Hope You Guess My Name

Earlier this month, I went to the Torpedo Factory's holiday party. The history and mission of that facility is fascinating. It's inspiring to walk by it nearly everyday.

I've been to a couple of these Factory events before. All the artists (well, all who want to sell something) spruce up their stalls with food and drink. A band usually plays downstairs on the first floor.

This year, interestingly enough, the band appeared to be some young twentysomethings who perched themselves on one of the second floor walkways. I heard them shuffling through Tom Petty's "Breakdown" when I arrived. I was surprised, as I expected non-descript jazz, honestly.

I tacitly approved their choice and walked through various exhibits, turning back to look at the band every so often. One thing I noticed (and heard) was the bassist hadn't shown up yet (the keyboardist was covering with his left hand).

After a few other songs, I heard the beginning of The Rolling Stones' immortal "Sympathy for the Devil". It's classic rock, yes, but among the Stones' honor guard warhouses, this one still sounds thrilling everytime you hear Charlie Watt's initial drum patter and Jagger's taunting "yow's!"



I walked back by to watch the band up close. I noticed the singer and guitarist had lyric sheets in front of him. I nodded along to the music, mouthing the words, noting the crawl of meandering guests throughout the three levels of the Factory. Very nice, I thought.

Then they got to this line: "Made damn sure that Pilate washed his hands and sealed his fate" This kid pronounced it not like "Pilot" but rather "Puh-la-tee" .

Maybe he works out a lot to his girlfriend's fitness DVD collection, okay, but has he never gone to Sunday School?!? Where was a Hells Angel when you needed Keith Richards to order an immediate beatdown?




Like the Stones and their fans at Altamont, the late, great Hunter Thompson also had an unfortunate experience with rogue biker gangs and their decadent culture. However, Raoul Duke definitely knew how to pronounce all the lyrics in "Sympathy for the Devil"!! From the first chapter of Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas:

"One toke? You poor fool! Wait till you see those goddamn bats. I could barely hear the radio...slumped over on the far side of the seat, grappling with a tape recorder turned all the way up on 'Sympathy for the Devil.' That was the only tape we had, so we played it constantly, over and over, as a kind of demented counterpoint to the radio. And to maintain our rhythm on the road."

I think the Stones probably asked too much for the rights to SftD for its inclusion in Terry Gilliam's 1998 film adapation of HST's novel. Otherwise, the song surely would've been snaking through the following scene. Regardless, imagine the kid singer I saw as Tobey Maguire's clueless hitchhiker. I sure did. Being ferociously schooled in the desert by Dr. Gonzo is an apt punishment.