Author: east matherton

In the early 1980s, around the time that Jack Abbott was acquainted with, maybe even married to, Nikki Newman, this song by Joe Jackson was popular. I preferred playing it for 40-60 people and then eating later to sitting down and eating.

In the circular melodic expression of Joe Jackson, I sometimes get the sound of the Jackson recording in my head, as it was the most fun to play on the piano and​ it is very slick by taking an already established​ pop​ song – and immediately after admitting he was borrowing the first​ three notes including the kinda wild high​ interval (“don’t you feel like​ *try*ing something new?”)but improves it, then gets off a riff that sounds easy-hard. Meaning, if you can play piano and you know the trick to the riff. The syncopation is wrong in the sheet music, which means it’s right and you​ just don’t know which pedal piont he’s riffing on​ or what. I usually get the riff wrong – I’ve faked it to 95% so many times I’ve never committed​ to it.

Plus​, as a musician,​ you almost do not want to, because Jackson played it so well the best​ one can do is imitate him exactly, which for an elegant yet simple riff just isn’t that fun.

That is what is all about. Finding a riff at that moment – where there’s talking in the air there’s usually a tonic note the better live players will intuitively hear and pay off of. Some​ of the most practiced players get​ self-conscious in front of an audience and play worse.

My playing is all accompaniment based​ so I think I understand how these two hang out at Crimson Lights and Top Of The Tower. They are unusually​ familiar with the other and one friend that is *least* likely to betray you-friends​ just get lost in their own world.’