This Magic Moment (1997) – Lou Reed

If you don’t mind, I’ll take the meandering route to today’s song by tracing a little circle of coincidences. The other day there was a small art fair in the bottom floor of the building where I train. As I was wandering the tables of the various art on offer, there was a young girl and her beau quietly sitting there surrounded by this girl’s paintings. Three small paintings of a night scene stood out to me (see image inset), and I couldn’t look away. I told the girl how they reminded me of a David Lynch film called Lost Highway. I showed her images of a film by him she did recognise called Mulholland Drive which I featured here at Friday’s Finest back in 2021.

So I asked her much they would cost and she told me $35,000 Pesos (US $10.00) and so I snapped them up. She even tied a neat little string to cojoin and enable me to hang them. I asked her to sign the back, which she did – and if my reading serves me right, it’s signed “Hanari-Andrade.” We said our goodbyes, and now the three-piece set hangs on my living room wall beside my son’s Rocky IV poster-gift, an artwork of Jesus Christ called Forgiven by Thomas Blackshear II, and a Superman 3D jigsaw.

Naturally, ever since buying those paintings, both they and the film Lost Highway have been swimming around in my head. Then, by coincidence, today’s song appeared next in the alphabetical listing of my music project to share here – Lou Reed’s This Magic Moment, which just happens to feature in Lynch’s film (you can find the full clip below). So there’s some truth in the old saying: what goes around comes around. Lou Reed is of course no stranger to this blog, and somehow today’s track and his earlier release with the Velvet underground called Sweet Jane (also the last to appear here by him) are musically quite similar in their minimal representation and technique (seemingly deceptively simple) but both resonate more than what they let on.

Lou’s This Magic Moment was originally written by Doc Pomus and Mort Shuman, and first recorded by The Drifters in 1960 and became a Top 20 hit. Lou’s version is from a Doc Pomus tribute album, Till the Night is Gone and was released in the Lynch film as aforementioned in 1997 and thereafter in 1998 on the tribute album by Forward/Rhino. Reed’s rendition stands out for its stripped-down rock and roll style, showcasing his deep affection for R&B and his distinctive guitar work – the dirtiest guitar and I mean that in the best sense, with two contrasting guitar parts accompanied by Fernando Saunders on bass and George Recile on drums. The album features a stellar lineup of artists, including Bob Dylan, B.B. King, Brian Wilson, and Dr. John, among others. 

[Verse 1]
This magic moment
So different and so new
Was like any other
Until I met you

[Verse 2]
And then it happened
It took me by surprise
I knew that you felt it too
I could see it by the look in your eyes

[Pre-Chorus]
Sweeter than wine
Softer than a summer´s night
Everything I want I have
Whenever I hold you tight

[Chorus]
This magic moment
While your lips are close to mine
Will last forever
Forever till the end of time

So why won´t you dance with me? Hey baby
Why won´t you dance with me?

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“The more I live, the more I learn. The more I learn, the more I realize, the less I know.”- Michel Legrand