SONG-A-WEEK: HOW CAN I HATE PEOPLE I DON'T KNOW? ~ RICK BERLIN
Saturday, November 5, 2011 at 01:44PM
Driving the dishwasher home from Doyles one night, we got talking. It turned out in the conversation that the kid hadn't seen his father in years (I was driving him home to his Aunt's house). He told me about a year ago his Dad showed up on his birthday with a wrapped present under his arm. He was contrite. He asked his son:
'You must hate me after all these years, right?'
'How can I hate someone I don't even know?' the kid replied.
Ain't that the truth. This is why the original seed for the song has evolved into a
(somewhat) protest song about fighting prejudice in others and more especially, in ourselves. It's filled with f- c- and n-bombs.
An aside: Bursting into the kitchen at Doyles, Billy Charles, the Haitian chef said (all in good faith):
'I think a faggot entered the kitchen.'
In a rare wise-assed comeback I said:
'I think a nigger just called me a faggot.'
We both lost it. Big laughs all round. I think, on some level, this is what the song is about.
I include this video from the night 5/9 when Berlin + The Old Stag String Quartet performed live @ the Hi-n-Dry studio (the Mark Sandman Project) - http://www.hindry.com/sandman_project/ We performed the full record w/ Brendan Cooney (conductor/arranger), Meredith Cooper (violin), Marnie Hall (violin), Joe Simcox (viola), Fabrizio Mazzetta (cello), jJane Mangini (piano), Saran Hund + Andrew Ross (vox), Joe Stewart (engineer), cameras (Chico Eastridge + Ryan Jorgensen), edit Berlin
This from OLD STAG, track released 14 September 2008
cello Katie Franich
v2 Christina Hornby
v1 Meredith Cooper
viola Joe Simcox
string arranger Brendan Cooney
produced by Rick Berlin
album recorded by Joe Stewart in Rick's livingroom
(strings recorded in a classroom at BU)
misc sounds from Centre Street in Jamaica Plain
mixed by Sir David Minehan at Woolly Mammoth Sound
photos by Rene Rives
jacket design by Shaun Wolf Wortis
mastered by Dave Locke, JP Masters
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