taylor.

Yeah. In that first picture, Ben has the sunken cheeks of a drug addict. He has that sad-eyed hustler look.

Never Die Young

r191

Wasn't he Carey the mean old Daddy in Joni Mitchell's song?

Patty Smith is worse.

Don't know what happened with James and Carley, but I was around at the time and remember the Jews dogpiling on EVERYTHING fun. You could tell what was passe just by looking for the pile of Jews.

Like what, r199? Punk rock and disco?

No, before that r200 -- like 65-73

[quote]What a strange object of obsession the OP has chosen.

No more strange than the other obsessions of DLers.

r199 anti-Semitic troll.

Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzz...

Did James Taylor really abuse his son in any way? Is he creeped out by his son's relationship with Carly?

Do they still talk?

So folk pop, blue-eyes soul and psychedelic rock, r201?

James and Carly, John and Yoko double date?

Playing with Carly's hair...

If he had kept his beautiful hair, would they have stayed together?

Everyone here is only talking about Ben. This is James and Carly's other child, a daughter named Sally Taylor.

Sally and Ben perform together

Sally and Carly with Ben in a captains hat?

Ok, OP, I guess young James Taylor *does* look kind of angry/mean here...

@R83 he looks like former AG Eric Holder.

R132 posts like that Not!Lactaid cow.

What say you DL? Would Carly's lips be classified as "DSL"?

Dogpiled on James Taylor

Dogpiled on Paul McCartney

R215, what?

My friend forced me to attend a JT concert when I was 21 in the 90s. It was the most boring (and long) concert I have ever attended.

Wow, did John Lennon lose his looks. What a fucking SHAME.

I thought I saw James Taylor in a small venue, but it turns out to have been Pittsburgh's Civic Arena, back in 1971. The ticket was probably $5. I remember wishing I were back in my dorm room and we could be talking about the concert. I was over it.

Ben looks like a homeless heroin meth junkie. Sounds like JT was not a good father to him.

r216, r215 is referring to his previous anti-Semitic post of r199.

R160 wrote, in response to the live video of "Mockingbird":

[quote] wow I guess you had to be alive then - they are very off putting, goofy to be honest. I do think Taylor was sexy but she seems so amateurish.

That song and that performance of it are in no way representative of either Taylor's or Simon's work. That is not at all the type of song Carly Simon is associated with. She didn't even write that one, or play any instruments on it. There are plenty of other songs of hers on YouTube if you care to find out what she was *really* like in the 70s.

"Anticipation", "Embrace Me, You Child", "That's the Way I've Always Heard It Should Be", and "The Right Thing To Do" are all better choices.

Which, of course, made no sense. Thanks, R221.

R149 Livingston has continued to perform, tour and record. He released an album not too long ago, iirc. He's been a professor at Berklee College of Music in Boston for many years.

Wow, OP--he is so worth your seething hate, given how much power he holds and what relevance he has for the year 2017.

R172 Unfortunately, you are under the misconception that Taylor attended UNC. His father, a physician, was affiliated with UNC for a period of time - maybe that's where the confusion arose? James never attended college there or anywhere. He grew up in Chapel Hill and the family had a summer house on Martha's Vineyard in MA.

Carly, with a mild case of stage fright, playing a 12-string acoustic guitar in her bare feet:

"Anticipation"

I used to be rather indifferent to James Taylor and his music. However, any tolerance I had for his music has been completely eliminated by the fact that I live not far from Chapel Hill and UNC, where he is apparently revered as some sort of musical genius. They play his music at basketball games, football games, bars on Franklin Street, etc., and people either squeal in delight (Sorority girls) and get misty-eyed and wax poetic about him as an artistic genius. I was even at a lecture hosted by the UNC music department and his name was mentioned as an example of “one of a few late 20th century musicians whose work will stand the test of time and still be appreciated hundreds years from now.” It’s just another example of the weird, cult-like environment of UNC.

Yeah, that's bizarre, R228.

Their daughter, Sally, is such an awful person. I know her. Spoiled, entitled and bratty.

There's another less discussed aspect to Taylor's appeal that's specific to that time. A vast majority of kids were still living through 50's era expectations which included a lot of repressed behaviours. But most taboo of all, beyond sex, was revealing any indication that your family was fucked up and dysfunctional or that you were possibly in need of counselling to cope with it or anything at all. At that time going to any sort of psychological counselling was, in the general culture, considered a certification that you were somewhere in close proximity to batshit crazy; there was no middle ground. It just wasn't done openly, and mostly not at all for mainstream America.

Then here comes this non-threatening, attractive male soft rock/folkish singer opening with a song about stuff that, it turns out, mirrors his year in a mental hospital from which he graduated into a soulful, poetic musician entering a burgeoning musical career with lots of airplay. A lot of kids related to this, in part because here was a guy who was seriously messed up but he actually left the hospital, unlike what was the perceived norm for mental illness. He created an opening for a lot of middle class repressed kids to lose some of that fear of their own emotions, or the depression they were ashamed of admitting to themselves. It was a subtle but strong undercurrent. His parents and siblings were pretty open about it too.

Of course, the message of One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest is a larger metaphor, but it does honestly illustrate what typical mental illness institutionalisation meant back then. So many people became more fucked up by the prescribed anti-psychotics and the other treatments, and in more horrible ways. One nasty permanent Thorazine side effect was tardive dyskinesia, a neurological disorder. The point is, most people assumed once you were hospitalised you were never normal again and likely never to return to normal society. Taylor was a strange benign counter to that cultural belief because he also represented a relatively normal facade to his musical listeners.

You're projecting, r225. There's no seething hatred. You're overreaching.

[quote] I used to be rather indifferent to James Taylor and his music. However, any tolerance I had for his music has been completely eliminated by the fact that I live not far from Chapel Hill and UNC, where he is apparently revered as some sort of musical genius. They play his music at basketball games, football games, bars on Franklin Street, etc., and people either squeal in delight (Sorority girls) and get misty-eyed and wax poetic about him as an artistic genius. I was even at a lecture hosted by the UNC music department and his name was mentioned as an example of “one of a few late 20th century musicians whose work will stand the test of time and still be appreciated hundreds years from now.” It’s just another example of the weird, cult-like environment of UNC.

How unusual for a town to celebrate one of its own who rose to international fame.

Taylor is a song writing genius; whether you can appreciate his music and his genius or not. He is an extraordinary story teller, and his stories resonate with people. Rolling Stone ranked Taylor #69 on its list of "The 100 Greatest Songwriters of All Time".

[quote] Taylor was one of the most successful and influential artists to emerge from the "singer-songwriter" scene of the early Seventies. By chronicling every aspect of his life — drug addiction, recovery, marriages and divorces, deaths of friends and family members — he created the mold for confessional balladeers from Cat Stevens to Elliott Smith. "It comes out of a sort of mood of melancholy, somehow," Taylor once told Rolling Stone of his songwriting process. And like Taylor himself, standards like "Fire and Rain," "Don't Let Me Be Lonely Tonight" and "Copperline" seem delicate yet are as melodically sturdy as oak trees. As his friend and former guitarist Danny Kortchmar has said, "They're like Christmas carols. It sounds like they were written a hundred years ago." Taylor himself knows that some people slag him for the first-person aspect of his writing: "If you think it's sentimental and self-absorbed, then I agree with you, basically. It's not for everybody. And it doesn't pretend to be. But to me, there's still something compelling to me about doing it."

"Carolina in My Mind" is considered North Carolina's unofficial state song. Which I'm guessing is what you may have heard at the UNC sporting events.

[quote] You're projecting, [R225]. There's no seething hatred. You're overreaching

Maybe you should read your initial post again. "Seething hatred" is absolutely not an overreach.

[quote]Elizabeth Wurtzel has that character in Prozac Nation say " James Taylor of the early seventies is who every young girl should lose her virginity to." I'm sure she said it a bit better than that.

I think it was in "Bitch" that she said that, while discussing "Smooth Talk."

r234, I know what I wrote, which is the truth.

I like this Allison Krauss cover of Carolina In My Mind.

Songwriting genius, r233? Like Lennon-McCartney, or Cole Porter, or Bob Dylan, or even Joni Mitchell?

No.

[quote] [R234], I know what I wrote, which is the truth.

What you wrote is called an opinion and yours was as someone else pointed out "seething with hate", irrational hatred, I might add.

Ben is fucking GORGEOUS! I love his sunburnt face and blue eyes and sharp features and sunken cheeks. I'm guessing he's hung, too. Remember, Carly is 1/4 African-American.

There are plenty of things I wrote about Taylor that are more than opinion, r241.

I agree, R240. "Songwriting genius" is not at all what I think of when I think of James Taylor. I think of his voice and his acoustic guitar and the blandness of it all. "Fire and Rain" is good-to-great, emotionally affecting song, especially if you know what real life event it's about, but...he's just not a genius.

This is the first I've heard of anyone ever making that claim, by the way, and I'm obsessed with music and have read a lot about it over the years.

Remember, Carly is 1/4 African-American.

WTF, r242?

Sorry, R245. I got the math wrong. Her grandmother was half-black. I didn't think that was obscure information—she's mentioned it a number of times over the years.

She mentions it here at the beginning of this interview, but if you google it ("Carly Simon biracial/African-american/grandmother" etc.) you'll get quite a few hits.

[quote] I agree, [R240]. "Songwriting genius" is not at all what I think of when I think of James Taylor. I think of his voice and his acoustic guitar and the blandness of it all. "Fire and Rain" is good-to-great, emotionally affecting song, especially if you know what real life event it's about, but...he's just not a genius. This is the first I've heard of anyone ever making that claim, by the way, and I'm obsessed with music and have read a lot about it over the years.

That's you opinion and you're certainly entitled to it. Despite how flawed it may be, by the way. Taylor is still a creative genius and as Rolling Stone pointed out one of the greatest songwriters of all time. How lovely though that you think so highly of yourself. That's very nice.

On her maternal side she has African heritage. Years ago her brother Peter Simon told me about this. I spent time with him, very casually, on the beach in Gay Head with my friends and mutual friends of Peter's. It was a great time, before Martha's Vineyard was a Belushi/Aykroyd/Clinton et al getaway. The nude beach at Gay Head was wonderful.

R247, don't be dumb. It's a fact that Taylor isn't generally thought of as one of the greats, any more than, say, Sheryl Crow is. He is, to most people, a rather boring, mostly acoustic, adult contemporary, soft rock singer/songwriter who was very popular at one time. I mean, for god's sake, Carly Simon is a much better lyricist than he is.

This has nothing to do with how highly I think of myself. I just meant that I'm a big music geek, and I'm aware of how various musicians/songwriters are regarded among other musicians, music fans, and the general population. Try not to take it personally. You can still enjoy James Taylor's music as much as you like.

r248, you were on a nude beach with Peter Simon? What was his cock like?

[quote] [R247], don't be dumb. It's a fact that Taylor isn't generally thought of as one of the greats, any more than, say, Sheryl Crow is. He is, to most people, a rather boring, mostly acoustic, adult contemporary, soft rock singer/songwriter who was very popular at one time. I mean, for god's sake, Carly Simon is a much better lyricist than he is. This has nothing to do with how highly I think of myself. I just meant that I'm a big music geek, and I'm aware of how various musicians/songwriters are regarded among other musicians, music fans, and the general population. Try not to take it personally. You can still enjoy James Taylor's music as much as you like.

Yes R249 this isn't at all personal. As I said before you're certainly entitled to your opinion. And I think its cute that you think so highly of yourself and those opinions. So no need to take any of this personally. You may continue not enjoying Taylor's creative genius as much as you like. It changes nothing.

Yeah, right, r251. "Fire and Rain" is right up there with "Blowin' in the Wind," "Eleanor Rigby" and "Both Sides Now."

I actually think that song is pretty good, R252, but I'm curious to know what other songs of his my friend at R251 would hold up as examples of Taylor's genius. You know, if he's really one of the greats.

R251, the part that isn't my "opinion" is Taylor's actual standing in the music world. No matter what you think or what you think Rolling Stone, as an entity, thinks of him, he is NOT thought of as a songwriting genius by people who know their shit when it comes to music. He's mostly considered a joke. He's old-fogey music. Sentimental, maudlin, middle of the road, boring. And that's not just me talking. That's basically consensus. I know it comes as a shock to you.

From NPR, 2011:

[quote]It's pretty common for people to accuse James Taylor of being the whitest guy in popular music. A guest column in SPIN magazine by the comedy troupe the Whitest Kids U Know accused the singer-songwriter of penning hits that make John Denver's albums sound like Public Enemy. "Stiffer than titanium, that boy," wrote one blogger after sitting through the singer-songwriter's 2006 PBS special. "We could have been at a nursing home in South Carolina," cracked Huffington Post regular Andy Ostroy of the very Caucasian crowd surrounding him at Taylor and Carole King's Madison Square Garden last year.

[quote]Aside from being an avenue for casual cruelty, accusing James Taylor of being too white can be a way of condemning the musical and cultural shifts to which he's tied, and for which he's often partly held responsible. An uber baby boomer, Taylor gained fame just after the 1960s faded out, and his acoustic-based, self-reflective ballads represent a softening of the fervor of that time — as well as a turn toward pretentiousness and narcissism. Lovers of raw rock like the late, great critic Lester Bangs labeled Taylor's ruminations "bardic auteur crap," and that gentility has also long been associated with whiteness: chinos and picnics and skiing and gently singing along to "You've Got a Friend."

[quote]A polarizing figure from the minute he gained notoriety, Taylor's now as often imitated by young musicians as he is scorned. Whether they despise him or want to cuddle up inside his sweater vest, Taylor's listeners still often miss the central role African-American influences play in his music.

...and it goes on from there, mostly to try to make the case that his music *isn't* as "white" as it's been made out to be.

But just those paragraphs should tell you, R251, what the consensus about his music is or is not.

R251 Art is subjective. You're working much to hard trying to be right. Again you need to take your own advice and not take this personally.

R255, what I think about Taylor's music isn't even germane to the conversation. I'm telling you that his music is not as revered as you made it out to be. It's a matter of fact. Were it not, Ann Powers wouldn't have been able to make the allusions to his not-so-sterling reputation in her article for NPR.

Once again: not my opinion. It is a fact that he does not enjoy "genius" status the way that Bob Dylan or the Beatles or even Elvis Costello do.

Not my opinion. Consensus. That is all. Happy listening to you!

Some discussion of his music among music geeks. Electrical Audio is engineer Steve Albini's studio in Chicago. His website has a discussion forum that is unofficially referred to by its users as "the Premier Rock Forum". Sort of like the Steve Hoffman forum, but generally meaner, and more hip. There's a section called Crap/Not Crap, which is self explanatory.

You might think at first that it skews more toward punk and indie, but artists across all genres get discussed there, including all the "greats" (the usual suspects) with results mostly lining up with general critical consensus. For instance, Taylor's 1970s contemporary Judee Sill has, I believe, a 100% Not Crap rating. James Taylor currently stands at 60% Crap.

[quote]Their daughter, Sally, is such an awful person. I know her. Spoiled, entitled and bratty.

R230, Spill!

Yes, [R230], more details, please!

Ain't it just like a friend of mine to hit me from behind

Mommy and Ben:

I don't get the lyrics from most of his songs. He's candid in sharing the stories behind them, but to me there is a definite disconnect between what he 'claims' they are about and the actual words.

Ben Taylor > Ben Affleck

[quote]Aside from being an avenue for casual cruelty, accusing James Taylor of being too white

Why is it a negative if music is "white"?

R233 Thanks for chiming in JT.

[quote] How unusual for a town to celebrate one of its own.

[quote] Taylor is a song writing genius; whether you can appreciate his music and his genius or not.

I have no qualms with a small town recognizing one of its own, but honestly it’s more than that here. You'd need to witness it with your own eyes to get the full effect, but it's rather eye opening. Sure, James Taylor has reached some level of fame, but to suggest that he's one for the ages is ridiculous—especially coming from someone in the music department who was elevating him to the level of people like Mozart and The Beatles, ffs. I guess part of that was also seeing all the head-nodders in the audience expressing their agreement. It felt a bit like watching a televangelist working his congregation to get their affirming “amens” in return. It’s a pretty good representation of the university and town, though, which has developed this almost cult-like environment. They elevate all things associated with the school to these artificially lofty levels and if you don’t buy into, they suggest it’s a failure on your part to recognize/appreciate the greatness. (Check out the text quoted here, as a good illustration.)

[quote] "Carolina in My Mind" is considered North Carolina's unofficial state song.

Uh, no, it's not. I've been to thousands of public events in NC, and outside of Chapel Hill, I have never heard Carolina in My Mind - or really any of his other songs - played at other events or locales. I guess it's easy to say it's the unofficial state song since, by virtue of that title, there's no official way to confirm or dispute that. Admittedly though, I could see UNC trying to push an idea like that.

I bet Carly and Ben do anal too.

How embarrassing it must be to be R266.

I bet they love oral.

R 250 It's impressive.

Was he bushy down there as well, r248/269?

He looks just like James when I first met him!

It just happened.

For being a has-been, JT sure has gotten some attention with all these posts. I'm in the same age group as a lot of people here who still remember him. That's why I like this site, people here bring up a lot of nostalgia from my youth. I have to admit, I enjoyed his Sweet Baby James album. He has a relaxing voice and Fire and Rain is one of my all time favorite songs. I do think he peaked early and really never created anything afterward that anyone but his most die hard fans would enjoy. His last radio hit was in the late 70's with How Sweet It Is, which was a cover. He has seemed to hang onto his baby boomer fans and still tours. Carly Simon did go on to overshadow him pretty solidly. He had a history of mental illness and Carly has a fear of performing live. We all know about her whining about being used by Warren Beatty who was the subject of the song "You're So Vain". She seemed to go for the dark, Machiavellian look and went on to have a brief affair with John Belushi and a long relationship with Keith Hernandez. I always thought she was a great singer songwriter and not bad looking for a Jewish princess. Her dad, btw owned a music publishing company.

How about JT, r248? I heard all the gay guys went to the mud slide at Martha's Vineyard just to see JT in the nude, and that he was massively hung....

[quote]Her dad, btw owned a music publishing company.

It was a book publishing company, Simon & Schuster.

I'm listening to Mud Slide Slim now, R273. Maybe Slim was one of JT's dong appreciators.

So what? All rich people think they're so very special.

I hear he hung out with the Beatles in the late sixties. Legend has it that he had a gay affair with John Lennon.

JT was Apple Records' first non-Beatle artist

(277) I never heard about Lennon and JT hooking up but it doesn't surprise me. It is widely known JL had several gay relationships in his life which included Harry Nilsson, Stu Sutcliffe, Brian Epstein and, to many, Yoko also qualifies as a male, so count her too.

JT's family had money, but nothing like the money (and entertainment world connections) had by the Simons.

Harry Nilsson was a gay?

I come from Massachusetts, right in their home area of Barrington, and they are despised as fucking entitled cunts. Better talents never got the push they did. They all sing about mental illness and poor me fucking-itis. Inbred Yankee cunts, all of them.

ok next logical question on datalounge since you are saying james taylor had gay affair with john lennon. so was JT A BOTTOM?

r279 and r283, while it's not known who was the top in the Lennon and Taylor gay affair, it seems unlikely Lennon wouldn't be the top, as Taylor was the younger, sullen, American pretty drug addict from a fancy family. Who wouldn't top that?

Excuse me, but John Lennon appears to be wearing a CAPE in the picture at R206.

That is just too, too much to absorb.

r273, it was pretty well known JT was an exhibitionist who loved to go to the nude part of the gay beach a Gay Head and show himself off. He and Carly lived in Chilmark where we lived, which was the closest town to Gay Head.

Wow R257, 35 votes from 4+ years ago settles it.

😄 😄 😄 😄 😄 😄 😄

Gay Head

It wasn't strictly speaking a nude gay beach, it was actually very mixed, more straight even with families. But there was a gay vibe in some areas there. Then.

And then they changed the name from Gay Head to Aquinnah.

Peter Simon and JT, when they were on the nude beach, it was more cock for your buck.

Peter was even more of an exhibitionist than his brother-in-law. They would often try to out-exhibitionist each other.

Taylor was equally at home on the gay pockets of Gay Head beach and in areas where there young gawking teenage and college girls to expose himself to.

Agree with OP. Always found JT to be overrated 70s pretentious and self-indulgent. Sorry.

Remember seeing an interview with Carly and her family when Ben was a 20-something and she was creeping all over him. Referred to him as a God or something. Totally believe they were banging. Creeped me out.

Ben got his head fucked in both directions: from Carly who pushed herself on him at a young age, and James, who turned his back, fed his heroin habit, and was violent. A mother fucking you and a father alternately ignoring or hitting you--or turning you onto heroin himself.

r283, does this look like a top to you?

That photo was taken in 1967 or '68, R295. Both bottoms and tops looked fairly similar.

True, r296. He was versatile, too.

He hustled in his early New York years. He learned how to be very seductive with men.

He met Peter Asher in his London years, R298.

r299 I know. The picture shows the bravado he learned just a few years earlier.

Oh, I see, R300. Gotcha.

r301, Taylor was fucking around with guys in London when that picture was taken, you do realize?

Yes, London. Not New York. As for "fucking around with guys," IDK.

He only hustled a little in his early New York years, but he fucked guys in London later. John Lennon=Apple contract.

He also fucked women in London. He was completely hedonistic then and went back on drugs.

Did he ever fuck Carole King?

r306, repeatedly.

^Or at least a fuck buddy.

Didn't think she was pretty enough for him.

r309, Carly was sexy but not pretty. Both Carly and Carol knew how to fuck, which was fine with Sweet Baby James.

His relationship with King was sexual and good business. Only 7 years ago they toured and did a live album.

R310, how do you know about these ladies' sexual abilities?!

Ben Taylor then. Better now.

Agreed, R313. He has since come out of the darkness and now we can see what he looks like when he's not 85% concealed by shadows and lens flare.

Never heard of him with men....

R270 I have shared all that I choose to say.

James is pretty smokin hot in this pic, but most of his photos from his Golden era were a bit creepy - very handsome, but those crazy eyes were a bit much. Yes, he was WAYYY before my time and I only knew him as a crotchety old guy who my parents raved about that crooned ballads more boring than watching "Mash" the tv show.

R290 Aquinnah is the traditional Wampanoag word for that place. The original residents, whose descendants still live there, are spoken of as the Aquinnah Wampanoag. It predates the name Gay Head by many centuries.

I agree with the poster upthread who described the optional nude beach as family oriented. It was not an obvious or dedicated cruising zone. I was always there in early June or after Labor Day, but even off season I never saw James, Carly or their kids there. Peter was always a really nice, interesting, accessible guy, nude or dressed - pretty much exactly the same in both situations. Hetero and Gay couples had sex in the dunes but it was done somewhat discretely especially because there were usually families there most of the time. You could not easily access that beach. Most people had friends or family who let them park at their adjacent homes, of which there were few, which is how I was able to access the beach. Overall, mostly it was more of a basic nudist 'let it all hang out' place.

Fuck Lester Bangs.

Ben is like a cheap copy of JT. Not nearly as beautiful (or talented) as his famous father was in his youth.

Yes, the goofy gappy teeth do ruin his look a bit.

Boy, this thread really had some traction.

I still hate James Taylor.

When does this scumbag get his #metoo moment? Sorely overdue. Abusive husband, abusive father, drug addict, narcissist...

Jesus, what a weird thread this is, from the creepy OP all the way to the end.

So I guess some #metoo criminals can get off if they're really old and not as blatant as Bill Cosby?

Their duets were terrible and a sign that the singer-songwriter era was ending. Taylor was the better songwriter. Carly ha da better voice, in the traditional melodic sense, but not what I'd call timeless. Taylor's use of heroin was widely known in the 70s. Simon can hardly be credited with a revelation.

His version of Woodstock is one of the most moving songs I've ever heard. Then, Fire & Rain is right up there for me. I bought Sweet Baby James expecting to be moved by that album as much as I was by those songs but it is a snooze fest. After reading Carly's biography I really couldn't stand him. What a self centered person.

And so was Carly.

Wow, my Mom was into James Taylor when she was in college I think-- she's 67. I remember listening to it in the car when I was a kid.

Surprised to learn he's still alive.

r329, he's70, three years older than your mother. Are you surprised she's still alive? You idiot.

R323 My thoughts exactly. He makes me ill. I can't bear his voice. I loved Carly's autobio. She's a whack job, though.

I love Carly Simon but hate boring, ol James Taylor.

I'm surprised you're still alive R330

No one likes bitter old people.

No one.

He was merely pointing out the obvious, r333.

Yes, merely the obvious, r333--you idiot.

Daughter Sally seems to be independent but son Ben apparently has gotten a lot of financial and career help from his father. James has tossed him money to stage his own concerts and tours...he’s even sat in for some “Ben Taylor with James” sets. I’m sure it’s been miserable trying to become a success in a field in which dad is beloved (just not here on DL, obviously).

“Enjoy the banality — both of them drone on in a haze of self-absorption, as if the world cares.”

Wow. Could op be anymore self-absorbed, spouting his ineffectual, toxic opinion as fact, as if anyone cares? Truth is, the world did care about James Taylor and Carly Simon at one time, and some still do. Probably not true for op, hence the screed.

Maybe poor r333 figured Taylor would be dead by now from all the drug use. Or maybe he's just a dumb-dumb.

[quote]I hate James Taylor.

If I said "I hate Trump" (and I do), would r339 say "And who are you again?" Bullshit question.

Yes, r336, apparently Ben was the less resilient between himself and sister Sally. His father's abusive behavior seemed to affect him more. It must suck to always be in the shadow of the father.

Apparently, r337, people do care, if you read through this long thread.

There are many people (especially gay people) who've endured abusive parents, whether or not those parents are famous.

Does he have size meat?

[quote]Bullshit question.

Bullshit answer.

It's a direct answer to your question. You don't like the answer? Who cares?

r344, if you go way way up, there were a few posts about how Taylor and his brother being naked on the nude beach at Martha's Vineyard.

The only J.T. song that doesn't make me change the station is "Her Town Too" which I actually love. Carol Kings songs have the same effect on me. I never change when a Carly Simon song comes on.

R336: Sally has sponged off of her parents every bit as much as her brother. And she also tried to become a pop star with their money. But, unlike her brother, she can't even sing.

Sally had a falling out with Carly Simon, where she wouldn't let Carly see her grandchild, because Carly wouldn't give Sally's freeloading husband (whom she met on a nude beach) money to buy real estate.

Independent she is not. Sally is not only a spoiled grifter, she is very unpleasant about it.

I used to serve them in NYC. JT was scary- those eyes! And I'm sorry to say that Carly Simon was the most un-pretty woman I have ever seen.

[quote]And I'm sorry to say that Carly Simon was the most un-pretty woman I have ever seen.

In what way? I have had dealings with Carly and found her to be very pleasant and funny. But she does have a very sharp tongue. Which I liked.

"JT was scary- those eyes!"

Yes, r350, you're right--James Taylor has the dead eyes of a sociopath.

Given the utter self-absorption and general nuttiness of the parents, how well could their children have turned out?

But I still can't figure out who abused them and how--something le tout DL seems to know about.

[quote]In what way?

Perhaps in the way that she resembles a sea lamprey? That's not to say that she isn't pleasant and funny, but I think r350 was commenting on her appearance.

I haven't seen her in ages, but she was very pretty in person.

r344--it was stated upthread that Taylor was an exhibitionist.

Carly has an oblong head, with a gigantic mouth and huge, horse teeth. Great figure, though.

Agreed. Carly is more appealing even with her inappropriate behavior (to put it euphemistically) toward Ben, but it's not hard to be more appealing than the drug addict, narcissist, serial adulterer, child abuser and all-round sex pest her ex-husband Taylor was/is.

Ben Taylor is the true tragic victim in this family. That he's alive after surviving it all is amazing to me, frankly.

*alive at all and surviving is amazing

Actually Ben Taylor is not that innocent and appears to be a sexual predator who's slipped by the #metoo net.

^Jesus--crystal meth?

Never liked him much or his music.

Which one? Or both?

both

So agree, r365. James Taylor had the most marginal talent and ran with it for about five or six years. Now JT's forever coasting with his even less talented and psychically damaged son BT hanging for dear life onto his coattails.

Seriously, what did James or Carly do to Ben and/or Sally?

From that article: Ben Taylor "explicitly illustrates his desire to get an attractive woman intoxicated so that he can "have [his] wicked way with [her]." He even warns the woman; "don’t you fight it/ 'cause I know you’re gonna like it.”

Serial rapist.

It's explained upthread, r367, but the gist:

Ben--molested by mom, started on drugs from dad, downhill from there Sally--the less-loved one who used that to her advantage and became a mooching, self-entitled user

Seriously, what did James or Carly do to Ben and/or Sally?

r367--nothing was done to Sally. They all disliked her. It was the one and only thing James, Carly and Ben basically agreed on. Sally wasn't/isn't loved. That and demands for more money are why Sally won't let Carly see her own grandkids, and James doesn't care enough to want to see them.

God, what a family. Incest, drug addiction, brother-sister rape...

Brother-sister rape was in some Ben Taylor song, was it the one quoted above? Not actual brother-sister rape.

Ben has major rape face.

^get an attractive woman intoxicated so that "I can have my wicked way with you. Don’t you fight it 'cause I know you’re gonna like it.”

Sister Sally had a major crush on brother with the rape face but he wouldn't touch her.

Congratulation OP. Rarely does one see a thread with so much nasty, mean spirited, unsourced , potentially libelous bullshit.

The sister-brother stuff is clearly all a joke.

Did Carly sexually abuse Ben or is that a DL meme?

JT and BT are creepy either way.

It's already been mentioned somewhere earlier in the thread of Carly's being physical with Ben. There was also a link, I think?

I couldn't find it. If it's not true, I think it's a little over the top even for DL.

He reminds me of Steve Jobs

Steve Jobs? How old are you dumbass.

OP can go sit on it!

I want to remember Carly and JT as they were

The way they were, r382? Drug addict, narcissist, self-absorbed, adulterous, and wrote a few good songs. That's as they were.

What's the commotion about?

Yikes!

wow.

"Pass that bottle of suntan lotion."

"Here, let me do that for you."

"But I'm not wearing anything."

"I know, Mom."

Carly Simon is black - one drop, you know - her maternal grandmother was biracial from Cuba - not that there's anything wrong with that.....

OP and many on this thread are ignorant trolls. They just don’t know it, I guess. Or maybe they do?

There's a lot of documentation on Taylor's years of fucked-up behavior, r389. Why would anyone otherwise troll him of all people here without any basis in fact?

Will all the awareness of #metoo I'm surprised r389 would think there's nothing to the behavior Ben Taylor for instance exhibited as reported in that link right above.

Because there are a lot of crazies posting on the DL

His feature on Mark Knopfler's SAILING TO PHILADELPHIA is inspired, though. He's Charlie Mason, to me.

[quote]I come from Massachusetts, right in their home area of Barrington, and they are despised as fucking entitled cunts. Better talents never got the push they did. They all sing about mental illness and poor me fucking-itis. Inbred Yankee cunts, all of them.

Hee! Thanks for the 411, R282!

He looks like Ted Bundy in R212.

Apparently I’m in the minority here, but I think young JT was FUGLY - scraggly hair, mono-brow, underbite, serial-killer eyes. Are you people for real? Maybe my trolldar is malfunctioning.

JT never made my dick hard, either.

[quote]Did Carly sexually abuse Ben or is that a DL meme?

I don't think the meme is exclusive to DL, but I have no idea whether it's true.

r396, I've seen one or two pics of young JT in which he looks pretty hot, but agree that even back then, he mostly looked fugly and kind of scary.

This entire thread is crazy crazy, save for a few rational posters... There are two sides to every story and coin, and they were both flawed people with addiction problems. Somewhere in the middle lies the truth. James remains an inspired talent who shall remain in the hearts and memories of many. WTF did he ever do to you OP? As an interesting aside, in response to those oddly surprised at Simon's Jewish heritage: on an episode of Dr. Gates' show [italic] Finding Your Roots [italic] Simon herself was surprised to have a significant, and unexplained African admixture in her DNA.

1,000 apologies to everyone for messing up the italics^

I'll never forget the time Carly Simon offered to beat the shit out of Chrissy from the Pretenders at a Joni Mitchell concert.

I though I heard the other way around, r401. And it wasn't a concert, it was an impromptu appearance at some little club in NYC. But maybe it was Carly threatening the crazy Chrissy.

That second wife, Kathryn Walker, was the "longtime companion" of Doug Kenney of the NATIONAL LAMPOON. The one who made a fortune, did a ton of blow, and then either "slipped" or "jumped" off a cliff in Hawaii to his death. He was one hot mess.

Chrissy was wearing flip flops.

[quote]As an interesting aside, in response to those oddly surprised at Simon's Jewish heritage: on an episode of Dr. Gates' show Finding Your Roots Simon herself was surprised to have a significant, and unexplained African admixture in her DNA.

That was a particularly good episode of "Finding Your Roots". The information they discovered about Carly's ancestry was amazing - things her own family didn't know. Henry Louis Gates told Carly she was the "blackest white woman" who had ever been on the show - it had a lot of warmth and humor.

Part black, is she? Well, she sure can dance...

[quote]I returned to my apartment on Central Park West. James was there. He'd let himself in. I didn't know quite how I felt to see him. It was a toxic, tawdry mix of nursed resentment and unexpected excitement. I'm a bit ashamed to admit to the latter, even these many years later. He was sitting on the bed when I walked in. He didn't say hello. He just looked up at me and snarled, "Strip, bitch." I did as he asked or, rather, commanded. It had been many angry months since I had seen him aroused. He was enormous, as ever. Even larger than any black man I had met. Was that why it was so impossible to let go? I reproached myself for both asking and knowing it was true. He was surly, and like a rusty snow plow dividing me, and driving deep into me, only making me long for what was lost. Within minutes it was over and he was gone. That was the last time we were ever together like that. I never told his Japanese ballerina girlfriend, the one he bragged about being tighter than a nun. I still regret that wholly unnecessary discretion."

^James Taylor, sociopath and rapist.

I rest my case.

Item in today's Daily Beast reports that on Wednesday night Bill Murray slammed a 71 year old photographer against a door and poured a glass of water over his head and equipment - photographer turned out to be Peter Simon, who is described as "Carly Simon's little brother" (!) They both exchanged "Don't you know who I ams" and cops at the scene told Simon he could file a criminal complaint for assault and battery. This occurred at some restaurant, with the restaurant owner claiming that Simon had no business taking photos in the restaurant and was "generally annoying." Evidently Simon does a weekly feature called "Vineyard Scene."

r409, I read that as Paul Simon!!!

James Taylor used to look like Billy Crudup.

James

Billy

The OP is toxic

OP you're a black hole of negativity.

[quote]I returned to my apartment on Central Park West. James was there. He'd let himself in. I didn't know quite how I felt to see him. It was a toxic, tawdry mix of nursed resentment and unexpected excitement. I'm a bit ashamed to admit to the latter, even these many years later. He was sitting on the bed when I walked in. He didn't say hello. He just looked up at me and snarled, "Strip, bitch." I did as he asked or, rather, commanded. It had been many angry months since I had seen him aroused. He was enormous, as ever. Even larger than any black man I had met. Was that why it was so impossible to let go? I reproached myself for both asking and knowing it was true. He was surly, and like a rusty snow plow dividing me, and driving deep into me, only making me long for what was lost. Within minutes it was over and he was gone. That was the last time we were ever together like that. I never told his Japanese ballerina girlfriend, the one he bragged about being tighter than a nun. I still regret that wholly unnecessary discretion."

r407 - what the ACTUAL FIUCK?