Hello Darkness My Old Friend
I have a crush. Yes, me. A soon-to-be 70-year-old woman. (Ugh a new decade) I have not had a crush on anyone since high school. My crush is so bizarrely out of my realm that I even find it hard to believe. Sadly my crush will never even know. Unless he subscribes to Medium. Who knows maybe he does.
Simon and Garfunkel wrote a masterpiece. Many masterpieces but one of my favorites is The Sounds of Silence. Every time I hear it something moves deep in my soul. But no my crush is not Simon or Garfunkel. Maybe in the 60s perhaps but not now.
About 3–4 years ago, my son texted me The Sounds of Silence by David Draiman. He asked me if I ever heard this song before? My response was of course disbelief. This song is a classic. Everyone knows The Sounds of Silence by S and G. But I had never in my life heard anything like this version before. I listened over and over. He asked me if I ever heard the band Disturbed? Oh yes, I have indeed. I supposedly took away a burned CD of Disturbed when my son was in high school. No way was he allowed to be listening to this angry music. I don’t have any recollection of this incident. Probably because as I said at the beginning of this story, I will be 70 very soon.
I became utterly fascinated. I started asking “Alexa” to play Disturbed. Nope, still not feeling it. I gave up and just Googled and You Tubed everything I could find about this singer David Draiman. He is an incredible genius musically and intellectually and a genuinely decent human being. And also quite handsome! Tattoos and piercings included. He used to be a cantor at his synagogue as a young boy. His voice? How can I describe it? It is velvety like butter with a touch of sea salt to make it abrasive and gravelly. He hits each note with passion just at the right moment and he is pitch-perfect. The Sounds of Silence has never moved me like this. It starts quietly and then the crescendo. Goosebumps, I am telling you. I love him. I want him to make more music like this. He has a duet now with Anne Wilson from Heart. It’s fabulous.
I am crushing on him so badly that I even looked for his concert tour. My fingers are crossed that I will attend. I will be bringing earplugs for my 70-year-old ears. But when The Sounds of Silence starts, the earplugs will come out so I can get the complete experience of this song. So dear David Draiman I have a crush on you. You are gifted. Thank you for your version of The Sounds of Silence and Simon and Garfunkel, thank you for your masterpiece. You are all geniuses.
