I once saw Lou Reed on the West Side Highway. He was walking his dog, crossing the street as I waited at a red light. I had Berlin in the car with me and was kind of on a Lou Reed kick. I spontaneously shouted, “Hey Lou!” I immediately regretted it. I had no follow up when he looked out at the cars to find where the voice had come from. I looked forward, embarrassed, and pretended as if I was fiddling with the radio, praying the light would change.
Why didn’t I just wave to him and say: I love your music!?
Noah Baumbauch’s use of “Street Hassle” at the end of The Squid and the Whale is cinematic magic. The Squid and the Whale is the first Baumbach movie that I really loved. It took a few viewings for me to come around on it, but I think it was the ending that really did for me, in the end. You can feel Wes Anderson’s influence (he produced the film and had worked with Baumbach on the screenplay for The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou) on the film—Baumbach seems to get tighter in terms of how he composes his frames.
It is not surprising that Reed composed “Street Hassle” with a literary intent. It feels at times short story, at times poem. It is raw and epic, sacred and profane, prosaic and transcendent. Bruce Springsteen makes a cameo in the 12th verse (and I mention this with the 1978 Bruce in mind) and it’s a hell of a cameo (like Eddie Vedder in that Cat Power song). I’ve been listening to the Stones “You Can’t Always Get What You Want,” and it seems like a close relative of “Street Hassle”—and not in a “poor man’s sense.” “Street Hassle” carries it’s own weight and does not need anyone to get in the door for an interview.
I’ve included two clips from The Squid and the Whale here. I hope it’s clear why . . . the film would make a great double feature with The Royal Tenenbaums—two totally different views of the devastating effects that divorce has on children. Both are quintessential New York films that are self portraits of their directors, and both are, respectfully, masterpieces in their own right.
"Street Hassle"
Waltzing Matilda
Waltzing Matilda whipped out her wallet
the sexy boy smiled in dismay
She took out four twenties 'cause she liked round figures
everybody's queen for a day
Oh, babe, I'm on fire and you know I admire your -
- body why don't we slip away
Although I'm sure you're certain, it's a rarity me flirtin'
sha-la-la-la, this way
Oh, sha-la-la-la-la, sha-la-la-la-la
hey, baby, come on, let's slip away
Luscious and gorgeous, oh what a humpin' muscle
call out the national guard
She creamed in her jeans as he picked up her knees
from off of the formica topped bar
And cascading slowly, he lifted her wholly
and boldly out of this world
And despite people's derision
proved to be more than diversion
sha-la-la-la, later on
And then sha-la-la-la-la, he entered her slowly
and showed her where he was coming from
And then sha-la-la-la-la, he made love to her gently
it was like she'd never ever come
And then sha-la-la-la-la, sha-la-la-la-la
when the sun rose and he made to leave
You know, sha-la-la-la-la, sha-la-la-la-la
neither one regretted a thing
Street Hassle
Hey, that cunt's not breathing
I think she's had too much
of something or other, hey, man, you know what I mean?
I don't mean to scare you
but you're the one who came here
and you're the one who's gotta take her when you leave
I'm not being smart
or trying to be cold on my part
and I'm not gonna wear my heart on my sleeve
But you know people get all emotional
and sometimes, man, they just don't act rational you know,
they think they're just on TV
Sha-la-la-la, man
why don't you just slip her away
You know, I'm glad that we met man
it really was nice talking
and I really wish that there was a little more time to speak
But you know it could be a hassle
trying to explain this all to a police officer
about how it was that your old lady got herself stiffed
And it's not like we could help
but there wasn't nothing no one could do
and if there was, man, you know I would have been the first
But when someone turns that blue
well, it's a universal truth
and then you just know that bitch will never fuck again
By the way, that's really some bad shit
that you came to our place with
but you ought to be more careful around the little girls
It's either the best or it's the worst
and since I don't have to choose
I guess I won't and I know this ain't no way to treat a guest
But why don't you grab your old lady by the feet
and just lay her out in the darkest street
and by morning, she's just another hit and run.
You know, some people got no choice
and they can never find a voice
to talk with that they can even call their own
So the first thing that they see
that allows them the right to be
why they follow it, you know, it's called bad luck.
Slipaway
well hey(man), that's just a lie,
it's a lie she tells her friends.
'cause the real song, the real song
where she won't even admit to herself
the beatin' in her heart.
It's a song lots of people know.
It's a painful song
a little sad truth
but life full of sad songs
penny for a wish
But wishin' won't make you a soldier.
With a pretty kiss for a pretty face
can't have its way
Y'know tramps like us, we were born to pay.
Love has gone away
and there's no one here now
And there's nothing left to say
but, oh, how I miss him, baby
Oh, baby, come on and slip away
come on, baby, why don't you slip away
Love is gone away
took the rings off my fingers
And there's nothing left to say
but, oh how, oh how I need him, baby
Come on, baby, I need you baby
oh, please don't slip away
I need your loving so bad, babe
please don't slip away
About the Song of the Day:
Another form of my favorite form of cycles are song-cycles—song-cycles of great albums, and of course song-cycles of mixes. I have made cycles of mixes for friends for years—Mix-tapes in high-school and college—Mix-cds in grad-school and beyond. Now that cds have lost a bit of their shine in the wake of streaming services, I’ve struggled to find my footing with sharing mixes with friends. My goal here is to share songs that culminate in mixes—one song a day until a mix is completed. I will then post the complete mix and then begin a new cycle.