Ultimately, I blame Joe Biden for these kinds of things happening. That, of course, means that I am blaming Barack Obama by extension.
I've been rather consistent with my blame assignment since January 2009.
Late '70s and early '80s pop chart fixtures Daryl Hall and John Oates will not be spending the holidays with each other. The two are having a bit of a spat and it's getting testy in a legal way.
Hall & Oates are embroiled in a confidential legal battle that has led to Daryl Hall getting a restraining order against his former music partner John Oates.
Little information about the lawsuit is publicly available, as the court documents are sealed, but based on court records, Hall filed an undisclosed complaint against Oates on Nov. 16, as well as a motion for a temporary restraining order, as reported by Philadelphia magazine. The following day, the court officially issued a temporary restraining order to begin Nov. 30.
The Nashville Chancery Court confirmed the existence of the lawsuit to Variety, but declined further comment because the lawsuit is sealed.
While I was never a big Hall & Oates fan, I didn't dislike the duo either. When I was in high school and radio was still a thing, they got a lot of airplay. At times it seemed as if "Rich Girl" was every third song on AM pop station playlists. It was as close to successful pop/rock elevator music as one could find.
No one knows for sure what is going on between the two, but Variety references a TMZ story about Hall dissing Oates last year on a podcast with Bill Maher:
Hall then went on to diminish the collaborative aspect of Hall & Oates, using the duo’s 1980 No. 1 hit “Kiss on My List” as an example of their apparent creative separation. “I did all those [harmonies],” Hall said. “That’s all me.” Oates is not credited as a songwriter on “Kiss on My List,” but is listed as a co-produced with Hall.
Hey, the 1980s may have been one of the most fun music decades ever, but it didn't get everything right. "Kiss on My List" is ear torture, despite the fact that it made it to Number 1. Enjoy the royalties, Daryl, but maybe pump the brakes on the idea that that's the song that proves your musical genius.
In my Tuesday column about the Rolling Stones, I marveled at the fact that the surviving members still like each other enough to want to tour. Variety notes that Hall & Oates are still together professionally. They're obviously not getting along, however, unless a restraining orders is now a sign of affection.
Honestly, how musical groups of any size stay together has always been a mystery to me. Very early in my stand-up road career, I did a two-week-long string of one-night gigs with my closest comedian friend. Comedians don't even have to share rooms, but we drove and, obviously, worked together every day. At the end of the run, I said to her, "I don't know how in the hell bands do it. You're my best friend in the business and I love you, but I don't want to see you for at least six months now." She laughed and wholeheartedly agreed with me.
Here's hoping that these crazy kids can patch things up. In the meantime, I will leave you with this earworm:
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