(Billie Holiday – Am I Blue)
Not easy to follow Dinah. I’ll lay my cards on the table right now and confess that for me she hits the highest highs and reaches the lowest lows and when I hear her sing it stops me in my tracks but Billie does too. Both of them knew that without love, life was hollow. No matter the cost it was the one emotion that could move mountains. Love is out of fashion in the 21st Century and music reflects that…and I quote;
“There is a very thin line between artistry and trash: a Johnny Mercer or a Lorenz Hart can take the most banal of themes (and what is more banal than a love song?) and with one felicitous phrase or wry observation make your heart jump with joy – or break it. Others, on a good day, can more or less duplicate those emotions. The rest of the time they fall flat and the increasing sophistication of subsequent generations only exposes their deficiencies”.
I can’t agree with ‘love being the most banal of themes’ at all but it certainly reflects the ‘Age Of Reason’ that we find ourselves living in where financial success is the yardstick by which to measure achievement. Don’t get me wrong I enjoy consuming and for that I need money but my experience is that it doesn’t truly deliver long term satisfaction, happiness or fulfillment.
Before I get too carried away I’ll put my soapbox away and just let Billie step up and speak
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