The Writer's Life 7/26 - Hook

I haven't been this hooked by a song in a long time. I heard Gotye's Somebody That I Used to Know for the first time last week. It's a tale of love gone bad, the bitterness after the break up. It appears simplistic musically. In this case, the old adage "less is more" is as true as ever. Of course, it helps to have compelling lyrics. They are not as polished as those of the the writers of American standards, but they are intelligent and poignant. I particularly like the couplet, sung beautifully by the female counterpoint Kimba: "...But I don't want to live that way/Reading into every word you say...." Wow. It sort of reminds me of The Human League's Don't You Want Me, Baby, which I like despite its complete lack of subtlety. I was the daytime bartender at Hedges Cafe when it came out, circa 1980, and the fabulous waitresses were crazy about the song. Somebody... is lethally subtle. It is art. Kudos, young man. Here's a link to a clip of the song done live. It is as close to the recording as a live performance ever gets. That's not necessarily a good thing, although in this case it is. Stevie Ray Vaughan's live work occasionally surpassed his studio tracks. Some nights, a great artist will reach a rare height. That may not occur in a recording session.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6YzGOq42zLk

Speaking of musicians - I learned my great-nephew Ronnie has gotten his first gig under his belt. The guitarist of his dad's blue grass band, Pastimes, quit recently. Ronnie practices religiously on both his electric and acoustic. I sense his passion for sports has been transferred to music. His dad said he did really well, although he wasn't too happy about having to don a wig for the last number, which was about gender reversal. The two women donned baseball caps. He has spent the past week at a seminar at Columbia University for high school seniors-to-be interested in the medical profession. He is looking to enter the world of pharmaceuticals. I'm also proud of his sister, Danielle, who this morning delivered a flawless eulogy at the funeral mass of her Uncle Lou. I was amazed at how composed she was compared to just seven months ago when she performed the same function at her Grandpa's funeral. She will be 14 in a couple of weeks.

No luck at the floating book shop today. It was one of those sessions that has me question my sanity.

Visit Vic’s sites:
Vic’s Third Novel (Print or Kindle): http://tinyurl.com/7e9jty3
Vic’s Website: http://members.tripod.com/vic_fortezza/Literature/
Vic’s Short Story Collection (Print or Kindle): http://www.tiny.cc/Oycgb
Vic’s 2nd Novel: http://tinyurl.com/6b86st6
Vic’s 1st Novel: http://tiny.cc/94t5h
Vic’s Screenplay on Kindle: http://tinyurl.com/cyckn3f