2000 Great Songs #1385: 2 H.B.

I tend to have mixed feelings about Roxy Music, a band I know I should like more than I do but, aside from a handful of favorites, generally feels just a bit off-putting. "2 H.B.," from their eponymous 1972 debut, manages to bridge that gap. Bryan Ferry's keyboards and Mackay's sax sound a little like a cheesy lounge band, and Ferry's affected cabaret croon strikes me as a bit creepy. Still, something about the track--a sort-of ode to Casablanca (the title a shorthand for "To Humphrey Bogart")--is indescribably haunting, the very non-rock musical aesthetic and stray lyrical imagery making it feel like something from the soundtrack to a very disconcerting film. Not surprisingly, it ended up being put to cinematic use in 1998's Velvet Goldmine (albeit in an indie supergroup cover version), and probably about a million other movies I can't think of, as it does have an oddly familiar feel to it.

Live 2011:

Velvet Goldmine version (performed by The Venus In Furs):

Bryan Ferry solo version:

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