A Tale of Two Talents

Still transfixed with horror at “Daughter to Father”, I’m going to have to compare and contrast it with another one: “Sunday Clothes” by Charlie Sexton.

First, let’s compare the artists. Lindsey Lohan started out as a child model, moving on to Disney pictures starting with the remake of “The Parent Trap” at age 11, and doing other films. She was generally regarded as a pretty good actress, and seemed pretty stable until, I guess, about 18. The train wreck of her life is pretty well known—if you need to you can look it up.

Charlie Sexton was born to a teen mother in Texas, which is not generally considered a strong beginning, but eventually he and his brother became involved in the Austin music scene, learning from some really great players (and I assume practicing a lot) so that as a fifteen year old he was a respected session musician.

When you think about it, it is completely logical that he got a record deal. Here you have this skilled young musician who is attractive in a manner that is very popular for that time (tall, skinny, brooding, thick black hair, amazing cheek bones), and so at 16 he recorded a solo album, Pictures for Pleasure. Musically he was solid, though I am amazed listening to it now how muted the guitars are when guitar was his thing. Based on that, and what I remember of the concert, and listening to his later work, I would say that he did not really know how to be a front man, he did not get a lot of guidance on that, and that he was not really being himself—still not terribly surprising.

He released another album which was not that successful, and then he went back to working with other musicians, and forming other groups, and just kept on working, now both recording and producing. He may not have the best name recognition, but he has worked steadily and is well-respected.

And the man just keeps getting better looking. If he’s still smoking that may eventually turn on him, but I remember the first time I felt that all was not right with Lindsey Lohan was seeing a clip for the video for “Rumors”, and noticing that she had gone from dewy to leathery really fast, and it did not seem like a good sign.

So, looking at these two talented youth who were catapulted to fame at a fairly young age, how do their music videos looking back on their early family life stack up?

Both videos have the artist singing about their youth, with a child actor representing their younger selves. In Lindsey’s case, it is her younger sister Ali. (Charlie’s brother Will is in “Sunday Clothes”, but just as a band member.) Both have fathers with legal issues. It’s fair to say that both are pretty personal. That’s about the extent of the similarity.

I can’t ignore the quality issue. “Sunday Clothes” is just a much better song. Lyrically it is not overly complicated, and I will admit some of the rhymes seem a little perfunctory. Of course, I have never had to work “vacation Bible school” into a song, and it was germane to the song, so there’s that. The song works as a whole though. It creates a mood, gives you the information you need to know, and you want to listen again.

“Confessions” is awful. Talking about writing in a previous post I mentioned the need to not get overwrought when dealing with heavy emotion. Sometimes you can go for broke, especially in opera, but you need to really be careful or it is so easy to crash, and people feel the wrong things. I am sure I am supposed to feel pain, but mainly I feel horror, and if I didn’t have a heart, it would probably be laughter. It’s awful.

There is a note of melancholy in “Sunday Clothes”, but it is ultimately joyful, or at least peaceful. I think there are two key relational aspects to this. The most obvious one is that his grandmother is there being a good influence. It’s more subtle, but while his father is in prison, and that is sad (“visiting day at the penitentiary was where I learned to cry”), somehow I get the impression that Sexton does not question his father’s love for him, even if he could question his life choices. Lohan is specifically asking “Did you ever love me?” which is pretty awful to have as a sincere question.

“Confessions” is a train wreck, which is a term that I had used earlier to describe Lohan herself. There’s a certain symmetry to it, really, but I was surprised at how protective I ended up feeling. I know that putting your pain into your art can be a way of processing and healing, but there does not seem to be any healing going on here. Granted, in “Sunday Clothes” Charlie Sexton is farther removed from his childhood, so that distance may help. Maybe if she had processed a little more, so that the emotions were less raw, she would be better off, but mainly I felt like someone should pull her out of there, tuck her into bed and speak soothingly until she could calm down. I was upset with her mother because that should be her job, and yet this video is very self-serving to Dina, making her a victim of this evil man also. I do not doubt in any way that Michael Lohan is not the greatest parent, and denial on the child’s part is not necessarily helpful, but I just know this isn’t working.

“Sunday Clothes” is from Under the Wishing Tree, his 1995 release. I also have Pictures for Pleasure of course (1985), and Cruel and Gentle Things (2005). I do not have Charlie Sexton (1989), or any of the Arc Angels releases (1992 and 2009) or Southside Sessions (a collaboration with Shannon McNally from 2006). So basically I check in about every ten years. I could feel like a bad fan, but I did have the soundtrack to Beverly Hills Cop II for his song, "In Deep". (I may still have it. My vinyl got separated from the CDs and tapes.)

Anyway, I was listening to all three of the CDs I have in relation to the guitar thing, and there’s an interesting transition. In some ways, Under the Wishing Tree seems experimental. There are some very different sounds (especially on “Dark”), and some really different song lengths (“Plain Bad Luck and Innocent Mistakes” clocks in at just over twelve minutes), and there is some definite loss. In fact, one common thread in many of the songs is a shapeless dread, where there is a definite threat that is not known or understood, but undeniably felt.

“Sunday Clothes” is not even the song that most captures his relationship with his father. Try “Spanish Words” for that. My feeling though is that “Sunday Clothes” is the bridge. It would not sound out of place on Cruel and Gentle Things, and it is the key to getting past the threat and the hole and the fear, getting past the Dark, and choosing the future, choosing life. I don’t think that it’s a coincidence that it is shortly after Under the Wishing Tree that his son was born.

To be fair, Lindsey is not that far along now. She could still do a turnaround, and make a good life for herself, and maybe in another ten years it will look like things are heading that way. I hope so.

It is easier to feel optimistic for Charlie. He had that talent and skill that he just kept developing and using, and was probably lost in the music many times, which is better than many of the other options for being lost. In addition, he had Grandma there on his side.

“I never understood it all that well back then, but it probably saved my life.”