Heavy Fuel

Dire Straits must surely be the least glamorous band of musicians to fill stadiums in the 1980′s, or possibly ever. The homely, balding Mark Knopfler made no pretense of being anything other than homely and balding, and guided his group to chart topping stardom by sheer talent. Sometimes being a virtuoso guitarist and astute songwriter is enough to propel a man to a level of success usually reserved for only the most charismatic and/or narcissistic individuals. Knopfler certainly has had a sense of humor about himself. He realizes that he’s no rock star in the dramatic sense, and he’s at his best playing up his common-man persona. This song, which is uncharacteristically about rock star-style debauchery, is firmly tongue-in-cheek, because obviously, the image of Knopfler writing a suicide note on a hundred dollar bill is an absurd one. In fact, it’s a stretch to imagine Knopfler doing anything with a hundred dollar bill besides putting it in the bank. It’s possible that he does privately do all sorts of depraved rock star things, but it’s not pleasant to think about. Seeing the absurdity of the song, Dire Straits wisely chose not to make a typical video glamorizing their glamorous lives. Instead they made a video about the comic mishaps of a schlubby roadie, played by uber-schlubby actor Randy Quaid (now sadly insane). I think that maintaining such a humble and realistic image of yourself despite massive fame and success is very charming, and not easily attainable.