And I Say This Being Madly in Love with Beyonce

This?

Is just not as good as this.

And I’m not sure why.  I think that, in James’s voice, I hear that her life has been heartache before this, that all that waiting has been difficult for her and so, while she’s relieved to find someone, she isn’t coming to him without having walked a hard road to get there.  And I just don’t hear that in Beyonce’s voice, as lovely as it is.

And did they cast Jeffrey Wright as Muddy Waters?  I reserve my judgment on that shit.  Don’t get me wrong.  I like Wright, but Morganfield?  There just aren’t a lot of men like Morganfield in the world, who have that… something…

Look here

That’s an old man.  But look at the way he gets that twinkle in his eye, that little grin on his lips… It’s a different kind of manliness than we’re normally shown–a man who takes great pleasure in being a man because he enjoys women.  I don’t know, it’s hard to talk about.  But there are straight men who enjoy fucking women–and lord knows there are eight thousand songs about that.  And there are straight men who enjoy being men.  But the kind of straight man so sure in himself…

Don’t get me wrong.  In his personal life, Morganfield seemed to be much like all the men I knew his age, which was too damn fucked up by what they went through to get the success they had to be very pleasant company 75% of the time.

But Morganfield sings like he’s going to enjoy every second he’s with you, from the slight hint of your perfume he smells when he takes your coat to the way his fingers are going to play with the lace on your slip, just beause it feels good.

How many men can pull that shit off?  And also bear a passing resemblance to him?

I don’t know.  I’ll give Wright the benefit of the doubt, but I’m just not sure he can do it.