A trifecta of dead influences: Smith, Lennon, Capone

Song Of The Day: “The Talk”

I wrote this tune while sitting on a balcony in Key West. Lefler nailed it on the head one night when he said it sounded like Elliott Smith rewriting “Dear Prudence”. Well played, sir. I think I might have briefly entertained the thought of writing lyrics for it, but after hearing the various melodies in my head, I was almost afraid to ruin it with my caterwauling.

On the album, it’s the one song that sticks out like a sore thumb and seems rather out of place.  But I think it works in making the transition out of the rock thing into whatever it is we’re doing at the end of the album.  We stopped making sense years ago, right?

The recording is peppered with goodies. The mellotron and tack piano bits are nice, but I seem to recall it being a bitch to get the mellotron in tune. And I’m still not sure it is. We used the high-strung acoustic for extra zing. I kinda wish I’d been more meticulous with the fingerpicking, cause it sounds sloppy to me now. But it’s a cool part, I think. The tack piano reminds me of Ennio Morricone’s score for The Untouchables, one of my favorite films. Weird, huh? And the drum and horn stuff near the end give it a real cinematic quality.

Somebody, please use this in a film and pay me. I need a new Gretsch.

CH 12/8/09