Greetings from Laurel Canyon!
I remember you well in the Chelsea Hotel / You were famous, your heart was a legend / You told me again you preferred handsome men / But for me you would make an exception / And clenching your fist for the ones like us / Who are oppressed by the figures of beauty / You fixed yourself, you said, “well, never mind / We are ugly but we have the music”
And then you got away, didn’t you baby? / You just turned your back on the crowd / You got away, I never once heard you say / I need you, I don’t need you / I need you, I don’t need you / And all of that jiving around
Considering I haven’t left the house in almost two weeks, a lot went on this week. Some of it was “life” and some of was “death.” Corona19 and the subsequent quarantine is a weird one because, although the fraction of people who die from this horrible virus is small, we feel their pain, and there are moments when we’re alone with our thoughts and it hurts.
Harper Simon texted me Wednesday that Hal Willner had died. I was literally taken off my feet. Harper and Hal had gone to Philly last year to record with Marshall Allen and Sun Ra. My job was to work in tandem with Rachel, Hal’s protégée to sort out an incredible cast of musicians, all of who were above the age of 80. This was just another day in the office for Hal, and what a hoot.
Think about this: Hal was the music for Saturday Night Live for 28 years. He had an office there and he knew every musician who played that gig. Dude had an opinion about everything that’s cool in music. He was Lou Reed’s best friend. He was a husband and a dad. In the end I would describe him as one of the last of the great New Yorkers.
This Idelic Hour is an overly sentimental playlist of songs with NYC in mind. I could almost hear Hal’s opinion on each record as I dropped the needle on it.
It’s dedicated to my family, all of my friends in NYC, Sheila , Arlo and another classic New Yorker, Kenny Sidel! Dad turned 87 Tuesday—last of the Mohicans for sure
#stayhomesavelives and hold fast.
The Idelic Single of the Week: Phoebe Bridgers – Kyoto
Classic New Yorkers, Hal Wilner and Lou Reed:
