Crossing Waves Artist Page is HERE
As a kid, I spent quite a bit of time studying popular musicals alongside rock, pop, and classical music. One song that always stood out for its dark brilliance was “Poor Jud Is Dead” from the immortal Oklahoma! It is a bizarre, morbid, and surprisingly fun tune in which the protagonist fantasizes about the death of his rival, Jud Fry, specifically to imagine how the townspeople might react once he is gone. It is a masterfully crafted study of macabre character development, and recently, I found its modern spiritual successor in a track called “Ballad of Robert Stone” by the indie project Crossing Waves.
The song opens with a deceptively catchy guitar strum that feels lighthearted, masking the weight of the narrative. It tells the story of Robert Stone, a neighbor living two floors down who met a sudden, calamitous end during an unfortunate night walk. Following his passing, the neighborhood “buzz” begins to paint a vivid, if slightly eccentric, picture of the man: he had long hair and a grey mustache, he was a total loner, and, according to local gossip, he was essentially married to his umbrella. He was the kind of person who existed solely in the background of everyone else’s life: a mystery that no one bothered to solve while he was still breathing.
While you might find yourself wandering through the intoxication of the melody, the song eventually hits you with a keen, stinging observation: “His life had no attention, his death got quite a lot.” It is a profound look at the irony of human interest and the inherent selfishness of communal curiosity. Crossing Waves uses Robert’s story to showcase the “faux friendships” and performative grief that suddenly bloom the moment a TV camera or a news reporter appears.
This review was submitted by fellow NAS artist: Jake Sommer
Their artist page can be found HERE
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