Ocean Street – Cold

Piano intro. “Everybody said that Maryann cried on the day that Jerry Garcia died, I wonder if she cried when her old man passed away.” I love this on several levels. The most immediate of course is dealing with the folks in my own generation who have closer ties to their perceived rock heros than to their own families. I know many many people like this, and have to wonder how much like this I am. I’d like to think I’m immune, but I imagine that in reality I’m not. The music I listened to growing up deeply affected me and the way I think. I know it. It’s not really brainwashing as much as clear and immediate identification with the feelings of others – a spiritual empathy with the people who can write what we feel but cannot put into words ourselves. Add to that the ability to put these hard-driving lyrics into a musical format that hits our emotional depths deeper than even our own friendships can. It’s scary when I contemplate this, but obviously the composers of this tune (Andy & Mark of Ocean Street) have thought deeply on this subject. But the story doesn’t stop there, it goes even deeper. “Everybody knows that everybody goes away from this place when you know better, but nobody seems to know better anyway.” We stay glued to our past, to our traditions, trusting those we know we shouldn’t. And there’s more. The shoutout tune picks up the beat and manages to keep us thinking while we dance aound and around: Die Another Day. Ocean Street