The NY Times recently published an interactive magazine article entitled The 30 Greatest Living American Songwriters. I was surprised to learn that Mariah Carey writes her own songs, including 18 of her 19 number one songs. I love Mariah a little more now, and while she may or may not live in the same city as Dick Valentine, I’m pretty sure it ain’t the same borough.
The Times also published an accompanying article, inviting readers to vote for up to 10 people readers consider to be the greatest living American songwriters. There was also space for 200 words on the form, explaining why you chose the songwriters you did. And choose Dick Valentine I did.
200 words is barely enough to fill half a post-it note, Romy, so i didn’t get to say “none the half” of what I wanted to say about Monsieur Valentine on my write-in ballot for our beloved Dick, so keep that in mind before you start in with the “whattabouts”.
Anyway, here’s the line I laid on “The Man” at The NY Times:
Dick Valentine: One of the 30 Greatest Living American Songwriters
In an America where Donald Trump is President instead of Bernie Sanders, and Star Wars Day (May the 4th) has become something of a national holiday while The Ides of March is the trivia question on a game show that nobody gets, Dick Valentine of Electric Six absolutely is one of the greatest living American songwriters.
Valentine is as prolific as Bob Pollard of Guided by Voices (GbV), and Valentine even name checks Pollard in “Escape from Ohio” – “Except for GbV and Devo, nothing seems to redeem Ohio!” (Editor’s note: Dick Valentine is a Michigan boy, and as such he is molecularly predisposed to hate everything about The Buckeye State – I’m looking at YOU, Urban Meyer!)
Gay Bar and Danger! High Voltage are Valentine’s best-known songs, but his songwriting brilliance is on display throughout the E6 catalog, on his 14 solo albums, and on side projects such as Evil Cowards.
As an Canadian anglophone, I particularly enjoy Valentine’s “I Don’t Speak French”. Valentine assumes the role of the Ugly American: “I’m just your average Yankee Trapped in a world of French hanky-panky.”
On Jimmy Carter, Valentine “rewrites” Yeats’ poem The Second Coming, with Valentine’s second coming being “Backstreet’s Back, alright”. Simple and jokey at first, the Backstreet line illustrates how Americans only care about being entertained. Drop the bomb(s) anytime you want, just don’t pre-empt American Idol.
Leave a Reply