licks raze it wormed its way into my mind. the way these things sometimes will. eight furious notes sawed out by a manic string section. i couldn't remember anything else about the song. i only knew it lived in a minor. the darkest key signature devoid of accidentals. "evil woman", i kept thinking. but that wasn't right. this was something i came to love a little later and hadn't heard in twice as long. the underture of an unrelated album ended with the same word i was about to shout if no one else was willing, and it hit me like a brick to the back of the head. "madman across the water". and if that isn't the best thing elton john's ever done, it has to be in the running. the ground's a long way down, but i need more. is the nightmare really black, or are the windows painted? 221127 what's it to you? who go blather from