Post #66214 by WickDiesel on Tue, Dec 23, 2003 6:21 PM

I think what a lot of tikiphiles find unfortunate is that lots of folks confuse "tropical" with "tiki." Mr. Buffett has recorded songs in Tahitian, sailed Polynesia, even contracted malaria in Bora Bora (!), and has enjoyed more genuine tiki/South Pacific experiences than most of us ever will. HE knows tiki, but many of his fans do not. Can't fault the guy for that.

Is he a businessman? You betcha! Is he an opportunist? Sure, just enough to become a gazillionaire. Do I love a lot of his music and appreciate him as a poet and songwriter? Absolutely.

I have the advantage (or disadvantage, depending on where you're coming from ) of having listened to all 30+ of JB's albums, so naturally I've seen beyond the "drunk frat boy" image. He's recorded some amazing music, but sadly most of it is buried among dumb songs about cheeseburgers and getting drunk and screwing, songs that he himself admits to being sick of.

The goofy thing is, Buffett knows true tiki. Too bad his fans don't educate themselves further. So wherever possible, I have elected to make that my job. :)

[ Edited by: WickDiesel on 2003-12-23 19:02 ]