Dem
47
GOP
53
For a good solid decade, if not more, Ozzy Osbourne was the walking embodiment of "the one your parents warned you about." He had long hair, and tattoos, and an overall goth aesthetic, and he led a hard rock/heavy metal band. And not just any hard rock/heavy metal band, but THE hard rock/heavy metal band, namely Black Sabbath. Keep in mind that in the 1970s and 1980s, there were all sorts of urban legends/conspiracy theories about that kind of music being a front for satanism. In service of his brand, and making himself "dangerous" and very, very marketable, Osbourne leaned into that, not only with his look, and with his band name, but also with his nickname ("The Prince of Darkness"), and with various shenanigans (drunkenness, drug use, biting the head off a live bat, etc.).
We do not mean to suggest that all of this was just for show, or that the man was a paragon of virtue at all times. The drug use was real and serious and got him (justly) kicked out of Black Sabbath. However, a fair bit of it was for show. In the early 2000s, the musician reached a new generation of fans, not so much with his music, but with his reality show, The Osbournes. And that behind-the-scenes look at his life—during which he was very honest about his failings as a man, a father and a husband—made clear that he was about 10% Prince of Darkness and about 90% suburban dad.
Osbourne died this week, at the age of 76, but we're not trying to make "Freudenfreude" into our obituaries column, and we're not writing about him because he died. At least, not exactly. No, we are writing about him because he found a way to go out on top. Indeed, it would be hard to think of someone who did a better job of going out on top than he did. If you tried to write a movie about a rock star, and you tried to give it this ending, nobody would buy it.
It is not clear if Osbourne knew exactly how close the end was when he died. That may never be known. However, he was certainly in ill health in his final years, suffered from Parkinson's disease and other conditions, and had lost the ability to walk. Thanks to an ATV accident about a decade ago, not to mention legion other abuses of his physical body, he was also taking a vast array of prescriptions, including painkillers. Even if he might have hoped to have a few more years left on earth, Osbourne knew his days of touring were gone, and that his ability to perform would soon desert him as well. One might argue that it had already deserted him, but he said: "I will get back on stage if it fu**ing kills me, because if I can't do it then that's what's gonna happen anyway, I'm gonna fu**ing die. I love to see them audiences."
To that end, he, his family, and a vast network of supporters decided that he would perform one last concert in Birmingham, England, where it all started. And, for that show, he was to be backed with the original members of Black Sabbath—the men with whom it all started. Lots of acts that are normally headliners were honored to appear in support of the Wizard of Ozz, and so the crowd in attendance was treated to live performances from Metallica, Guns N' Roses, Tool and Pantera, and video messages from Elton John, Def Leppard and Dolly Parton, among others. There can't be too many other shows where both Pantera and Dolly Parton were on the bill.
Again, Osbourne had lost the ability to walk. He also lost the ability to stand for anything more than a few seconds. So, for his performance, he was seated in a black, leather-covered throne that rose up from underneath the stage. Also, wanting to be as clear-minded as possible, he took a pass on all the painkillers and other such prescriptions in the week before the show. Given the circumstances, he was only able to handle a brief (roughly one-hour-long) set. But for that brief period, he was able, one last time, to summon a pretty good approximation of prime Ozzy. For an example, see the last song of his solo set (before doing an almost-half-hour set with the original members of Black Sabbath), "Crazy Train":
That's a pretty amazing performance for a man who is in his seventies, in pain and, as it turns out, at death's door. Note that (Z) saw Osbourne in concert over 30 years ago, and so has a pretty good idea of what "prime Ozzy" looked like.
All of this said, this story was not going to be the subject of this week's freudenfreude until a bit of late-breaking news on Thursday. It turns out that part of the plan—and this was basically kept under wraps until after Osbourne died—was to use his final show to raise money for charity, with proceeds split between Cure Parkinson's, Birmingham Children's Hospital and Acorn Children's Hospice. The late-breaking news, which let the cat out the bag, was a social media posting from Tom Morello, who is a member of Rage Against the Machine, and who also served as musical director for Osbourne's final concert. Morello not only revealed the larger plan, he also revealed how much money was raised: $190 million! Can you imagine how much good those charities will do when they each receive a check for more than $60 million?
Now you see what we mean by going out on top. Osbourne managed to produce one last great show, for a huge crowd of delighted fans, while learning about how much he meant to various A-list musicians. He also raised a boatload of money for charity, and then went home and peacefully passed away, his life's work done. Again, you'd never, ever get away with an ending like that in a Hollywood screenplay—it's just too perfect.
So, what does this have to do with a political blog? Well, it goes back to the observation we started with. There are a lot of people in politics right now who put on a "good guy" veneer, but who are clearly evil at their cores. We thought it was useful to highlight someone who spent decades putting on an "evil guy" veneer, but who was clearly good at his core. Rest in peace, Ozzy.
Have a good weekend, all!
(Postscript: On Tuesday, after Malcolm-Jamal Warner and Osbourne died, a friend contacted Z and asked who would be the third celebrity to die, per the "Rule of Threes." The friend guessed Mickey Rourke or maybe Flavor Flav. Z went with Hulk Hogan—not out of any specific knowledge, but just because Hogan has looked poorly for a while, and was a habitual abuser of steroids for decades. As many readers will know, Hogan died yesterday. And the obvious lesson here is that the folks who are evil to their cores might just want to watch their P's and Q's, or risk ending up in the crosshairs of the most dangerous crystal ball in the West.) (Z)