Greenpoint, October, 2015

Sunday, January 13, 2013

Gorilla You're a Desperado


An obvious choice perhaps but I think Warren Zevon would have appreciated the tale of storm-tossed Pithicos sailing over Brooklyn. It's not his best song but it has some great lines:

Big gorilla at the L.A. zoo
Snatched the glasses right off my face
Took the keys to my BMW
Left me here to take his place

I wish the ape a lot of success
I'm sorry my apartment's a mess
Most of all I'm sorry if I made you blue
I'm betting the gorilla will too...

Then the ape grew very depressed
Went through Transactional Analysis
He plays racquetball and runs in the rain
Still he's shackled to a platinum chain

Can it really be almost 10 years since Warren Zevon died? I saw him perform four times. Twice at the late, lamented Bottom Line, solo acoustic shows when he was too broke to support a band; once at a small club in Providence with a band he called the Patrician Homeboys; and once at the Providence Performing Arts Center with a large band. X (with a very pregnant Exene) opened. It was the loudest rock and roll show I ever attended. (The clip is from a TV appearance in 1980. 1980!)

Come to think of it, Pithicos sounds just the kind of name Warren might pick for a 30-foot blue gorilla. Vale, Pithicos, Vale Warren!

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