Canon Fodder: Mink DeVille "Let Me Dream If I Want To"

This post marks the first in a series that will randomly chronicle the songs, albums, artists and musical moments that have combined to form what I can now refer to as my taste. For lack of a better title, I'll refer to it as "Canon Fodder". Lame, I know, but that's why I don't work in advertising.

"Let Me Dream If I Want To" (mp3) is brash and simple, relying on a delay riff that periodically/predictably/majestically erupts into a power jaunt before cooling off and being cool as shit again. Which mimicks Willy DeVille's assured Lou Reed imitation, singing meaningless lyrics like "watch the door, deep surprise, it's a vision!" What makes this sub 3-minute pre-punk cruiser so great is what lies between the notes and words--cocky statement-ing and rockabilly swagger, surrounded, choked even, by a naive, attractive passion to get away--from anything, everything. The title of the song is one of the greatest in rock--"Let Me Dream If I Want To"--not "Let Me Dream", mind you, or even "All I Have To Do Is Dream". No. If he wants to. My man's too calm and unaffected to let you know that he wants to do anything right now. Maybe he just wants to stroll. Maybe later he'll think about some shit. All I get, and all I need right now, is big, chunky riff after riff and cloudy lyricism saying nothing but doing it with passion--driving toward nowhere but determined not to blink on the way there.

This track is available on Rhino's Blank Generation: The New York Scene 1975-78. It's out of print, but reasonably available from Amazon. (photo source)