Have held on to a number of items like this for over a decade and never shared them.
This seems to be the place.
Now seems to be the time.
Greetings Steemit.
And since this is my first post, and everyone loves verification: https://instagram.com/p/BILvw1dgu0z/
Great to have you here!!
For those that had the same difficulties I had, I think this is what it says:
"Dear Mr Strauss,
With regard to your 'review' of my concert at Madison Square Gardens.
It was not a good show, but not for the reasons you gave. I had a fever of 102 and should have cancelled, but I do have fans who would have been disappointed. So I tried...least I tried. It was the worst show, vocally, of the tour, which has been blessed with the best reviews I've ever had.
Your review was just spiteful. Plain and simple. You had my head on a plate before you sat down. It doesn't worry me that you dislike what I do. Many critics don't, I'm not hip, trendy or whatever. However many real people do and its for me and them I do what I do.
"In the air".. sentimental.. (are you crazy)..."passable pop"... " a rare happy moment in his life"... fuck you man
I guess musical snobbery, and believe me that is what we're talking about here, comes with the gig at "THE NEW YORK TIMES". Sad really Why papers send 'critics' to review a show by someone they obviously dislike before they play a note, is quite beyond me.
I understand that your paper is too intellectual to be seen to be liking anything I do. There is credibility at stake here for you all. I know how important it must be.
Finally, regarding me "standing still" I of all the people in pop music have never ever stood still, whether it be acting, producing unknowns or names, collaborating or whatever. That much I thought at least you would acknowledge. Leaving Genesis, i.e. not resting on past laurels, taking out a 20 piece Big Band at the Jazz Fests, Movie music, it's all new ground for me, yet you choose to ignore all that and rely on clichés.
Well Neil, Fuck you.
Phil Collins"
Also I hope you don't mind Neil but I had to dig out the original review to see it in more context, here is the link to your review: http://www.nytimes.com/1997/03/15/arts/combining-sentimental-and-chirpy.html
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Nice one Stevo,
So this wasn't hate mail, rather, an eloquent answer to a classically spiteful, critics piece.
Those who can do, those who can't, criticize...
CG
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I heard that in Portland, the dream of the 90s is alive. I like Phil Collins, but I can no longer imagine a snobby rock critique being directed at a contemporary performance of his. In fact, I feel like that kind of review would just be comedic if were about a pop star because the expectation is vapid bubble gum, whereas it would make sense if it were about a band that no one over 35 had ever heard of.
Thanks for transcribing that. The article and the response really brought me back to a simpler time.
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Steve, thanks for transcribing this. Was actually about to hop on today to edit the post and add this.
And nice job finding the original review. Gotta love those NYTimes headlines.
ntomaino, after receiving it, I spoke to his publicist to ask if he was staying at the Peninsula, just to verify that this was legitimate. Never responded though.
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Hi Mr Strauss,
I know you probably get this all the time but I would honestly like to thank you for writing The Game, it changed my life!
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Same here! The dating stories I post on Steemit might have never happened if it wasn't for reading that book.
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Thanks for taking the time do this. The original review provides some great context. I'm curious to hear if Neil ever responded to Phil's note.
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I have heard that this one of the main reasons why Collins stopped performing live, hate mail. He claimed much of it was due to losing his voice and being unable to perform.
This reminds me of Sia last week, I posted about her losing her voice in mid performance, on live TV...
https://steemit.com/art/@kidsysco/sia-falls-apart-on-live-tv-but-we-lover-her-anyway
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I like this salvo! Bombs away?
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you post this in every thread, downvoting.
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Where's the button to upvote Phil Collins?
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great
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love this
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Nice work finding the original review =)
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Stevo - thanks for taking the time to transcribe it and googlefu-ing around to find the original review :)
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nice one stevo good job
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Pretty epic note from Phil. Two questions - did this note make you respect Phil Collins more or less? And did you respond?
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See answer to your comment above re: responding.
And at the time, I remember being surprised, it felt angry and bitter.
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No offense, but do you think it might have felt angry and bitter because you insulted him?
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How do you feel about it now?
Welcome to Steemit by the way!
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I can see that. At the same time , I think there's something to respect about the fact that at close to the peak of his career he cared enough to take the time to write you a long hand-written note like that.
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Hey, I have to get back to my friends, but could I get your opinion on something real quick?
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Anything to share? We'd love to hear! This is so interesting.
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Hi Neil, I'm glad you decided to have a look at Steemit. Nothing makes a community more interesting than professional boundary-pushers.
Welcome.
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Thanks churdtzu, love the energy, knowledge, community, and signal-to-noise ratio here. Will post a proper IntroduceYourself.
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You rock Neil, nice to have you come over to our humble community.
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Thanks repholder, more to come...
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Neil,
Read "The Game" a decade ago and was such a huge game-changer. a real treat to see you here on Steemit.
was inspired to write more than just a comment - expanded into a story of its own, as I don't think alot of people on here know who you are and how awesome it is for you to have joined us so early on in the game:
How @NeilStrauss Changed The Game, My Life, & Impacted Millions Through His Writing: Why This Man Deserves A Standing Ovation & Warm Welcome To The Steemit Community...
Much looking forward to more of your shares. I'm sure you have some great stuff in store... ;-)
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Good to be seeing quality posts on here worth every cent!
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Neil - thanks for joining us over here at Steemit. Looking forward to your future posts. :).
Shoutout to Jumpman for letting us know about your post: https://steemit.com/steemit/@jumpman/wakeup-steemit-nyt-best-selling-author-neil-straus-just-posted-about-steemit-to-his-117k-twitter-followers-and-16k-instagram
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Thanks applecrisp. Will check out Jumpman's post and upvote my thanks.
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"Style" has joined Steemit!? Oh shit! This is exciting. Welcome, man!
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I, for one, can't wait to see more of your posts... I hope the Steemit community gives you full support! https://steemit.com/money/@wadepaterson/a-legend-has-joined-steemit-you-need-to-upvote-his-first-post
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Holy shit it's Neil Strauss.
This guy wrote The Game!
Neil write an intro article ASAP!
Everyone needs to know who you are. I'm gonna start following you on here.
Btw are you into crypto trading?
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Your book changed my life.
Nice to have you here, great value.
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nice earn money
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Wow, the handwriting is worse than my own!
Phil Collins performed a lot of songs I liked, haven't listened to him in years though. Thanks for the memories. :)
Keep it Clean!
TheCleanGame Blog Posts, Neatly Categorized
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greetings @neilstrauss
welcome to the best community over Internet!
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Strange that he even answered to critic. Collins is great. Thank you for your work. I've not listened Genesis for 10 years. Is it about this show?
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I can fever comin in the steem tonight...ohhhh f%ckkkkk
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I always admired Phil Collins
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Would you like to know the 10 most common words used in this post? Check out http://steemread.com
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source: http://steemread.com
'pnow' is not a word
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Hello everyone as they are 'm new on this page I explain how it works ???
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Hola a todos como están soy nuevo en esta pagina me explican como funciona ???
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That must be Phil before a Snickers, lol.
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That's a nice piece of memorabilia. You should have that framed and on display at the Hard Rock Hotel or Rock n Roll HOF in Cleveland. I'm sure everyone that sees that would get a good laugh from it.
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I luv Phillll -
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Wow, fancy seeing you on here. I read your book 'the game' around 2011. You have a very engaging style of writing.
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Phill Collins the mustard tiger?!
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It seems like such a harsh response by Phil Collins though you call his performance "Passable Pop" you go onto saying "This didn't detract too much from the show: his ballads lost none of their sentiment, universality or effectiveness.". He must have decided to take an awful disliking to you.
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Posting a private letter to the Internet runs against my ethics. I feel when I flag things I should explain. So, here it is. The letter is person to person. It was meant for you Mr. Strauss and nobody else. Mr. Collins didn't make a press release. If anyone feels this is perfectly ethical, I would love to hear why.
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Interesting point and I generally agree that it can be unethitcal, though I think there is gray area and you can't say its definitively unethical in all cases (time passed, and content of the letter matter). This is a letter from 20 years ago and I think with that much time passed and given the nature of the content its not unethical to post.
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Well you are just doing your job. If any one who wants to be in the public life should be gut enough to take some critics.
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Your perspective is refreshing.
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Hey that's pretty interesting. By chance do you have your review of the show to give some extra context? Also do you have any more information about the show? Date / Location?
Great read!
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Crazy!
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I need to ask - are you Neil Strauss the author of "The Game"?
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That is some funny stuff. Great share
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I guess you can say that he doesn't care anymore about your review.
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Finally see you're on board @neilstrauss! I've mentioned you in my first post, http://steemurl.com/Z3GVYet8
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I have mixed feelings about this:
I'm a Neil Strauss and early Genesis fan.
I just read Ego is the enemy by Ryan Holiday and Mr. Collins answer reminded me of an example of the book.
When Orson Wells created Citizen Kane, one of the Media Mogul it was based on, got very self conscious about it and tried to block it. He spent a lot of money and energy making it difficult for Wells to promote the movie (which was a commercial failure at first).
Obviously now, many people consider it the best movie ever and the fact that I forgot the name of the media mogul even though I've read it last week, says something about his legacy.
The point is, some very powerful or succesful men are still touched by critics from far less powerful or successful people (Neil was 'just' a columnist at the time, not a superstar like now). That's caused by Ego according to Mr. Holiday's book.
So then I read the comments and one of them mention a spiteful review by Neil.
I read the review and, although not positive, I didn't find it spiteful.
I think Mr. Collins took it that way because it resonnated with his own insecurities of the time (am I really a washed out 70ies prog rocker?).
The point is: get your Ego in check right now before you're successful...because success won't solve your problems.
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Sorry if this seems like I am hijacking a post, but I have a question about how this thread is still active. Can anyone please help me understand? Steemit Question - Trending Posts and Payments for Longer Than 24 Hours?
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I think you just singlehandedly revamped my interest in Phil's work :)
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I joined 2 days ago and I found you today. I love your articles and decided to read from the very first one on Steemit. Thank you!
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@neilstrauss, do you read the blog Letters of Note? There are some really fantastic letters published there. Highly recommend everyone check it out.
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You guys Know who this Guy is neilstrauss - he wrote the GAME
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Welcome, I love your books and will be looking forward to see more cool posts from you on Steemit. :-)
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Thanks, stormbringer, deal!
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It's really great to have you here! I am a big fan of yours, I just applied to your society. I'll humbly start by the apprenticeship and then move up.
I think you will like it here in steemit, welcome!
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at least he gets his point across.
very easy to identify with.
it is a one size fits all diatribe
speaking truth to power while the hump was still hot.
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wow great your here i really like your book the game you and mystery opened my eye to how to see social dynamics. we need you here there are plenty of Steemit AFC's here that do nothing but whine and complain and think they showing DHV's
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love the way he kept his cool but still let the f word slide in at the end of strategic paragraphs. #goodoldtimes
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Awesome, Neil! Thanks for posting and for joining SteemIt. JD McPherson kicks Phil's lame ass. He is "The Savior Rock and Roll Deserves" https://steemit.com/introduceyourself/@john-packel/q-who-is-the-best-new-rock-artist-a-jd-mcpherson-the-savior-rock-and-roll-deserves
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I had to start listening to Phil while reading the letter.
"But I... I don't mind."
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Hello,
This is my very first day on steemit.
To be honest, it was the story about this message of yours that made me aware of this site. So it's only natural that I drop in, just to say 'thanks'.
Greetings from the country of Tintin and the Smurfs!
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THIS is fantastic! I met Phil once when he was looking to buy a house in Mount Kisco, NY many years ago. He was very picky about the lay out and such. A little English snobbery with infused with lots of Benjamins. It is no surprise that when I read I fell on the floor laughing.
"In the air".. sentimental.. (are you crazy)..."passable pop"... " a rare happy moment in his life"... fuck you man
HA HA HA,,,,, this is what Pony Boy Curtis was meant when he said " STAY GOLD" it all make sense now.....
Thanks for this and what a gem this is!
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didn't know that Phil Collins has such an ugly handwriting
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Flagging, you post this in every thread, downvoting.
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