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(TV) "Cry Mercy Judge" -- was Keenan's picks



Micah wrote:
Leave out "Cry Mercy Judge?" God forbid. There are so
many lttle tasty guitar bits in that song. That was
nothing short of an architectural coup.

I agree there are "many lttle tasty guitar bits in that song". Just what you'd expect from Tom Verlaine. But I feel they don't add up to a great song. And the other songs are so wonderful that, for me anyway, "Cry Mercy Judge" doesn't seem to belong. Every other song has that rare combination of beauty, skill, sincerity, originality, and unity.

The lyrics of CMJ seem careless to me. What is it about? You'd expect it to be jocular (from the words themselves, and from Verlaine's court case which may or may not have given rise to the song), but the music doesn't communicate jocularity. Worse still, the lyrics just don't _sound_ good.

Maybe my judgement is harsh... It's funny, isn't it? "You are refusing you, you are amusing me. Cry mercy, judge. I think the verdict's coming in. I guess you'd call it some sweet sin. It's not the sound of things. It's not the gift you bring. It's not the choice of words."

For all that, I still think Flash Light is, of Verlaine's albums, the closest to perfection. Mind you, it's a close-run thing. Dreamtime has so many ecstatic highs. And Cover doesn't have a weak track; the least, in my opinion, "Miss Emily", is still rather great.

--JoeT
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