<<last song
I'm so old, THIS is my breakup song. I kid, but I honestly think "The Fall" by ELO is deeply underrated.
Unless you are Xanadu-or-dies like Tommie Vaughn and I, you may consider Xanadu cheesy. If you're young enough, you may have never seen the movie "Xanadu," starring Olivia Newton-John and Michael Beck.
Incidentally, I've got a true Hollywood story for you regarding Michael Beck, a wildly handsome young man. It's almost eerie how much he looks like Heath Ledger, if you think about it, but I digress.
Returning to my show biz anecdote.
(places a candy cigarette in a long cigarette holder and lights it)
I read a wry quote in an article about Michael Beck, who was fresh off a starring role in '70s cult classic "The Warriors" when he laced up his skates to star alongside Olivia. The actor said, "'The Warriors opened a lot of doors for me, which 'Xanadu' promptly closed."
That's a shame, but I'm sure a talented guy like him made a recovery. For all I know, he spent 9 seasons on "LA" Law or some other TV show I never watched.
Back to the song below, "The Fall" by ELO. Many people who think "Xanadu" is cheesy also remember the soundtrack as being cheesy. In fact, though, I submit this is easily ELO's best song.
The dynamics are amazing, using a sonic technique that, in the right hands, makes for anthemic rock: loud, quiet, loud. (There's actually a music documentary about the band The Pixies with that very name, "Loud, Quiet, Loud.")
The song is from 1980, but the synths are anachronous. They'd read well in the late '80s and they read well now. If I ever return to making music, even just jamming, I'd like to cover this song. Only I'd change the driving synth beat quietly moving the song along to a rhythmic bass riff.
Finally, though both "Xanadu" and "ELO" are associated--wrongly so--with disco, "The Fall" is instead a rock anthem on a par with any by more contemporary acts like The Killers. We're talking epic wistfullness.
I also appreciate the song's intricate and polished production and the complexity of the songwriting. There are four distinct passages, each disparate and unexpected but all working in concert. Let me put that in plainer English.
There is a slowly building intro and a verse, delivered so tentatively our protagonist seems like a broken man. Life without his lost love feels both hollow and surreal.
Then, pow, a bridge that in its certainty and emotive delivery: "It's a lie/I don't believe its so." This man's languid delivery has fooled us. He's not resigned to the breakup.
Then there's the chorus. It's a blatant admission of love and need. It's vulnerable. And why not? It's the singer's last stand.
I may be bringing my own baggage to the situation, but I feel like the tune's protagonist is all or nothing. He is raging against the dying of the light. And if his last stand is unsuccessful, he's out of there. To go from passion to the "friend zone" is impossible. The fourth element is an instrumental passage.
Who else loves this song? Or who now does, now that I've shared this emotional testimonial.
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