:: mike errico diary ::

:: Thursday, February 26, 2004 ::

Good news: Monday Morning goes to radio on March 1st. It will be the second single from Skimming. We're all very excited to see what will happen. A question came from upstairs:

Mike,

The label and the radio promoters like Monday Morning, think it’s a very good song for radio, and want to take it. Congratulations.

By the way, you are going to be asked about the "Lee Harvey Oswald on the ceiling" line. Jarring, to many people, which is not necessarily bad in a commercial context. Question is, why? Know I asked u this before, but can u give me some explanation of your thought process again?

Answer:

great news about radio promotion, and the next single. if you're psyched, i'm psyched. let me try and clarify "monday morning" if they feel it important to get on the radio.

but

i have to fly my 'artist' flag for a second and say that explanations kill a lot of the magic of a lyric. i realize we're interfacing art with commerce here, so i'll fold up my artist flag and put it back in the cedar closet. think of me inhabiting roger ebert's body for a moment, if that makes this any more fun...

there are many explanations. here are two:

1) lee harvey o. is in the song as a tribute to my friend Hal, who knows every single thing about the JFK assassination. we're close friends, we both cheer each other up when a date goes wrong...it's an inside joke. he also wrote a one man show called "acting alone" that i don't think he ever finished. lee harvey oswald is my friend hal.

2) lee harvey oswald is "the patron saint of those who act alone," a harbinger, a warning to lonely men who are afraid of telling the women they love that they actually love them. He's a lot like the Ghost of Christmas Future in "A Christmas Carol." when oswald warns the main character to "trust (his) feelings," it is pretty obvious to the listener what those feelings are...for those who don't know, the entire last minute should explain:

"i love you
i love you
i love you
i love you"

exhausted with acting alone, and reaching out, as scary as that is ("i've been here once when it wasn't right/i'd hate to blow it that bad twice"), the character pushes himself into that vulnerable world of romantic love. ironically, he does so by following oswald's advice, albeit to a completely different end.

the good news: the word "ass" is never mentioned.

hope that helps.

m

:: mike 7:10 AM [+] ::