A Word on Burt Bacharach
And a quick glance into the mirror
Old People Shit.
I’ve been doing my civil duty this week at the courthouse in the Bronx. Jury duty is boring until you get a case, then it gets interesting. I’m prohibited from disclosing details but the trip on the bus was interesting today. I’ve had a really awful flu the past couple weeks and it hits me hard in the lungs. I wake up coughing so hard that I think, “This is it, I’m a goner.” I’ve sworn off dairy, meat, sugar and whatever else I can think of in order to extend my stay here on earth and some days I feel like it’s all for naught.
So this morning I was standing at the bus stop with an oat milk cappuccino. An older gentleman on the bench asked me which coffee shop I’d gone to. Across the street there are two shops side by side, duking it out. I pointed to the one on the left and said, “That one has the good stuff.” “Did you get a flavoring?” He asked. I replied, “I drink it with oat milk now because I cough if I put regular milk in it.” The guy chuckled and said, “Old people shit. That’s what I call it. Every day it’s something else. Old people shit.”
My black mood lifted right away remembering my father telling me, “Getting old is not for the timid.” This, as he admiringly combed his beard in the mirror two days before he went to heaven himself.
Paul Simon wrote that song, Slip Sliding Away and it came to mind on the bus ride. I looked at the buildings and the long line of people going through the detector at the courthouse. We sleepwalk through most of the day, rarely realizing where we’re really headed.
Slip slidin' away
Slip slidin' away
You know the nearer your destination
The more you're slip slidin' away
And God only knows
God makes his plan
The information's unavailable
To the mortal man
We're workin' our jobs
Collect our pay
Believe we're gliding down the highway
When in fact we're slip slidin' away
Slip slidin' away
Slip slidin' away
You know the nearer your destination
The more you're slip slidin' away
Now some guitar stuff…
What The World Still Needs Now
I grew up with Burt Bacharach’s music on the radio all the time. Now that Bacharach has passed away we are reminded of the sophistication of his writing which drew from Brahms and Wagner, fusing a romantic style with catchy pop phrases and interesting orchestration. His use of backing vocals and trombones playing lead melodies offered a mature sound to the contrasting playfulness of Hal David’s lyrics.
His later work with Elvis Costello and Bill Frisell, both wonderful realizations of the same group of new music, showed Bacharach’s undimmed genius for crafty thematic arrangements and memorable melodies. His work endures. A stroll through his recordings is a rich experience in these hectic days.
So here’s my very simple video rendition of What The World Needs Now.
I found a lucky modulation in there and kept to the harmony to just hear the beauty of that melody. You get two charts here, Gtr1 is the solo guitar rendition and the Gtr 2 chart is just the melody and the changes. It’s a nice one to play for your grandmother.
The music is beautiful and those lyrics walk in step with the message of what we all know is true.
“Old people shit”
Love it.
Strong stuff man. Death follows us around offering an occasional (or frequent) reminder that it’s coming for us all at some point. Some get years upon years. Some get moments.
Great content and love the video!!!