On Tue, 23 Dec 2008, Dennis Perrin wrote:
> I'm starting to get into Harry Nilsson's music for the first time.
> Growing up, I'd heard his more famous tunes in the background, but I
> never really listened to him. He's considered a pop genius, and while I
> like some of the early, quirky stuff so far, I dunno if "genius"
> applies. At least not yet. He was loved by The Beatles and covered by
> The Monkees. What say you more experienced listeners?
All I know by him is the musical children's story "The Point." And while you couldn't call that genius in the sense of saying something new or of changing the way we think, it's long struck me as a piece of genius in the more limited sense of form perfectly matching content in a satisfying way and being original in its form of expression. And I loved those puns and tunes when I was a kid. And not a year goes by without some moment where I think back and identify with the kid banished to the pointless forest, which he finds is populated by things like cacti and porcupines that have tons of points -- which, as one of them explains to him, is exactly like having no point at all.
Michael