Beat up little seagull...

What is it about the Randy Newman song, Baltimore? Is it that relentlessly descending inner voice, the heavy minor sigh of those first four chords? Is it the piano fill that keeps repeating, obsessively treading water in the same three notes, going nowhere? What is it about this song that gets in my ear and stays and stays and stays?
Baltimore and I go way back. In fact, I think of it as my own personal meme. Hearing it instantly transports me back to my first job out of college, at a daily newspaper in Council Bluffs, Iowa.
That alone should tell you all you need to know about my life back then. But for those unfamiliar with that corner of journalism, I'll elaborate. My typical morning went thus:
Wake up in my new apartment, which was a former motel (a 1940s cabin-style, furnished). It was winter. Since this was a morning-deadline newspaper, I got up hours before daylight.
Drive through the empty streets in the town, which had fallen on hard times.
Snap on the lights in the newsroom and sort through the piles of girly pictures the overnight wire guys amused themselves by sending. Then begin a job I was in no way sure I was suited for.
Nine mornings out of ten, Baltimore would be on the radio at some point. And...it would always cheer me up.
Because, come on. I was already stressed out and depressed. Hearing Baltimore just pushed it way over the top. It was like a joke, like someone at the radio station was mocking me. Suddenly it all seemed silly. Maybe Randy Newman should visit Council Bluffs, I thought at the time. Give him something to sing about.
I only bring this up because after years of not thinking about it or playing it, Baltimore has come back into my life. Lately it's playing in my head before I'm awake in the morning. It comes back during moments of idleness. Today, I found myself wanting those dark chords even as I was listening to the upbeat pop I run with.
What is my subconscious trying to tell me?
Who knows. So I've decided the only appropriate thing to do is share it. Here's a version from a 2006 concert in Germany.




As a bonus, here's Laura Nyro singing Stoney End. For no other reason than I like her music and this song was a crossword answer a couple of days ago.