And last but not least... the most amazing speech to Frank Sinatra:
...""Right... Frank never did like Rock'N'Roll. And, he's not crazy about guys wearing earrings either. But, he doesn't hold it against me and anyway, the feelings not mutual. Rock'N'Roll people love Frank Sinatra because Frank Sinatra's got what we want- swagger & attitude, big on attitude, serious attitude, bad attitude. Frank's the chairman of the bad, wherever he is... Rock'N'Roll plays at being tough, but this
guy, he's the boss. The boss of bosses, the man, the big bang of pop. I'm not going to mess with him, are you?
Who's this guy that every city in America wants to claim as their own? This painter who lived in the desert. This first take, first rate actor. This singer who makes other men poets, boxing clever with every word. Talking like America- fast, straight up, in head lines, coming through with the big shtick, the aside, the quiet compliments. Good cop, bad cop all in the same breath. You know his story, 'cause it's
your story. Frank walks like America- cocksure. It's 1945 and the US Calvary are trying to get their asses out of Europe but they never really do. They are part of another kind of invasion. AFOR- American Forces Radio, broadcasting music that will curl the stiff upper lip of England and the rest of the world, paving the way for Rock'N'Roll with jazz, Duke Ellington, the
Big Band, Tommy Dorsey and right out in front- Frank Sinatra. His voice tight as a fist, opening at the end of a bar, not on the beat, over it, playing with it, splitting it like a jazz man, like Miles Davis turning on the right phrase and the right song, which is where he lives, where he let's go, where he reveals himself. His songs are his home and he let's you in. But you know, to sing like that you got to have lost a couple fights. To know tenderness and romance, you got to have had your heart broken. People say Frank Sinatra hasn't talked to the press. They want to know how he is, what's on his mind. But you know, Sinatra's out there more nights than most punk bands. Selling his story through the songs. Telling in articulate, in the choice of these songs, private thoughts on a public address system. Generous, this conundrum of Frank Sinatra. Left and right brain hardly talking. Boxer & painter, actor & singer, lover & father, band-man & loner, trouble-shooter & trouble-maker. The champ who would rather show his scars than his metals. He may be puddy in Barbara's hands but I'm not gonna mess with him- are you? Ladies and Gentlemen, are you ready to welcome a man heavier than the Empire State. More connected than the twin towers.. As recognizable as the Statue of Liberty. And living proof that God is a Catholic.
The King of New York city. Francis Albert Sinatra."
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"I'm staring at the sun, not the only one who's happy to go blind..."
[This message has been edited by Angel (edited 10-31-2001).]