Monday, January 28, 2008

Inspiration for Field Guide to Longing

My favorite birthday present this year--indeed one of the best presents I've ever received--is the DVD Roy Orbison and Friends, A Black and White Night, filmed in 1987, a year before The Big O's death.

According to Wikipedia, Bob Dylan wrote that "Orbison … transcended all the genres. … With Roy, you didn't know if you were listening to mariachi or opera. He kept you on your toes. … [He sang] his compositions in three or four octaves that made you want to drive your car over a cliff. He sang like a professional criminal. … His voice could jar a corpse, always leave you muttering to yourself something like, 'Man, I don't believe it'. His songs had songs within songs. Orbison was deadly serious–no pollywog and no fledgling juvenile. There wasn't anything else on the radio like him".

1 Comments:

Blogger Lisa said...

Gah! I completely and utterly forgot your birthday. I hope it was a happy one!! I'm expecting to be spend a Monday or Friday in Toronto soonish -- I'll email with details once I know exactly when, and hope you'll be able to get away from work during the day, but if not we'll do supper!

Tue Feb 12, 11:24:00 PM  

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