Adam Gopnik continually amazes me with the range of his critical thinking. Whether he\u2019s tackling Shakespeare, physics, bread or the Holocaust, he is sure to bring a fresh perspective and several warm turns of phrase to the subject. \u201cThe essential work of discrimination is lost in a blanketing cloud of nostalgia\u201d is a line I could happily wrap myself up in on a chilly winter evening.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
That\u2019s a quote from Gopnik\u2019s great article about Cole Porter in the January 20th<\/sup> New Yorker<\/em> issue<\/a>. I\u2019d like to piggy-back on that article, because it raises some points that encourage a longer ride.<\/p>\n\n\n\n First, \u201cPorter is so famous for his gifts as a lyricist that it might seem mischievous to the point of perversity to suggest that his real greatness resides in his skills as a composer.\u201d Gopnik didn\u2019t have the space to expand upon this statement \u2013 instead, he gave us a terrific rundown on what made Porter such a fun lyricist \u2013 but I do, so here are some thoughts. <\/p>\n\n\n\n If you are looking to gauge the \u201creal greatness\u201d of a composer, tunes are an excellent place to start, and Porter delivers.\u00a0\u00a0But while humming along with the tunes, it\u2019s also important to take a look at the spaces between the words.\u00a0\u00a0Composers capture particular sounds that say specific things \u2013 not specific as in \u201cI love you,\u201d but specific in the way the setting in a novel or play is specific.\u00a0\u00a0A composer can filter the sounds that are around all of us through a distinct musical sensibility.\u00a0You\u2019re the Top<\/em> is a great example, given the stand-up comic pacing of the tune: setup-beat-punchline.\u00a0\u00a0Think \u201cYou\u2019re the top – 2, 3, 4 – you\u2019re the coliseum.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0For a composer, that \u201c2, 3, 4\u201d is an invitation, an opening for commentary.\u00a0Listen to the recording of\u00a0Porter singing it<\/a>: \u201c2, 3, 4\u201d becomes a neighbor-tone evocation of the clackety-clack-ding! of a typewriter.\u00a0\u00a0What was the typewriter in the era of this song?\u00a0\u00a0Only the sound of new technology, transformed by the composer into a charming musical figure that would have sounded decidedly unlike the musical settings inherited from earlier generations.\u00a0\u00a0You could swing your foot in the certainty that your grandmother would probably find it rather too agitating.\u00a0\u00a0She might even say it sacrificed heart for machinery (in the manner of Thea von Harbou<\/a>), which might have made it all the more appealing to her grandchildren.<\/p>\n\n\n\n