A great way to get the measure of someone is to ask them what four people they would invite to a hypothetical dinner party.<\/p>\n
A dream scenario where all of your favourite historical culture icons could come together and get to know one another over a few bottles of wine and some food. While I may not be involved, I have a sneaking suspicion that John Prine, Bob Dylan, Robert Plant and Bill Murray would be quite happy to hang as a four-piece.<\/p>\n
Why? Well, the three latter names in that group all share one thing: a love for John Prine. The truly gifted songwriter who could encapsulate the peaks and troughs in a way few others could. His observations were so astute that he garnered a dedicated fan base of high-brow artists who stood alongside him in the creative breaches, in complete awe of his ability.<\/p>\n
Perhaps what is most astonishing is that if you had read that paragraph, without Prine\u2019s name being included, you may have thought that comment was in reference to Bob Dylan. Dylan famously had an alumni of star-studded fans, whose respect was rarely reciprocated. But Prine broke the mould, writing lyrics that struck to the very core of the songwriting legend.<\/p>\n
\u201cPrine\u2019s stuff is pure Proustian existentialism,\u201d he said. \u201cAnd he writes beautiful songs. I remember when Kris Kristofferson first brought him on the scene. All that stuff about \u2018Sam Stone\u2019 the soldier junky daddy and \u2018Donald and Lydia,\u2019 where people make love from ten miles away. Nobody but Prine could write like that.\u201d<\/p>\n
Naturally, wherever Dylan goes, musicians follow closely behind, and he isn\u2019t the only one to commend Prine\u2019s work as truly groundbreaking. While Robert Plant\u2019s sensibilities are completely different to Dylan\u2019s and Prine\u2019s, celebrating a more performative sense of musicianship, he still feels connected to Prine. Largely because Prine\u2019s work extends more than just the everyman fan, it taps into the psyche of stars whose experience is more acute and unique.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s a vast, enduring treasury, a beacon of light in these ever-weirder times,\u201d Plant said when discussing Prine\u2019s intricate work, \u201cYou know, sometimes it seems like you\u2019re writing for all of us, which in fact you probably are.\u201d<\/p>\n
But what does it mean to write for everyone? Is it rousing sentiments of upheaval or delicate moments of personal conversation that touch the listener? For Prine, it was mostly the latter, writing music that acts as a warm friend, dancing between empathy and humour to cut through the static noise of modern life, which is why, when the laughter around Bill Murray stopped and he was staring into the depths of solitude, it was Prine\u2019s work that helped him through.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo, once upon a time, it was the first time in my life I was, not what people call \u2018clinically depressed,\u2019 but a real bummer to be around, like, a real downer to be around,\u201d Murray explained. \u201cAnd I just couldn\u2019t get myself to having any fun and I thought to myself, I remembered something my friend Hunter S. Thompson said during kind of an addled state he said, \u2018We\u2019re going to have to rely on John Prine for a sense of humour.\u2019 Which I thought was one of those addled things that you say.\u201d<\/p>\n
But Murray followed Thompson\u2019s instructions and spun Prine\u2019s record, Great Days. A move that would forever change his life. \u201cI\u2019m thinking to myself, \u2018Who the hell put him in charge of a sense of humor,\u2019 as I\u2019m going way into this record,\u201d Murray said. \u201cBut, there it was, this song \u2018Linda Goes To Mars.\u2019 And I heard the song and I went, \u2018Huh.\u2019 And that was the beginning of the return.\u201d<\/p>\n
Listen to Prine\u2019s classic track below and see if it taps into you the same way it does Murray. If it does, you might just be one step closer to gaining an invite to the greatest dinner party to ever happen.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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