It’s not the notes you play. It’s the notes you don’t play. — Miles Davis
More than thirty years ago, I was listening to Broken Wings by Mr. Mister on the radio — a lot. It was a big hit, and it affected me differently than other equally popular music playing on the same FM stations.
I saw the video only recently, and got a shock because it depicted what I was feeling (but not quite visualizing) in 1985 when I heard the song.
The official video is set in the Nevada desert. In 1985 I imagined the Southern California desert, although I’d never been there.
It would be a stretch to say the symbolism is more than middle-brow. However, there’s something subtle going on.
