feeling listless

Music Are the songs of today timeless? I suppose the lyrics of any age are roughly split between those which could be re-assessed or rerecorded in the future and those which will disappear into a kind of nostalgic haze and of their time. It's funny how Cole Porter, a man working nearly a century ago (give or take a decade) wrote things which continue to be current, but already Diane Warren (to victimise someone) is beginning to feel dated. The Atlantic tries to discover the method:

"Porter's first Broadway hit song was "Let's Do It," an endless catalogue of zoological promiscuity (some critics called it a "habits of rabbits" song) that captured the "just say yes" spirit of the twenties. Its musical sophistication matched its verbal aplomb. Porter had immediately broken some of the basic rules of American popular-song writing. Though you hardly notice it, the melody, beginning with its hook, is highly chromatic, and the harmony constantly mixes the major and minor modes in a way surprisingly reminiscent of Schumann or Brahms. It sounds like a simple tune ... but try finding the notes and chords on the piano."

The piece doesn't really have any answers, but the general feel seems to be that he was the Shakespeare of song. Which sounds about right.