dan hartman was a one-man band...played all the instruments and sang all the vocal parts himself, produced the music, the whole nine yards. i would hear this song on the radio from time to time when i was growing up. really, it's the only song of his i've ever heard, and i think one of the only hits he ever had on his own. there's something about it that's always haunted me, and it's hard to put my finger on just what it is...i guess a lot of people would dismiss it as a typical 80s pop song trying to emulate the motown sound, but there's just something about it that grabs me, even now, years later. maybe it's a sense of longing. something deeper lurking beneath the glossy surface. maybe it's the octave vocals..."mo...ving...sidewalks. i don't see under my feet." whatever it is, i dig it.
That "sense of longing, something deeper" and the "strong feelings he's trying to hold back" may have something to do with Hartman having been a closeted gay man who kept his HIV status a secret right up until his death due to AIDS -- a context which makes this and many if his other songs extra heartbreaking and poignant.
That "sense of longing, something deeper" and the "strong feelings he's trying to hold back" may have something to do with Hartman having been a closeted gay man who kept his HIV status a secret right up until his death due to AIDS -- a context which makes this and many if his other songs extra heartbreaking and poignant.
dan hartman was a one-man band...played all the instruments and sang all the vocal parts himself, produced the music, the whole nine yards. i would hear this song on the radio from time to time when i was growing up. really, it's the only song of his i've ever heard, and i think one of the only hits he ever had on his own. there's something about it that's always haunted me, and it's hard to put my finger on just what it is...i guess a lot of people would dismiss it as a typical 80s pop song trying to emulate the motown sound, but there's just something about it that grabs me, even now, years later. maybe it's a sense of longing. something deeper lurking beneath the glossy surface. maybe it's the octave vocals..."mo...ving...sidewalks. i don't see under my feet." whatever it is, i dig it.
I agree. I love it when his voice gets husky during that part of the song, as if he has strong feelings that he's trying to hold back.
I agree. I love it when his voice gets husky during that part of the song, as if he has strong feelings that he's trying to hold back.
That "sense of longing, something deeper" and the "strong feelings he's trying to hold back" may have something to do with Hartman having been a closeted gay man who kept his HIV status a secret right up until his death due to AIDS -- a context which makes this and many if his other songs extra heartbreaking and poignant.
That "sense of longing, something deeper" and the "strong feelings he's trying to hold back" may have something to do with Hartman having been a closeted gay man who kept his HIV status a secret right up until his death due to AIDS -- a context which makes this and many if his other songs extra heartbreaking and poignant.