PERRIN’S Music Minute!

-Or, As Musical As We Can Get The National Affairs-

Warning! This one may wander all over the place like a glaucomic old man ensconced behind the wheel of a gracefully-aging Fleetwood. Feel free to sing along.

So! One thing led to another and last week I came across a superb edition, extended and rare, of a 1983 Berlin song. Thinking about it now, I can’t ever remember hearing Masquerade played on the radio (if it happened, it was campus rock radio back in ‘83); still, for my money, it’s some of the band’s best work, perhaps my favorite. For those who either remember or who never knew, please click that link and listen. The magnificent intersection of new wave and rock comes in hard around 6:19 with a rolling, pounding guitar riff which mingles perfectly with the lasting general melody, which itself is upbeat if thought-provoking – bordering on somber at intervals. (Note: MB actually plays and understands the music, PL merely rambles…)

The tune is-

Oh yeah, and Terri Nunn is forever HAWT!

The tune is about, so far as I can tell, the shattered dreams and hopes of aging or failed actors of the screen or the stage. The business, regarded with suspicion since ancient times, has a reputation for being rather harsh on potential talent. The lyrics speak to that darker side of entertainment, hauntingly and beautifully. The refrain is what landed the song at TPC this week:

♭

When you hear the price they paid,

I’m sure you’ll come and join the masquerade…

♭

I’m no expert, but I take that to mean that, despite everyone knowing how Hollywood, Broadway, etc. chew people up like hor d’oeuvres at a Harvey Weinstein party, people still keep patronizing the shows, with many intrepidly venturing into the fray, hopeful of professional success.

And, that is exactly the same kind of circus spectacle we witnessed in Iowa last week with the 2020 Hawkeye Cauc-eye: those zany Democrats and their presidential show. With my only paying nominal attention to practical politics and with November’s outcome being as clear as the recent Impeachment trial outcome, I devoted maybe .2% of my energies to analyzing what happened. Is “trainwreck” the word I’m looking for?

…

READ THE WHOLE THING AT TPC