Talk:Phil Ochs/Archive 2

GA
Why is this not a GA (Good Article)? --andreasegde (talk) 17:45, 21 January 2008 (UTC)
 * Maybe no one who works on it wants to see it torn apart by the sometimes destructive process that GAC can be? Just a guess. Tvoz | talk 21:33, 21 January 2008 (UTC)


 * Nah, GA's are not that bad. Now if you want to talk about that butcher's shop called FA where you get a good kicking and have your entrails torn out and displayed on the street corner I would agree with you. BTW, I uploaded a photo of Phil in his teens (?) but maybe the comment for the photo could be expanded. --andreasegde (talk) 14:12, 25 January 2008 (UTC)
 * I don't think that's a picture of Phil in his teens. He looks young, but he didn't get a guitar until he was 20, if I remember the story correctly. He won it from Jim Glover in 1960, at 20, for correctly predicting that Kennedy would beat Nixon.  Glover then taught him how to play.Kirobaito (talk) 06:06, 2 February 2008 (UTC)


 * You're right in saying that Phil won the guitar in a bet on the election, but JFK beat Nixon on 8 November while Phil only turned 20 on 19 December, so he could actually be in his teens here. But we need to find out. -- Hestemand (talk) 10:00, 3 February 2008 (UTC)


 * I've nominated it. BillyJack193 (talk) 23:32, 21 April 2009 (UTC)

Gold lamé suit
"He commissioned a gold lamé suit from one of Elvis' costumers": not sure of this, so I'm not adding it to the article, but wasn't it Nudie Cohn? If I'm right & we can find a citation, Nudie was important enough in his own right that he should be mentioned in this relation. - Jmabel | Talk 16:23, 31 May 2008 (UTC)
 * Yup, Nudie. This might work. --jpgordon&#8711;&#8710;&#8711;&#8710; 16:42, 31 May 2008 (UTC)
 * Perfect. So let's be specific. (I'll make the edit.) - Jmabel | Talk 05:44, 1 June 2008 (UTC)

Ochs a journalist
I noticed a minor conflict over the listing of Ochs as a "journalist." I think the term is neutral and justifiable; the Britannica Online quotes Phil's own reference to his being a "singing journalist"; American National Biography online speaks of his "honing his journalistic skills"; he was a journalism major at Ohio State and besides writing for the student paper there contributed to Broadside Magazine. Seems to me the term applies. Clevelander96 (talk) 21:11, 6 August 2008 (UTC)

I was the person who added 'journalist'. I think that it is a fluid term, that applies to Ochs's music well. --Ricardio Sentulio (talk) 08:09, 7 August 2008 (UTC)
 * After further consideration, I tend to agree (per his early writing and work for Broadside). Undoing my own undo. -- Hestemand (talk) 16:44, 7 August 2008 (UTC)


 * Missed this discussion - but I agree. Phil was a journalist. Tvoz / talk 17:49, 7 August 2008 (UTC)

Oh, come. Phil Ochs was never a professional journalist. A journalist is someone who works for a journal; hence the term. Phil Ochs was a professional singer who composed most of the songs he sang. When his songs were called "journalism", the callers were using the term figuratively. TheScotch (talk) 10:21, 7 January 2011 (UTC)

Nice rewrite
The expansion and editing of this article has been terrific. Nice job. Are we trying to get this FA?--Idols of Mud (talk) 17:01, 29 January 2009 (UTC)
 * Thanks for the kind words. In general, I'm trying to expand and improve the article. GA may be a possibility in the future. — Malik Shabazz (talk · contribs) 18:50, 29 January 2009 (UTC)
 * If the major edits are finished, I'd be happy to nominate this for GA.--Idols of Mud (talk) 22:24, 3 February 2009 (UTC)
 * Still a few things to iron out, I think. Tvoz / talk 23:23, 4 February 2009 (UTC)
 * OK. I don't know if this has a place, but Sean Penn apparently says in the latest Rolling Stone he's still interested in making a Phil Ochs film: http://www.rollingstone.com/rockdaily/index.php/2009/02/06/sean-penn-the-story-behind-the-story/--Idols of Mud (talk) 20:02, 6 February 2009 (UTC)
 * Great. Thanks. — Malik Shabazz (talk · contribs) 20:19, 6 February 2009 (UTC)


 * Just happened to read this article after I was sent I Ain ' t Marching Anymore yesterday. Was very impressed with the quality of this article. Good work! NW ( Talk ) 21:46, 19 December 2009 (UTC)

Ochs' or Ochs's
WP:MOS says that either one is okay, so long as it's used consistently. I used Ochs's because that's the way I've always pronounced it, but it looks a little awkward. What do other editors think? — Malik Shabazz (talk · contribs) 20:19, 4 February 2009 (UTC)
 * My preference is for Ochs', which is what the AP calls for when a possessive noun ends in an 's.' But I won't suffer either way.  :)--Idols of Mud (talk) 20:22, 4 February 2009 (UTC)
 * An added apostrophe (with no additional "s") is what's called for when a possessive noun ends in an "s", UNLESS that noun is a proper name, in which case an apostrophe AND an additional "s" are called for. So it's bones', but Jones's. Monkeyzpop (talk) 22:04, 4 February 2009 (UTC)
 * Huh - I never really thought about a difference btwn a proper name and a noun - I usually knee-jerk type s' having had it drummed into my head as a kid, but I also pronounce it Ochs's - so I'd go with that. But I don't have strong feelings either way.  Tvoz / talk 23:16, 4 February 2009 (UTC)

Headers
Can we revisit the headers? I'd like to see them more parallel - 1970 sticks out, and to my mind is not necessarily a more significant year for Phil than 1968, so I'd rather see date ranges for the career sections including 1970, or move 1970 into middle, or some kind of parallel structure. "Early" "middle" and "late" aren't as useful as date ranges in my opinion. Thoughts? Tvoz / talk 23:22, 4 February 2009 (UTC)


 * Done. I left "Early years", although that could be changed to "1940–1961". — Malik Shabazz 17:23, 22 April 2009 (UTC)
 * much better. Tvoz / talk 05:44, 23 April 2009 (UTC)
 * But I changed 1975-1976 back to "Decline and death" because I think it works better, and is parallel to "Early years". Tvoz / talk 05:50, 23 April 2009 (UTC)


 * I agree. :-) I had mixed feelings about changing that section. — Malik Shabazz 19:44, 23 April 2009 (UTC)

I Dreamed I Saw Phil Ochs / Joe Hill Last Night
"I Dreamed I Saw Phil Ochs Last Night" by Billy Bragg is a pretty clear reference to the Joe Hill song. I was wondering if we could find a source for that and possibly some of Bragg's reasoning in the comparison. gren グレン 06:57, 10 August 2009 (UTC)

Sammy Walker
Sammy Walker may merit more of a mention. According to Paul Kaplan, "The Tribute to Phil Ochs", Broadside #133, October-December 1976, p. 15, (scan available online at ), "Phil's last major project was the production of the Sammy Walker album (Broadside Record #8), and his enthusiasm for Sammy's songs was boundless." - Jmabel | Talk 04:11, 27 October 2009 (UTC)

Death date?
Not to step on toes here, but his gravestone (at least the photos I've found on google and from videos on youtube) date his death in 1968. See:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H3eshi4S0LQ&NR=1

and

http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.illuminati-news.com/graphics/ArticlesNew/PhilOchsGraveStoneGrayscale060208.bmp&imgrefurl=http://www.illuminati-news.com/articles2/00203.html&usg=__QPspPLnMExLbegRqpTGCl6NO7M8=&h=198&w=198&sz=40&hl=en&start=0&sig2=AwHyj7WR22LSYy52fHzFyg&zoom=1&tbnid=-Oz3ZUwkajsolM:&tbnh=140&tbnw=140&ei=h0fGTLOzNMXflgeRxMzfDw&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dphil%2Bochs%2Bgrave%26um%3D1%26hl%3Den%26safe%3Doff%26client%3Dfirefox-a%26rls%3Dorg.mozilla:en-US:official%26biw%3D953%26bih%3D543%26tbs%3Disch:1&um=1&itbs=1&iact=rc&dur=196&oei=h0fGTLOzNMXflgeRxMzfDw&esq=1&page=1&ndsp=16&ved=1t:429,r:1,s:0&tx=45&ty=26

The article and another article I saw read 1976. Which is incorrect?

If this is a dead topic, sorry. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 206.74.46.72 (talk) 03:20, 26 October 2010 (UTC)


 * Ochs died in 1976.
 * Ochs was deeply depressed over the violence that had taken place during the demonstrations outside the 1968 Democratic National Convention in Chicago, so he had a mock tombstone made for the cover of his 1969 album Rehearsals for Retirement that says he died in Chicago in 1968. Click on the link to see the album cover; that's the tombstone you've seen elsewhere. — Malik Shabazz Talk/Stalk 03:34, 26 October 2010 (UTC)
 * As explained in the article Phil Ochs, by the way. Tvoz / talk 03:39, 26 October 2010 (UTC)
 * You don't expect people to actually read the articles on Wikipedia, do you? — Malik Shabazz Talk/Stalk 03:42, 26 October 2010 (UTC)
 * Silly me. Tvoz / talk 04:08, 26 October 2010 (UTC)

Stuttering problem
In 1969, I invited Phil Ochs to sing at an anti-war protest in Southern California. When I talked with him on the phone and when I met him at the protest, I was shocked to hear how bad of a stutter he had...but how it ALL disappeared when he sang. Since then, I have told many people about this story, and even the new movie, "The King's Speech," acknowledges that people who stutter do not do so when they sing.

I am, therefore, a tad surprised that there is no mention of Phil Ochs stuttering problem here. DanaUllmanTalk 19:57, 27 February 2011 (UTC)
 * We would need a verifiable source on this to consider including it. I'm surprised to hear it, though, as I saw Phil perform many times -always with his customary and extended between-songs talking - and I never noticed anything that I'd call a stutter. Tvoz / talk 05:57, 13 March 2011 (UTC)


 * I don't like "pushing a river" and hope that someone else will confirm or deny my observation, though it should be noted that my experience with him was in October, 1969. DanaUllmanTalk 23:57, 22 March 2011 (UTC)


 * My recollection, from one or both of the Ochs biographies, is that he stuttered when he was nervous. I didn't get the impression that it was a big deal. I'll take a look when I get a chance (hopefully over the weekend). — Malik Shabazz Talk/Stalk 04:03, 23 March 2011 (UTC)


 * I don't recall that, but you certainly could be right - but in any case, does this rise to a level of notability for inclusion? Tvoz / talk 01:54, 24 March 2011 (UTC)

From Marc Eliot's Death of a Rebel, which has an index listing for "stuttering" (right after "stomach problems"): "Whenever he was afraid or upset, the words wouldn't come out right, piling up in his mouth, causing him to stutter, a habit that stayed with him the rest of his life" (p. 8). Schumacher's There but for Fortune might mention it as well, but it isn't listed in the index.

The key question, as Tvoz wrote, is whether the stutter is significant enough to include in the article. I'm thinking that it isn't. — Malik Shabazz Talk/Stalk 22:36, 2 April 2011 (UTC)

article feedback tool
Does anyone know who decided that this tool be added to this article, and if it is subject to discussion? Tvoz / talk 00:18, 3 April 2011 (UTC)

Happy birthday, Phil
Would have been 72. Can you imagine? (This has nothing to do with the improvement of the article, but I thought the day should be noted.) Tvoz / talk 18:01, 19 December 2012 (UTC)
 * And I couldn't quite bring myself to post yesterday, but it's been 37 years since Phil chose oblivion. Wish he had known that folks would still care, all these years later. RIP. Tvoz / talk 04:20, 10 April 2013 (UTC)