2020GQ mix: Lou Reed- Perfect Day

See- it’s not all death and gloom. And oddly enough, Lou Reed, cynical progressive that he was, brings the light to this part of the list. This works for me because I am keenly aware how fortunate I am to share these strange days with Helen. I discovered Lou Reed through his mid 1980s album New York, a criticism of the often hypocritical way the US deals with its least fortunate. Always timely.

Lou barely sang most of the time, talking and chanting through songs, but on this one, he gives it a real lyrical go in the chorus. His voice wasn’t ideally suited for this, but there’s something touching about him giving in to the romance of the moment and singing full-voice. It’s worth mentioning that his band The Velvet Underground wrote some great songs, most of which have been covered by better singers: Femme Fatal as sung by Michael Stipe is gorgeous, though not very apocalyptical. On this day which we will try to make as perfect as we can, I write this sitting on the couch next to Helen- I’m glad to spend it with her.

2020GQ mix: Ray Charles- Ol’ Man River

Lord I love Ray Charles’ voice. This is hands down my favorite version of this classic: it musically sounds like its lyric: “I’m tired of living but I’m scared of dying.” I heard it in Joe vs. the Volcano, a characteristically weird story by John Patrick Shanley, a playwright I’m always interested to hear from. He understands existential dread, but he also has an unquashable sense of whimsy that makes it go down a little more easily.

2020GQ mix: Tom Waits- Dirt In the Ground