…is the title of the only recent Peter Gabriel song I can find. It’s the theme song for WALL-E, not my favorite movie but I kinda like that song. If I had to pick music that matched the kind of work I do, it’d be Gabriel’s (or maybe Kate Bush, which is sort of the other side of the same coin). So it would be nice if the guy would write some more…

I got a chance to meet Gabriel many years ago, at a Bismillah Khan concert in Washington DC. The organizers were more music-lovers than promoters, and so the world’s greatest chennai player was greeted by a tiny audience in a great big auditorium.

It was kinda insulting, and Gabriel (who was instrumental in placing Khan’s music in Natural Born Killers, which as far as I’m concerned made the movie), was fuming to anyone who happened to be there…which just happened to me. Once he’d calmed down, we had a half hour of absolutely fascinating conversation.

I didn’t even do the “Gee, Mr. Gabriel, I just love your work” bit. I simply listened, and I learned about production values in translating music to film and the history of the chennai and the tabla. I was pointed to a couple other international artists Mr. Gabriel was interested in.

The one thing he never talked about was himself. I’ve interviewed a lot of celebrities over the years and he was the least self-aggrandizing of any I’ve encountered.

So I’ve said nice things about him. Now he can return the favor and do another album. My studio is waiting…