87 (iPod Challenge) Odes to People Don’t Always Work

Trying to force emotions into song, prose or poetry is a pathway littered with poor execution and schmaltz. It’s tough to say I love you in a song (even if Jim Croce did it quite well) without fluff or treacle to overwhelm the proceedings. As a sometimes poet, I see this in my own writing and it’s very apparent when the love-fest jumps the shark into glurge.

That’s what makes ‘Song For My Father’ such an absolute joy. Horace Silver takes some bossa nova ideas and combines them with other influ...