Hands down, one of the most poignant things I've ever seen on televsion. For Letterman and for all of us, it marks a farewell. On the plus side -- the deceptively plus side, of course -- Zevon looked and sounded fine. Another plus -- and this one you can take to the bank -- Warren leaves behind a legacy that most songwriters would kill for. Yes, he'll be leaving us too soon, but he's going out like a champ.

In the late '70's a roommate at my college had Warren's tape that included Roland the Headless Thompson Gunner. As this artist seemed to us then a very weird little guy. His tunes were those written by someone reading Soldier of Fortune while enjoying some Campbell's Chicken and Stars that his mother warmed up for him. But, my comrades in those days were all torn between becoming U.S. Marines, mercenaries, gynocologists, combat pilots or astronauts, depending on what day of the week it was, so our opinions were not especially weighted. I liked the Roland number very much and Lawyers, Guns, and Money. That last was sung to me a girl that sang for a seedy little band at a club in Iowa in 1979. Ah, memories. Warren showing up, literally walking the last mile, on Letterman's show on 10/30 was absolutely electric after all these years. I no longer think of him as I did then, but as a very gifted poet and musician who has no fear of leaving this small, black world. The only downer was his sharing the spotlight with that talented but annoying little jewish bandleader of Letterman's, whose name is not worthy of mention here.
Put in a good word for me with the Master, Warren, when you cross over. I put some faith in your influence on that side, too.

Anybody got the Letterman performance encoded as a downloadable file?

It's been a long time since the time I remember a death of a celebrity making me feel terribly bad - Warren was one of the few and the latest who recently passed away from cancer. His music recalls many great childhood memories - especially "Werewolves of London." There will never be another song like it. I'm very happy that Warren got to create one last album and to "die with his boots on." He's a true artist who got to say many things in a short amount of time.