7/01/2006

Happy summer, everyone. This month's song is atypical Oxford Boy fare in a number of ways. It's long (4:15), it's extremely slow (49 bpm or so), it doesn't have a chorus to speak of, it fades out, and - for all that - it has the least number of chords in any song yet recorded (3). It's entitled the Fat Man's Ghost, and it's about David Crosby.

Though David may now be chiefly thought of as that creepy, walrus-faced former cocaine vacuum who impregnates lesbians, his career began when he helped form the Byrds back in the mid-sixties. He wrote some fantastic songs during his time with them, regardless of whether or not he was a petulant egomaniac.

According to the liner notes in one of those old Byrds records, Crosby was at one time known as "the cute one", and apparantly liked to shake his ass at girls while on stage. Gag. Well, whatever, he was a great songwriter, and congrats to him for being sober and still performing new music, though I'm not too smitten with his latest venture.

This one's for you, Dave.