🎶
The story behind my relationship with this song is probably not all that interesting… but discovering it was a real cathartic experience for me. I first heard this song when I went to see The Caretaker perform live at the Lincoln Center and I think he performed a chopped up version of it… I knew I recognized the melody from somewhere, but I was too timid to pull out my phone and Shazam it mid-show. Weeks go by, I’m still thinking about what that damn song was… I surf through The Caretaker’s discography. Nothing! I start sending voice memos to my musically inclined friends, humming how the melody went… nothing! Was I making up the existence of this song? Was I going insane? I saw Jon Rafman’s amazing short “Punctured Sky” where this exact thing happens to his protagonist (obsessing over a video game that he thought existed but no one could help him find it)... it had my number written all over it. I gave up and moved on with my life. But then, about a week or so ago, I was listening to Helena Deland’s new album while doing the dishes and I heard it again… a familiar melody… briefly interpolated on the song “Drawbridge.” But what was it?! No comments on YouTube helped get to the bottom of this musical mystery. I sent it around frantically to all my friends. Ari Balouzian, who does the scores for my films, is a massive Midnight Cowboy fan and was able to identify it after a bit of trial and error. He sent me the Santo & Johnny cover (amazing in its own right)... and finally, after searching around on YouTube… I found it! A haunting piece of music, and the recording itself sounds so… brittle… that it almost adds an extra oomph to the aural sensation of bliss when you listen to it.
Jun 12, 2024
