The Death of Vaudeville

I was one of those lucky bastards who had an older sister who introduced them to good music at a young age. One of my sister's friends made us a joint mix tape when I was a freshman in high school in 1996 that I promptly stole and memorized. One of my favorite songs on it was The Death of Vaudeville, a lounge-y Piano Man ballad by Franklin Bruno. I was young and confused by my love of something that could in any way be described as lounge-y, but love it I did. It wasn't until college that I finally tracked down the album from whence the song came, Franklin's first solo album A Bedroom Community. (It was around the same time that I discovered that another of my favorite songs on the mix-- Going To Lubbock by The Extra Glenns-- was a small side project by Franklin and John Darnielle. This was extremely satisfying as I'd spent years trying to find anything by the Extra Glenns [this is before the eminence of Google and Wikipedia and allmusic] to no avail and I happily discovered that the band I'd actually been trying to find was the Mountain Goats who already had plenty of releases for me to wear out.)

It's been awhile since I've listened to A Bedroom Community (Nothing Painted Blue, his old band, has stood in as my dose of Franklin in the regular rotation) and I'm a little shocked I let myself live without it for so long. Over the years other songs on the album had become my favorites-- For The Firedrill, Skipped A Grade, and Cheat-- but on a fresh listen I'm once again drawn to The Death of Vaudeville. I have a deep love for songs about music and a deep love for story songs and this one scratches both itches, managing to evoke the lonely vaudevillian troubadour standing on stage singing his own eulogy.

Franklin Bruno's The Death of Vaudeville

(The album was released by Simple Machines and has managed to remain in print. It is available from Dischord. Needless to say it is highly recommended.)