‘The Last DJ’: the lesson Tom Petty taught every musician
Tom Petty never minced any of his words when discussing the state of the music industry. He was more than happy to be living any kid’s dream of playing the music that he loved, but he knew that he also had to be concerned with where music was heading if it meant preserving his favourite acts. So after coming up for air following his divorce album Echo, The Last DJ became the kind of guidebook that every artist owes it to themselves to listen through at least once.
If all that someone hears is the title track, though, you’d think that this would be the sound of an old man waving his fist in the air about the state of the business. Hearing Petty talk about the last DJ playing what he wants to play and watching all of the pure voices dropping like flies for something manufactured does come off like someone looking through the reality TV-ificiation of rock and roll, but that’s just chapter one.
Looking through the record’s first half, Petty has a lot on his mind about what it means to succeed in the industry today. There are pieces of rock that are still finding their way in, but ‘Money Becomes King’ might be one of the most true-to-life songs that Petty ever wrote. As we follow the story of John, watching him go from an earnest songwriter to a dancing puppet is the tragic story that every artist grapples with at least once in their lives.
And nowhere does this get any darker than in the song ‘Joe’. Never one to pass up the opportunity for dark humour, Petty plays the character of a washed-up businessman who’s looking to claim his next victim by shoving them onstage with a guitar in their hands and exploiting them for all they’re worth. It does still have a great tune behind it, but it’s hard to feel uncomfortable when this supposed industry insider Petty talks about starts milking the wealth of people who are prostituting themselves to live their wildest dreams.
All very cheery stuff, I know, but there’s still a lot more to love outside of the traditional rock and roll fingerpointing. Outside of love songs to his wife, Dana, on ‘Like a Diamond’ and ‘Have Love Will Travel’, hearing a tune like ‘Dreamville’ is enough to fill anyone with a wave of nostalgia. No one knows exactly what Petty’s neighbourhood looked like as a kid, but hearing him talk about getting his first guitar and memories of his mother fostering his talents is enough to make any creative person cry a single tear.
And considering how the album goes on with ‘Lost Children’, Petty isn’t just looking to protect himself from the dangers of the world. He wants to look out for those still figuring out what their future will be in the music industry while also juggling the idea of whether they want it as bad as they think they do.
While Petty doesn’t have any clear answers throughout the album, ‘Can’t Stop the Sun’ at least ends the record on a happy note. People may try their hardest to beat down any artist who dares to speak out of line, but Petty knows that if he keeps pushing further, he can do whatever he wants behind the glass of a studio, no matter what some business mogul thinks his music should sound like.
The Last DJ is far from Petty’s most important album from a musical perspective. Most people into the heartland rocker’s music know what they are getting on an album like this, but it’s more important to take a step back and look at what he’s saying. Being both a love letter to the past and a harsh look at what the future could hold for the industry, anyone remotely interested in pursuing a music career owes it to themselves to dig through the booklet to see what Petty is truly getting at. Because if you’re in it just to sell millions of records and ask questions later, you’re probably in it for the wrong reasons.
