Danny Ocean: You shook Sinatra's hand. You should know better.
I know what you are thinking? You probably think that it's such a cliche to use that quote up there but what the hell. I thought that it speak volumes of who Frank Sinatra is. Now, I'm not going to pretend that I know a lot about him, In fact I know nothing about the dude! I was born in the 80's, I grew up listening to my father's music, which did not include Sinatra at all and lets face it, there is not enough media to bring back these kind of music in circulation for young people like you and me to rediscover. But that's the beauty of this journey I'm taking. Although it's mapped out by a book, I am in full control. I say hell yes to Fred Durst when he sings "Imma do things my way, It's my way, my way on the highway!" Thinking about what I plan to write about this road trip, I came across two different paths. Do I stick with the details that I can probably also see when I google his name or do I stick with the "feel" of the songs. I prefer the latter.
I can imagine Steven Soderbergh listening to this album when he was writing Ocean's Eleven. I see Nancy Meyer movies when I hear the songs on this album, there goes Jack Nicholson and Diane Keaton kissing on the porch in her house in the Hamptons but most of all, I can see Holden Caulfield in his late 20's walking in the street after a night in a pub, he just broke up with his girlfriend and stares at the street lamp and is thankful that the bright light is keeping him warm. It is a "conceptual album" after all. Yes, I do research. While I swear to God that you will not see anything here that Google can't tell you , I think it's best not to leave an important information about it. You don't believe me? Listen to the songs and check the album cover.
I mentioned on my first entry that I see albums like a collection of fashion pieces and if they don't fit well together then it won't make sense at all. This would a perfect example of that. The songs obviously don't sound the same but the vibe is the same. There's a theme and you can feel it in the songs.
I'm writing and listening to this album right now in the kitchen table and feels like I'm somewhere where it's raining. I feel like I'm in a street walking in cobblestones as the raindrops glide to the arch of my gray umbrella. I am on my way home and is wondering why after a whole day of work, I still have the time to think about a person who I just lost.
It's a hopeful album I'm telling you but a gloomy-i'm-going-to-be-okay kind of album. It's the kind you want to listen to after 6 months have passed by since a bad break up or a loss of some sort, that perfect time where you're not angry about things anymore, your head is clear and accepts the truth and while the longing is there and some of the pain still lingers, your heart snaps right back in focus.
I want to share a couple of my favorite lines:
"When your lonely heart has learned its lesson
You'd be hers if only she would call." ( In The Wee Small Hours)
"I'm so lonesome I could cry." (Mood Indigo)
"I can't win, but here I am
More than glad to be unhappy." ( Glad To Be Unhappy)
"But I've forgotten you just like I should." ( I Get Along Without You Very Well)
As I listen to the songs, I caught myself smiling and laughing to some of the words because it resonates so true to the state I'm in right now. I never thought I'd say this but Frank Sinatra is a dude I can relate to. Keep in mind that Frank and I are generations apart. He was in his forties when this album came out and yet here we are.
When you're done reading this, I want you to listen to Deep In A Dream. That's my favorite song in this album. :)
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