Rock and Roll Book Club: Memorable quotes from Mark Mallman's 'The Happiness Playlist'
by Jay Gabler
March 20, 2019
You know Mark Mallman as a witty lyricist, but with The Happiness Playlist he proves that he also shines as a prose writer. Here are several of the most memorable passages.
"From what I can tell, love results from timing, chaos, and mathematics. You meet at a bus stop. You meet at a bar. Movies are wrong; nobody ever meets in aquariums. It's a numbers game of readiness and mutual desire. A hungry crocodile, spewed from a cyclone, that bites you in the head, even though you'd been hiding at a safe distance. You try to write just one love song, but the components can't be distilled. The depth can't be measured. This is why nobody knows how deep in love they are until it's over." (p. 4)
"In the morning, grass spikes out through iced cotton. All the groundskeepers at all the golf courses in Minnesota are putting their feet up. Traffic moves half time through soupy streets of monochromatic gray. Fully costumed human shapes hunch down crunchy sidewalks. Felt dolls." (p. 56)
"Dessert before bedtime softens the struggles of the day." (p. 61)
"All we can do is work to be our best. To float through the alligator-infested swamp of life without sinking. Success is messy but we shouldn't let it stop us from jumping off the roof into a swimming pool fully clothed. Don't be afraid to get your pants wet." (p. 72)
"Music has taught me to be esoteric often. Don't mistake babbling for genius. Smile imperviously. No job's as complex as they make it sound. Improvisation is elemental. Artists see opportunity where others see mistakes. In spite of his deafness, Beethoven thrived. Never aspire to anything. Be it." (p. 80)
"When our promised utopia of drone-delivered pizza comes to fruition, the world will be that much lonelier." (p. 93)
"We are born by our dearest ancestors. Loved ones shape us with honesty, loyalty, positive morality, and gentle behavior. Gripping the zip-zap intelligence of boomerang kindness, we kiss the stars within our own newborn baby's hand. When the ever-flowing body stream explodes its molten core, hundreds of millions of tears bound out. The physical self collapses under the super continent of the soul." (p. 117)
"Before and after it all, there is Minneapolis. Thank you for the music. Thank you for embracing diversity and open-mindedness. Thank you for supporting the arts. Thank you for speaking against hate. Thank you for summer festivals and winter fantastics. Thank you for singing along. Thank you for loving me. I love you too, Minneapolis." (p. 130)
Read Andrea Swensson's conversation with Mark Mallman. The Happiness Playlist release show is this Friday, March 22 at the 7th St Entry.
Resources
The time is now to move forward and address mental health. Call to Mind aims to inform and mobilize new conversations about mental health.