Warren Zevon is finally in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
I don’t care how he got there - and it isn’t for me to litigate the significance of this moment - I’m just glad he’s there. And for those who might strike down this moment, I point you to David Letterman who, a decade ago, wished he could be there to induct Zevon into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Letterman was after all, according to Zevon, the best friend his music’s ever had.
And, finally, Letterman got that chance.
Hoddle Headquarters will give Letterman the title of Zevon’s music’s best friend, whilst also retaining that Hoddle HQ is also a devoted and lifelong friend of Zevon’s music. The man’s music and lyrics continue to stop me in my tracks. From the first time I heard Werewolves of London to where I put Zevon’s self-titled album on my turntable for the first time, it’s gorgeous.
Such as when I played Frank and Jesse James on my turntable for the first time in my Stamford, Conn, apartment some eight or nine years ago. The brilliant way it spoke of this historical grievance of a storied robber duo. That’s quintessential Zevon.
Fitzie’s track of the day, part one: Franke and Jesse James, by Warren Zevon
There are stronger tracks on his eponymous LP, for sure. Aside from Join Me In LA, I think every other song is better. But it’s the motif that brings us to his greatest lyrical composition Desperadoes Under The Eaves (one of my all-time favourite songs), that makes Frank and Jesse James truly special.
Zevon’s music came later my ongoing life. I don’t remember the first time I heard Lawyers, Guns & Money (which is Zevon at his finest). What I do remember is the intense grief I had felt in the subsequent times I have listened to it.
I don’t understand how grief works - I think Zevon did, though. He had an intimate relationship with death and near-death that permitted his macabre lyrics and sardonic wit to shine.
The Wind would turn out to be Zevon’s final studio album. About a year before his death he had an hour-long sitdown with David Letterman chatting about his music, his health, death and life.
“Enjoy every sandwich,” Zevon said.
I’m not much for sandwiches. I don’t like lunch. But I enjoy every coffee. And I hope that is consolation for the son of a gangster.
Fitzie’s track of the day, part two: Keep Me In Your Heart, by Eddie Vedder (feat. Paul Shaffer)
I’m in East Norwalk, Conn, which is strange because I’ve never lived there. Or am I in South Norwalk, passing by a bar that I imagine has it share of folks who are known by name - although the bar’s name I cannot remember at this time (though I’ve got it written down somewhere to the tune of some Bob Dylan song).
Or am I at East Potomac Park, coffee in hand, staring at out at the river separating me and the Wharf, the newly renovated part of the District of Columbia with its hip overprices restaurants, seafood market and music hall.
The currents splash before me and I hang out for a couple of hours.
I could swear I wrote about it.
This was a few years ago.
Fitzie’s track of the day, part three: Rosarita Beach Cafe, by Warren Zevon
Yes, of course, it is easy to lean into the aloofness of Zevon as you listen to his music. How could you not? The few songs that speak of human connection are, frankly, unpleasant.
But to do so would be to ignore Zevon’s humour.
That’s what makes Zevon’s music so intoxicating. It exists outside the perimeters of society - the degenerates, the unloveds and all those who feel life has robbed them of inhering their place in Beverly Hills.
And even if any of us gets there, Zevon reminds us of a monster that lives there also,. Who isn’t afraid of dining at a Chinese restaurant or getting his haircut in a posh salon or walking down the streets of a too-hot-too-trot central London hotspot.
No one wrote music like Warren Zevon. And no one ever will.
AHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Fitzie’s track of the day, part four: Werewolves of London, by Warren Zevon
And now for your links:
Jack P-B ($$): “Thomas Frank is not Nuno, even if the parallels were there on Saturday for Tottenham”
Variety: “David Letterman Offers a Full Sandwich of a Speech Inducting Warren Zevon Into Rock & Roll Hall of Fame”
Ultimate Classic Rock: “The Killers Pay Tribute to Warren Zevon at Rock Hall Ceremony Using One of Zevon’s Own Guitars”