Each Friday I pick a song–new, old, borrowed, blue–that’s been on my mind and in my ears, and write a short post about it.

This is “I Say A Little Prayer” by Rahsaan Roland Kirk:

I’ve been doing a lot of research for a new project, and one of the things I came across, and read, is Audiotopia: Music Race and America by Josh Kun. The book makes an interesting companion or response to Mystery Train by Greil Marcus, a book I’ve mentioned here any number of times before. One of the primary arguments of Josh Kun’s book is about ways of listening, and Rahsaan Roland Kirk’s ways of listening figure into that argument in interesting ways.  Kirk listens to Burt Bacharach and Hal David say their little prayer, and in turn, says his own little prayer with the same melody, but very different meanings, and gives you a chance to listen differently, too. Here’s a superb live version of the song.