A principios de los ochenta, en plena recesión del Imperio Británico, el gobierno de Margaret Tatcher emprendió un proyecto arquitectónico en un sector abandonado del puerto de Londres en la Isla de los Perros.

Este nuevo proyecto se llamo Canary Wharf y estaba destinado a contener un complejo de edificios para alojar un nuevo distrito financiero, encontrándose entre ellos los rascacielos más altos de Londres.

Y como llega esto al mundo Radiohead ?.

Pues si ya miraron la foto de aquí arriba ya lo saben. La zona contiene numerosos arboles de plástico como elemento decorativo. El propio Thom Yorke arroja luz sobre que lo inspira al momento de componer esta autentica obra maestra al introducirnos la canción en el ya mítico concierto de Astoria del año 1994, el cual se consigue en Amazon.

"This song it´s about Canary Wharf", nos dice un Thom platinado y peinado a lo Cobain, antes de sumergirnos en la desolación de Fake Plastic Trees ( si se fijan bien verán otras cosas interesantes en el vídeo, por ejemplo la extrañisima muñequera que Jony empleaba para agredir su guitarra o el hecho de que Phil Selway no fue siempre calvo ! ).

Astoria, 1994.

Fake Plastic Trees forma parte de ese excelente y muy notable segundo disco de Radiohead, The Bends, del cual fue elegida como segundo simple.

Es una leyenda que Thom la compuso después de asistir a un concierto de Jeff Buckley y que una vez terminada hizo que Thom rompiera a llorar. (no existe confirmación oficial de esto).

Fue editada junto a dos rarezas de lados-b: India Rubber y How can you be sure?.

India Rubber es una lánguida canción compuesta por Jony Greenwood y solo fué  tocada en vivo una vez, mientras que How can you be sure es una sobreviviente de los viejos tiempos de On A Friday, la banda que dio origen a Radiohead. Esta última además contiene una segunda voz femenina !.

También se edito una segunda versión de este single, esta vez acompañada de tomas en vivo acústicas de Fake plastic Trees, Bullet Proof y Street Spirit. (esa versión de Street Spirit es magnifica, consiganla ! ).

El video se hizo en los Angeles en un viejo hangar y estuvo dirigido por Jake Scott (hijo del gran Ridley Scott ) y muestra a Thom siendo arrastrado en un carrito de supermercado atestado de botellas y cajas ordenados por color, mientras extrañas cosas suceden en el plano posterior (como por ejemplo repositoras usando remarcadoras como pistolas ).

Fake...creció rápidamente en el mundo Radiohead y constituye uno de los pilares del sorprendente The Bends, un verdadero clásico que la banda rara vez deja fuera de un setlist y un punto álgido y de alta intensidad emocional, siempre al borde del llanto, en cualquiera de sus conciertos.

Son especialmente memorables las tomas en vivo de ambos conciertos de Glastonbury, 1997 y 2003, asi como la de Eurockeenes 2003 (ya posteada en este blog videoyoutubesco ).-

Glastonbury 1997

Pienso que lo que Thom intenta comunicar en esa letra es la idea de la sustitución de un mundo real por uno de mentiras y falsedades. un mundo de consumo. Diríamos que la imagen es perfecta, un muelle sede de industrias que cae en el olvido y arroja sus trabajadores a la desocupación y a la desesperanza, sustituido por el mundo irreal de las finanzas en el cual la naturaleza es solo un elemento decorativo y por ello es de plástico. Un mundo de marketing, de marcas comerciales, que postergan al individuo, que lo aislan, que lo reduce al rol de consumidor mientras se lo canibaliza en su consumación.

Pero por sobre toda esa interpretación, Fake Plastic Trees tiene profundos significados en mi. Es la canción que me acerco a Radiohead, cuyo video y su imagen poco acorde a lo convencional (un rubiecito tuerto paseandose en un carrito !) hizo que saliera disparado a la disquería a saber más de ellos (hubo un precioso tiempo pre-internet, niños, en que uno mataba su ignorancia con el tipo que sabia más que uno, nuestro disquero de confianza). En un corto tiempo y dada la momentánea carencia de recursos, alguien me regalo ese disco y contribuyo a que mi cabeza hiciera crack.

En lo particular la considero una de las mejores canciones que Thom haya compuesto en su vida, integrante de un hipotetico top 3 junto a Paranoid Android y a Everything in its right place.

Nunca, lo juro, me he subido a eso arboles sin que mi piel no se erizara, sin que mis ojos no se llenaran de sal.

Fake Plastic Trees, una de las canciones de mi vida.

Eso es todo, disfruten y compartan.

FALSOS ARBOLES DE PLASTICO.

Una regadera de plástico verde

Para una falsa planta china de goma

En un falso suelo de plástico

Que ella le compro a un hombre de goma

En un pueblo lleno de planes de goma

Para deshacerse de si mismo

Eso la desgasta

Eso la desgasta

Ella vive con un hombre derrumbado

Un hombre de poliestireno trizado

Que se desmorona y arde

Que solía hacer cirugias

A chicas en los ochentas

Pero la gravedad siempre gana

Y eso lo desgasta, eso lo desgasta

Y eso lo desgasta, eso lo desgasta

Ella parece verdadera

Tiene gusto como si fuera de verdad

Mi falso amor de plástico

Pero no puedo evitar sentir

que podría estallar a traves del techo

Si solo me diera vuelta y corriera

Y eso me desgasta, eso me desgasta

Y eso me desgasta, eso me desgasta

Y si yo pudiera ser el que vos quieras

Si yo pudiera ser el que vos queres

Todo el tiempo

Todo el tiempo.

Viideo Oficial de Fake plastic Trees.

He is the father of Jeff Buckley, and like his son, he died young, in 1975, at the age of 28 (two years younger than Jeff when he died).   Truly sad, and a great loss for the rest of the world.

But I'm thinking that there is a great amphitheater somewhere, and Tim and his boy are jamming some divine 12-bar blues, trading verses about their lives, and sharing their joys and missteps.  Admission and beer are free, every seat in the house is a winner, and it only stops when everyone's had their fill.

BONUS ROUND:

I first heard this song as a cover from the band This Mortal Coil, a kind of supergroup on the 4AD record label, a company that was known for backing musicians of high artistic quality but maybe not as much commercial potential.  Elizabeth Fraser of the Cocteau Twins (another favorite band of mine) sang the song in this version.  I love this track.  Even though it's packaged differently, the strong, simple beauty of the original song shines through.

See Big Truck at Staines

Oct 12 2008      8:00P Staines Hobgoblin £3 entry

BIG TRUCK

BIG TRUCK are a young West London-based rock band. They have been established for just over a year now, having played almost 50 shows in and around the London area. In this time BIG TRUCK have not only recorded their debut album ‘One Long Saturday Night’ but also played a sold-out show at Camden’s Purple Turtle to celebrate its first press. Since then BIG TRUCK have been well received on many independant radio stations in the UK including Total Rock, Inferno and Brit FM to name a few. This was followed by a recent brief tour of Canada and airplay on UPV Radio 102.5 FM in Spain, proving that BIG TRUCK have both UK and international appeal.

BIG TRUCK are a four-piece line up with soaring guitars, driving bass, solid drums and choruses that have you singing along before you even know the words. They hail their influences from a variety of contemporary and classic bands - Foo Fighters, The Who, Muse and Jimi Hendrix to name but a few. The debut album ‘One Long Saturday Night’ is available for sale, along with some very stylish merchandise, through their website as well as at live shows. When asked for a quote about the band, producer and Nick Olivieri’s Mondo Generator guitarist Simon ‘Spud’ Beggs simply stated "BIG TRUCK rock!" No words have ever been more truly spoken. BIG TRUCK are now back in London promoting their album.

Their debut album OUT NOW! (www.bigtruckmusic.co.uk)

Vaughan Pryce-Jenkins // Vocals, Guitar
Jimmy "Fingers" Dockerill // Guitars, Vocals
Mark Kozlowski // Bass
James "Hands" Betchley // Drums

http://www.myspace.com/bigtruckmusic

2.

Catch some New  Acoustic Folk - Staines

Oct 9 2008      8:00P The Hobgoblin (Staines) Entry £3

Afterspark's members Cate, Adam, Ed and Jude accidentally wrote some songs together at the start of 2006 and since then have played on radio shows and at gigs and festivals across the country.

The band plays a dynamic mixture of soaring vocals, foot stomping rhythms and subtle textures that range from the tiny sublime to the beautifully unflinching. They have an album 'Sometimes We Forget', self-recorded and self-funded, which you
can hear on the left, and they also have an EP 'A Simple Life', both of which are available from afterspark.co.uk

http://www.myspace.com/afterspark

3.

Great Works of Bach on Cello  at Walton

Wednesday 8th October 12.15pm Lunch, 1.10pm Concert  Riverhouse Barn

Suites Nos 1 and 4 for solo Cello, J.S. BACH

A welcome return to Canadian Paul Marleyn on a visit from Ottawa where he is professor of cello at the University. This concert is an opportunity to hear two of the greatest works for cello played by a fine musician.

-  full price £13.00
-  without lunch £9.00

riverhouse boxoffice
Manor Road
Walton-on-Thames
Surrey KT12 2PF

01932 253354 (24 hrs)

4.

Rock with Enjoy Destroy - at Windsor Firestation

Oct 9 2008      7:00P ENJOY DESTROY w/ CANTERBURY     Firestation Windsor

Basingstoke/Guildford Rock/Alt band

If you like Biffy Clyro or Foo Fighters you will love this up and coming local band. See them this week at Windsor's new Arts Venue, The Firestation

Link:

http://www.myspace.com/enjoydestroy

5.

Rock and Punk at Windsor Old Ticket Hall

Oct 8 2008      9:00P supports ALASKA & at Old Ticket Hall     WINDSOR

Scars & Sirens

Comprised of four talented musicians from Reading/Windsor, Joseph Spencer - Vocals/Rhythm Guitar; Lloyd Henning - Lead Guitar/Backing Vocals Matthew T.D. Rees - Bass/Backing Vocals ; Charlie Brown - Drums the hard-dedicated Sirens are
compelled to make their mark on the rock scene.

Once known as ‘The Otherside‘, the string-slingers prepare to take on their much anticipated challenge of producing the most powerful Rock tracks of the era. It's here show how passionate we really are about our music...

Links:

http://www.myspace.com/scarsandsirens

http://www.myspace.com/theoldtickethall

Get Your Tickets for Beck Theatre, Hayes

The Beck Theatre
Grange Road
Hayes
Middlesex
UB3 2UE

-Visit AdPontes-Staines Regularly for Staines Arts-

Sadly, he died very young, at the age of 30, just a couple of years after he recorded this song and the album from which it came, "Grace."  I was very, very upset when I heard he died.  So much promise, and so much potential for more beauty to come from his heart:

"This is our last goodbye
I hate to feel the love between us die.
But it's over
Just hear this and then I'll go:
You gave me more to live for,
More than you'll ever know."

This song says more about heartache than I could say in 5,000 words.  But since I'm your daddy, I feel compelled to offer my two cents.  When you love someone, and they don't feel the same, or if you think you have something good with someone, but they blow you off, be prepared for an awful kind of hurt.  A general pain that knocks the wind out of you, worse than a sucking chest wound, just harder to diagnose from the outside.

If you're normal, it's going to happen to you.  And it's going to be miserable.  But time really does heal all wounds.  You WILL get over it.  You may bear some scars, but we all have them.  Consider it a side effect of being human.  Sometimes you have to take the bad with the good.  And there is plenty of good out there.

So when you're in a funk, and you can't see that light at the end of the tunnel, rest assured that you are not alone.  Let Jeff Buckley share your pain.  Together, perhaps, you can ride out the ache, like I hope Jeff's family and friends have been able to do since his tragic death.  Maybe even using Jeff's own music to help them through it.

These songs will make my week. Two of James' songs just because I got his new album yesterday.

You may not have heard of Planet Brain yet, 3 quiet Italian school friends who have been slowly honing their craft for the last decade, but once you have been exposed to their elegiac, transcendent rock music you will be hard pressed not to separate your life into two distinct categories: pre and post Planet Brain. The culmination of years of writing, refining and aural exploration their 2007 debut album ‘Compromises & Carnivals’ was an explosion of styles. A calling card album that contained a mesmeric set of songs that offer up a foundation that could easily be as important as Radiohead’s ’Pablo Honey’ or Muse’s ‘Showbiz’.  Fusing together the psychedelic tinged guitars of Swervedriver and ‘Gish’ era Smashing Pumpkins to the caustic bombast of latter day Muse they created an album seared with a heartfelt vitality rarely captured on record. In singer Marcello Batelli they are blessed with one of the most emotive voices in music today, though his operatics never overshadow the music, with rhythm section  Nicola Zagrando and Claudio Larese Casanova (yes really) provide a muscle that propels Planet Brains music to deep within any listeners conscious. Following the UK release of ‘Compromises & Carnivals’ on Function Records the band have toured their homeland as well as making frequent exploratory trips to the UK. Currently completing recording on their follow up EP which sees the band pushing their sound to a darker, heavier sounds cape they will be embarking on an Italian tour in November and returning to the Uk in the winter. I recently managed to grab some time with Marcello in order to discuss the bands back story, writing process and where they are heading.

Ok to kick off for those who don’t know can you introduce yourselves and give a brief history of the band. How you formed, what you wanted to get out of the band when you started?

We formed back in 1999, when we were about 15. Nicola and I used to play already together since we were at secondary school, we recorded some stupid songs about our teachers on a demo tape. Then we met Claudio and settled in his house, still our current homestudio-rehearsal room. Our first line up showed Claudio on the keyboards (he’s the drummer now), me (Marcello) on the drums (afterwards moved to guitar and vocals), Nicola on the guitar (then forced to be a bass player). We just started the band to entertain ourselves, without a real project. We soon began to write our own songs ('Walkie-Talkie' is one of the first songs we wrote), and we recorded a first demo-album in 2001 called 'Bottom of the Seas', followed by the 'Orange' EP in 2002, recorded by winning a local contest. We got another “ghost album” recorded in 2004 which was never been released, but some of the songs that were on it had been included in 'Compromises and Carnivals' (2007), our debut album.

The songs on 'Compromises & Carnivals' cover a huge range of styles from the epic versions of 'Gash Discipline' to the highly intimate moments such as 'Prince Astronaut''. Can you talk us through some of the influences that have informed Planet Brains music and also how the writing process works, how you work as a unit and the timescale over which a song might develop, as despite containing complex parts you can imagine being carefully assembled over months when listening each song sounds so natural you can almost see it being created in a few hours.

Most of the songs of 'Compromises and Carnivals' started just as improvisations. We use to jam a lot and record demos when we practice. Some songs were assembled by taking the best parts that came out from the jams, and some others were just left as close as possible to the original versions. Anyway, there is no such thing as a real method in our writing process. Sometimes it all just starts with a guitar riff, or a drum pattern. 'Prince Astronaut' was written by me, alone, in many days, and...yes, in an intimate setting, but “Who do you think I am”, for example, was finished only in 3 takes. Above all, the most important thing we focused on was to preserve the original energy - a sort of spontaneous and emotional feeling - each song has in the first takes.

As a band a lot of the reference points that come up include Muse and Radiohead..... but my mind always brings up early Smashing Pumpkins, as well as some elements of shoegazing from the late 80s early nineties in the UK, Stone Roses, Inspiral Carpets, Swervedriver...which drew heavily on pyschedelic guitars. Without asking you to do the impossible and label your own sound what would you flag as the bands formative influences?

You’re right, I am a true Smashing fan. Anyway all the three of us listen to different kind of music, and I can say there are no specific bands to which we refer. Nicola is more keen on 70ies psychedelic-progressive bands, such as King Crimson or Yes, Claudio listens a lot to Tool or Porcupine Tree, and recently I loved Sigur Ros, Oceansize and Mars Volta. Actually, these are just the first bands that come into my mind, not necessarily the main ones.

Vocally do you have any artists you look as markers for what you want to achieve on record. The style of singing you employ brings names like Jeff or Buckley, Thom Yorke and Matt Bellamy and though its easy to see why you always maintain a a unique voice. When did you first really realise you could sing and what were your first experiences of singing?

Brilliant vocalists such as Buckley and Yorke have obviously been great teachers. But I also learned a lot from singers just like Billy Corgan, Layne Stanley or Bjork, for example, whose vocal techniques are personal and excellent without being methodic and perfect. When I started singing my main aim was not to break my vocal strings after each concert! That was simply my first experience of singing. Now I would love to acheive a wider use of the voice, I mean not only in extension, but also in a richer range of tunes and styles...from falsetto to growl!

Lyrically what inspires you to write? Do you draw on personal experiences or do you look for outside influences? Quite a lot of the lyrics seem to be examining the protagonists struggles with their own psyche a lot of the songs talk about someone searching for salvation or answers? In terms of the latter what are the band reading/watching/ listening to right now?

Both personal experiences and outside or literary influences actually. It is true that there are lots of characters taking parts in the songs, and the recurring themes are psychologic questions, states of mind, perceptions...together with language and (non)logic matters. Most of the time it’s all about suggestions or it’s all written around a single word I particulary like. I’m more interested in catching the song mood through the sound of the lyrics then in telling a complete story.
About what the band is reading/watching...mmh, I don’t know, but I’m surely not wrong if I say that Nicola is watching a horror film and reading a fantasy book...haha! Claudio will be on a more romantic/comedy style movie/novel. I am currently reading an old Japanese book, 'Essays in Idleness' by Kenko, which is awesome.

With 'Compromises & Carnivals' you achieved a definite sound, from the drums to the bass and even guitars, across the entire record. How was this achieved and did you have specific ideas and reference points for the sounds you wanted when you went into the studio or is it something that evolved over the recording process? Also where does the title come from?

We wanted the album to sound as a whole piece. The ten songs were written in differents periods so we tried to give them a continuity effect. At the same time, we wanted the album to sound as natural as a live concert, but with a clear and detailed recording. That is why the instruments settings are mantained the same across the record and the over-dubs are just a few.
The title of the album comes from a line in the second track. It can be representative of many of the themes of the lyrics and it could also reflect, somehow, the way the album is composed: free jamming improvisations (carnivals) transposed and fitted into song-forms (compromises).

You seem to thrive in the live environment and the shows are always a little special. How important is the live experience for Planet Brain, how do you approach shows and do you find the songs develop and change at all live?

When rehearsing we used to think of the songs in a “live” way - that is “how could it be that song when played live?” Being a three-piece band makes you concentrated all the time on how to fill the spaces in the songs, not to leave holes in sounds. But for hard you try this during rehearsing, stage always remains a challenge. It is our privileged testing field, not only to improve the new songs, but also to bring back the old ones to their original jamming structure. I don’t find the songs change at all live, I think they’re gradually evolving gig by gig, confirming the fact that songs are a living thing...that has to be experienced!

Whenever I’ve seen you in the UK you’ve been on line ups where you stand out from the style of bands you play with, yet despite being maybe not what the crowd expected you have always gotten a great response. I wonder if you could talk about this and also if you face a similar situation in Italy? Are there similar bands around at the moment or is it similar to the Uk where the scene is getting a lot heavier in many cases?

Yeah, that was part of the magic of our UK gigs. It also happens here in Italy to share the bill with heavier bands. Last weekend we played together with a metal friend-band (Wrath Prophecy), and it was awesome, we both enjoyed it a lot. I think that the heavy scene finds more spaces just because its fans religiously support their favourite bands and their live shows, more than “indie” audience does. Anyway, it was great to catch the attention of different crowds during our UK gigs, and when we were worried for our set being mellow, we simply tried to recreate an atmosphere on stage, as a new start, or just...kick ‘em out!

You have what appears to be a very good relationship with Function Records, can you talk a little about how this came to be and the benefits of the relationship to date?

I would say that our relationship is a friendship first, before being any sort of business partnership. It all started as a “bands exchange” between PB and Lebatol (the band that’s running the label). We organised a short Italian tour for Lebatol in 2005 and the plan for us was to come to UK for an equal tour. Lebatol Italian tour was awesome, we will never forget that, we had such an amazing time. After that they asked us to put one of our songs on a 7”...then probably an EP or...and finally we decide to release the album.
It’s a matter of fact that they do for us more than we did for them, and we have to thank them a lot for this. Hope they could join us for a longer tour of Italy, possibly later this year.

You’re currently back in the studio recording for a new EP. How are the sessions going and how are they differing from the 'Compromises & Carnivals' sessions? Are you using the same methods/studio/producer?

It’s going to be much different. This time we’re recording all by ourselves at our homestudio, “Brainland”, while 'Compromises and Carnivals' (except for guitars and vocals) was recorded and mixed in a real professional studio. Plus, we just bought a reel-to-reel 16 tracks recorder,  so we’re going to mess things up with analogic stuff. Sessions are starting right in these days. The reel-to-reel seems to work fine, tapes have just arrived, I haven’t finished the lyrics, but we’re ready to go! We are working without a producer, even if I’d love to, but we’ve done some pre-production demos lately, in order to try and see which are the main mistakes in each songs, and that method helped us a lot.

What can we expect from the new material, how has the Planet Brain sound evolved?  Any more crazy studio effects.. like the alarm at the end of 'Vision' that still has me checking my phone!!!

Haha! Yeah, that was what I wanted as a reaction! We should ask N*kia an endorsement for that. I think this time we will be more concentrated on the sound research itself, also because we have to play the role of the sound-engineers, and I’d prefer to waste some time in experimenting new miking techniques, rather than new ring tones. I’d like the whole sound to be different and renewed, but I can’t tell now how will it be obviously, as much will depend on what we’ll discover during the recordings.
I think new songs represent a step further what we tried on 'C&C'. There is a wider use of a sort of a “cut-up” technique (not properly a Borroughs’ one): more odd tempos, more puzzle-wise structures and juxtaposed melodies. We wrote long prog-ish songs and then made a synthesis of them. I like to imagine those songs simply being “tracks containing three or four different themes mixed together”, just like an object made of different materials but still a single piece. I know that each theme of a track could have been worth its own developing into a proper song, but on the other side I love these tracks being so chaotic and full of distractions, as if it was an environment you’re in, observing things from multi-angle perspective views.

Guitar wise how do you feel your playing has changed since 'C & Cs'? Have you changed your set up and if so how? What effects are you currently using?

Well something has changed in my set up. In these last days I’m trying a double amps setting, switching between (or putting together) a Fender Twin and a Vox AC30, but I don’t think I’m going to use that on the record...I need to practise. I’m using different tunings and some new effects/pedals (GigaDelay, Comp, Phaser, Octaver) as well as new overdrive/distortions, Big Muff and stuff. Also Nicola is using different distortions for the bass. On the newest songs I’m more a rhythm guitar than a lead one - as it was several times in C&C. That is because we worked on the arrangements as a whole body, trying to enframe each instrument (guitar in this case) in the other two (bass and drums).

I have a few American friends who have all been digging PB recently and have been ordered to tel you to get over to the states NOW!!!! On that theme where would you like to play that you havent already visited and are there any particular gigs or festivals you’d love to play onday?

Yeah! Please tell your American friends we’re ready to go NOW!
What’s Glastonbury? Never heard this, is it another small-indie-fest like Pinkpop, Reading, Rock Am Ring, Sziget? with an up-to-30 people audience? Haha, Glastonbury would be awesome even if we were the first opening band at 9 am playing a 30 mins set.
We would love to play more around Europe, or follow a bigger band in a part of their tour as supporters.

Looking forward we obviously have the EP coming up and you return to the UK in late August before a tour of Sicily... beyond that what does the winter 2008 and beginning of 2009 hold for Planet Brain?

No masterplan at the minute. Anyway: touring more than ever, keep writing new songs, having fun...why not?

Ok so a quickfire last few... when not playing or writing music what would be a perfect day out for Planet Brain?

Out in the outer space! What else could the Brainians ask?

We’re buying...what are Planet Brain drinking?

Hoegaarden (just our temporary trend – it was Mojito last summer and Guinness two summers ago).

Finally and very cheekily....what went wrong at Euro 2008???!!!

Toni.

thank you again.

Thanks a lot!
Love

ciao!
You can check out planet Brain news here: Planet Brain.

You can buy Planet Brains debut album through Function Records.

1. Ben Harper - Glory & Consequence
2. Ben Harper - With My Own Two Hands
3. Jack Jonhson - Better Together
4. Jack Johnson - Good People
5. Jack Johnson - Belle
6. The Donavon Frankenreiter Band - Make you mine
7. Matt Costa - Shimmering Fields
8. Matt Costa - Emergency Call
9. Animal Liberation Orchestra - Barbecue
10. The John Butler Trio - Zebra
11. 2Pac feat. Nas - Thug Mansion (acoustic)
12. Incubus - Make Yourself (acoustic)
13. Jeff Buckley - Last Goodbye (Live MTV London 95)
14. Anthony and The Johnsons - Deeper Than Love
15. Lauryn Hill - Adam Lives in Theory
16. Radiohead - Creep (acoustic)
17. Anari - Minaren Funtsa
18. Ruper Ordorika - Bihotz Begiekin
19. Ruper Ordorika - Zaindu Maite Duzun Hori
20. Zura - Kordoba

[AUDIO http://sudurpuntown.podomatic.com/enclosure/2008-10-06T22_52_47-07_00.mp3]

deskargatu: 04-AKUSTIKOA

O mundo da música está cheio de histórias de artistas que sofreram mortes prematuras, sejam causadas pelo comportamento padrão de sexo, (muitas) drogas e rock'n'roll, ou devido a acontecimentos indesejados que não podiam ser previstos. E, é claro, há aqueles que parecem verdadeiros highlanders, que viveram todos os excessos possíveis (alguns até mais do que isso), e que, mesmo assim, continuam aí para contar a história. Abaixo, uma pequena lista com exemplos de nomes que se foram cedo demais e aqueles que não se sabe como continuam vivos:

Os que partiram cedo demais:

Cliff Burton

O baixista do Metallica é creditado pelo resto da banda como o integrante essencial na definição do som característico da banda, o maior exemplo da sua contribuição sendo a música Anesthesia (Pulling Teeth). Durante a turnê européia do álbum Master of Puppets, o ônibus da banda perdeu o controle ao passar sobre um trecho da estrada em que havia uma camada de gelo, capotando e caindo de um barranco. Os outros membros escaparam com ferimentos leves, mas Burton não teve tanta sorte, sendo atirado pela janela do ônibus que, depois, parou em cima de seu corpo, ocasionando sua morte instantânea, aos 24 anos de idade.

Stevie Ray Vaughan

Um dos grandes nomes do blues, responsável pela criação de clássicos como Texas Flood, Pride and Joy e Crossfire, além de uma versão memorável para Voodoo Chile (Slight Return) de Jimi Hendrix, Stevie Ray Vaughan teve uma morte inesperada após uma apresentação junto com sua banda Double Trouble no dia 26 de agosto de 1990. Vaughan estava numa turnê junto com Robert Cray e Eric Clapton, e foi informado de que havia um assento vago nos dois helicópteros que levariam a equipe de Clapton de volta para Chicago. Enquanto o helicóptero de Clapton chegou a salvo no destino, em conseqüência do mal tempo o helicóptero em que Stevie Ray estava bateu em uma pista artificial de ski, não deixando nenhum sobrevivente e encerrando sua carreira aos 36 anos de idade.

Jeff Buckley

Filho de Tim Buckley, morto aos 28 anos por uma overdose de heroína, Jeff também teve sua vida encerrada cedo, quando apenas começava sua carreira como músico profissional. Apesar de seu primeiro álbum Grace, lançado em 1994, não ter se saído bem comercialmente, Buckley começou a trabalhar em 1996 em seu sucessor, que seguiria a mesma linha do primeiro disco.  Segundo seu amigo Keith Foti, Jeff resolveu nadar um pouco no Wolf River antes de ir ao encontro do resto de sua banda para trabalhar nas gravações. Foi foi até o carro para guardar alguns objetos e, quando voltou, não encontrou Jeff em nenhum lugar. Uma semana depois, o corpo de Jeff Buckley foi encontrado perto da nascente do rio Mississipi, morto por afogamento aos 28 anos de idade.

Os que inexplicavelmente continuam vivos:

Pete Doherty

O ex-vocalista do Libertines e atual Babyshambles, Doherty é conhecido por seu uso constante de drogas, tendo inclusive se prostituído durante sua adolescência para sustentar seu vício. Seu vício em heroína é tanto que já foi fotografado injetando a droga em uma fã durante um dos shows do Babyshambles. Segundo seu agente, Andy Boyd, os únicos momentos em que ele tem certeza absoluta de que Doherty não está consumindo heroína ou crack é quando está dormindo, em uma de suas visitas à reabilitação ou cumprindo uma de suas diversas penas na prisão. Seu vício descontrolado torna seu nome obrigatório nas listas que tentam adivinhar qual famoso irá bater as botas durante o ano.

Eric Clapton

Apesar de não ter participado de nenhum grande escândalo devido a seus vícios, Eric Clapton passou por períodos em que não tinha mais nenhuma controle sobre seu uso de substâncias ilegais. Segundo sua auto-biografia, durante três anos sua rotina era consumir a maior quantidade possível de cocaína, enquanto se alimentava basicamente de chocolate. Quando percebeu que o dito cujo lhe traria a morte ou falência, trocou a dependência da cocaína pelo álcool, tornando-se cada vez mais dependente deste. No começo da década de 90, após duas passagens por clínicas de reabilitação, Clapton venceu de vez seus vícios, tendo inclusive fundado o Centro Crossroads, que trata de dependentes químicos.

Ozzy Osbourne

Possivelmente o mais famoso caso de um cantor “imortal”, Ozzy não escapou sem seqüelas aos anos de abusos. Não que sua real condição seja aquela apresentada no programa The Osbournes, onde aparecia como um zumbi incapaz de pronunciar qualquer palavra que fizesse sentido ou de processar raciocínios simples. Mas o Madmen claramente carrega as conseqüências de uma vida de abusos, com seu vocal longe de possuir o mesmo alcance do começo de carreira, e com reflexos afetados, além de ter desenvolvido a síndrome de Parkin, um defeito genético com efeitos bastante semelhantes à síndrome de Parkinson.

It's almost embarrassing to admit, but given sufficient resources I would follow Rufus anywhere. Possible exceptions are Ravinia and festivals, the former of which I despise and the latter of which are too much of an endurance test for an old broad like me.  The morning after I saw Nick Cave last week, I spoke to a guy who told me he used to work for Cave and had seen him over 150 times.  A normal person hears the absurdity in that, but I just feel jealous because I can't do the same for Rufus and have "only" seen him ten times.

Having established that I may perhaps be a little touched in the head, the more interesting question is What drives a person to the kind of fanaticism that compels them to drop everything and spend hundreds, even thousands of dollars following a near-stranger around the country, even the world?  When the Release the Stars tour finally closed at Radio City Music Hall on Valentines Day 2008, I met a large contingent of folks who traveled all the way from the U.K.  One of them had also been at the Milwaukee show in August 2007, but we didn't manage to hook up that time so I was glad to finally meet her.  Fans don't need to ask fans why we do these things, because it's understood that we all would see every show if these things didn't cost a bundle and if we didn't have lives and kids and jobs to contend with.  Space Station Gamma?  I'm there, just let me stock up on Tang and space food sticks.

The one thing die-hard fans have in common is the impulse to follow the objects of our affections to the ends of the world, but the particulars that draw us to a given band or performer are utterly personal and idiosyncratic and as inexplicable to "normal" people as they are obvious to us.  It might feel to me as if I've been adoring Rufus all my life, but my spouse reminded me last night that I tend to move from one musical obsession to another.  Beginning with Harry Nilsson in 1970, followed by Elton John, The Kinks (Ray Davies), Hank Williams, Leonard Cohen, Jeff Buckley and then finally Rufus, I have found a chemistry with each person that drove me to explore and cherish their essences and creative productions to the fullest.

The only ones of these artists I've been lucky enough to see multiple times were the Kinks and Rufus Wainwright.  Hank Williams died six years before I was born, Harry Nilsson didn't do live shows and it's unlikely he would ever have played near Peoria, and my parents vetoed my one chance to see Elton John in his early 70s-heyday.  I caught Leonard Cohen at the Park West in 1994 and Jeff Buckley two nights running at the Green Mill in 1996, the latter of which looked like an outlandish extravagance at the time but which has since been more than validated as a precious, even historic opportunity.

The Kinks I saw more times than I could count, but I roughly estimate I saw about twenty shows.  I chased them to Louisville, Philadelphia, Madison, Milwaukee, and some college town in Indiana that I can't remember, not to mention many shows in and around Chicago.  So besotted was I with the the band that I waited by the stage door after shows and during sound checks for those tidbits of personal interaction with Ray Davies, often in the company of this woman.  The first time I saw him up close in the lobby of the O'Hare Hilton, I was struck completely dumb with awe, which inspired him to bend down (and down and down) to kiss my cheek.  I lived on that high for days, just as I did the time he scuttled past a group of us starstruck girls into the backstage door of the Uptown, only to return with five glasses and a bottle of champagne.

As much giddy fun as it could be sometimes, a few tours and several uncomfortable experiences down the line it dawned on me the schlepping and waiting around had become a chore.  After all, once you've given Ray Davies 40 presents for his 40th birthday, there is really nowhere left to go but down.  Not only had the band's music become increasingly-heavy handed, but I felt increasingly alienated and self-conscious about the whole process of hustling for acknowledgement from people who clearly didn't care remotely as much about me as I did about them.  My dear friend was rather upset with me when I opted out, but my heart just wasn't in it anymore.

Given my position on these matters, I decided early on not to make any effort to meet Rufus.  I never again wanted to see a fantastic concert and feel dejected because I "only" saw the show, so I made sure the show itself was the main event that it deserved to be.  I have never once regretted this, even when Rufus walked right past me on Belmont Avenue after a 2004 show at the Vic when my ride was late.  Had I not been chemo-sick I might at least have mustered a smile, but that's another story.

Looking over the list of performers I've become attached to, I stop to ponder what on earth they all have in common.  Some are outsize personalities like Elton John and Ray Davies, others more subdued like Harry Nilsson, but they all have written memorable songs (Jeff Buckley the least so, but I believe the potential was there).  What Jeff Buckley did have--in spades--was that ability to throw himself into a song and feel the music so intensely that you felt it along with him, just like Rufus.  Watching this kind of performance is the closest thing I know to a religious experience and an orgasm put together, and in all honesty Rufus can be quite the master of the o-face:

He is also smart and funny and does exquisite things with a piano, which is why I can't help feeling deprived when I'm too far away to catch every detail.  when he announced a February show at the Hard Rock in Las Vegas in 2004, I told myself I would search Ticketmaster just to see what was available, but I wouldn't buy a ticket because I had no way to go.  When a ticket in the fourth row came up, self-control went out the window and I bought it thinking "I will have to sell this, but you never know."  When a dear friend offered to pay for my hotel and airfare because I was seriously ill and he was far too kind for his own good, I went.  When you are inbetween your lumpectomy and beginning eight cycles of chemo, to be followed by 30 radiation treatments, you would be a fool not to jump at a chance like that while you knew you still had it.

My mother surely didn't raise no fool, so there I went.  If you watch the San Francisco Fillmore show DVD packaged with the Want Two CD, you will see a show very much like the one I saw at the Hard Rock just a couple of days before, from my fourth-row seat (stage right, no less).  Rufus opened those shows alone at the piano, singing "L'Absence," by Berlioz.  I am a jaded old hardass and don't tear up that easily, but I was just so overwhelmed by the beauty of the song and so grateful to be there after all I had already gone through that I cried and forgot to dread chemo for awhile.

Unfortunately I was unable to find a video clip of the Fillmore performance online, but you can listen to the audio here.  For those of you who simply must have the o-face, here is a August 1 2008 performance from Verbier, Switzerland with Gabriel Kahane at the piano.  When I finally exit this wicked world I would appreciate it if you could make sure this song and "Lost Highway" by Hank Williams are on the playlist, just my way of saying it was worth the trip and then some, partly because these songs exist:

And if by chance you found a pretty blue rhinestone frog by 1928 on the floor after that Las Vegas show (purchased in San Francisco, oddly enough), I wouldn't mind having it back unless your initials are R.W.

This weeks 405 Debate is another 'Who's version is better?' affair. This time its a four way wrestling match to see who's version of 'Hallelujah' is the best!

Take a listen below and give us your opinion!

Leonard Cohen (Original Version)

[audio http://captainsdead.com/weedking/cohen/2/06%20Hallelujah.mp3]

Jeff Buckley

[audio http://broadcasterhouse.com/carrotrope/buckley/10%20Hallelujah.mp3]

Beirut

[audio http://www.whokilledthemixtape.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/08/beirut-hallelujah-leonard-cohen-cover.mp3]

Rufus Wainwright

[audio http://www.anyones-guess.com/listenhere/rufushallelujah.mp3]

Let the debate begin!

Jeff Buckley singing the beautiful aria of dying Queen Dido, in Henry Purcell's opera Dido and Aeneas from 1689.

Jeg kan jo ta for meg artister jeg ikke helt takler. Først må jeg jo bare si det da at det virker som terskelen til studio og plateutgivelse har blitt EKSTREEEEMT lav for tiden. Hvem som helst kan jo gi ut plate. Og vet du hva? Jeg tror Idol er en stoooor synder der. Idol viste liksom at hvem som helst kan bli artist, og om du ved impuls fikk lyst til å stikke på en audition så kan du faktisk ende opp med å bli artist.. og det har gjort at standaren for artister har blitt superlav og jeg er en av de som må lide ved å høre musikken når jeg f.eks må ut å handle eller sitter på en kafé.

Men ja..artister jeg ikke takler.. du har jo f.eks Neil Young, Bruce Springsteen, Bob Dylan, Creedence Clearwater Revival er bl.a de artistene fra Oooold time som jeg ikke klarer. Null fan av musikken deres og synes jah..det fenger ikke i ørene mine. Jeg vet jeg beveger meg på tynn is her nå, men den sjansen er jeg NØDT til å ta ;)
Av kvinnelige artister så har vi jo også noen å ta av da.. Mariah Carey, Britney Spears, Cher, Christina Aguilera, Dido og ørten andre som jeg faktisk ikke har orket å lære meg navnet på.

La meg slippe å nevne boybanda..

Men mannlige og kvinnelige artister som er prime of the prime i mitt hodet er: Tom Waits, Jeff Buckley, Sufjan Stevens, Tony Bennet, Ben Harper, Thomas Dybdahl, Paal Flaata (riktignok i Midnight Choir) John Legend, Samuel Ljungblahd, Rick Pino, Jason Upton, Tori Amos, Ella Fitzgerald, Regina Spektor, Silje Nergaard, Maria Solheim, Misty Edwards.. jah.. det er så typisk at hjernen blir tømt for navn når jeg faktisk skal skrive om det.

Det finnes jo band som bare gir deg THE RIGHT FEELING liksom. A Perfect Circle, Pain of Salvation, Silver (HVERTFALL Billboard Blackout ep'n), Samuel Ljungblahd, Blindside, Thomas Dybdahl...yeah! Noe bare gir deg good feeling lissom:)

HVA gir deg good feeling når det kommer til musikk? Tell me tell me :)

Artista: Jeff Buckley

Álbum: Grace

Ano de lançamento: 1994

Lista de faixas:

1. Mojo Pin
2. Grace
3. Last Goodbye
4. Lilac Wine
5. So Real
6. Hallelujah
7. Lover, You Should Have Come Over
8. Corpus Christi Carol (For Roy)
9. Eternal Life
10. Dream Brother

Before that, here are a few definitions and terms to remember:

Clothesline: The same thing as a grapevine in gossip-based conversations.

"Oh man, I heard on the clothesline, that M.I.A just did the Diesel party."

Deck: A key word for most Hipsters, similar in meaning to the antiquated fresh. To be deck is to be up on the latest trends, cutting edge, and/or hip.
"That tassel we met at the gallery opening sure looked deck in her cowboy boots."

Chipper - a woman who's easy
sentence: "She's a real chipper and will sleep with anyone after one bronson." (Bronson=Beer)

Fin - the opposite of deck, similar to outdated terms like "wack" and "lame." Something that is fin is bad or undesirable.
sentence: "How can you like that Vin Diesel movie? Every film he's ever starred in has been fin."

The Frigidaire - the cold shoulder
sentence: "I don't know what her problem is, but she gives me the frigidaire every time I see her." 

Here we go!

7. The remix and the mash-up

With the advent of digital recording software, and the ease at which someone can just cut and copy a song, we've seen remix and mash-up tracks pop up everywhere. These "new ideas" don't just occur in the realm of hip hop and rap music, they're everywhere! We've seen acts like Girl Talk take the indie hipster scene by storm this year and the scene will only get bigger and bigger as time goes on. As for the remix. most itunes released indie albums include someone's remix of one of the popular songs on the album. For instance, we have Crystal Castles remixing everyone from Liars to Uffie and let's not forget all the remix tracks of "Paper Planes" (Yes i know that you knew about that song when Kala was released, well before Pineapple Express, and that you are a "True Fan. Listen to "Sunshowers" on Arular and claim it as your own... Give it up) 

Listen/Download:Sunshowers

8. Skinny Clothing

All hipsters wear skinny clothes... Mostly... All

There are a lot of rules... Skinny shirts, skinny jeans, skinny underwear, all of these fall into this hipster fave. Whether you've just begun wearing American Apparel's boxer briefs or you finally picked up your 510's, be assured that you will be declared hipster scum upon stepping onto 18th street (DC not New york). On the right we have some typical skinny jeans. 

Skinny is in. Fat is not. Go hit the Gym  dance-floor!

9. Obscure Bob Dylan material

Bob Dylan has recorded something like 7 billion songs. Outside of his major works lie bootlegs, demos, rarities and live recordings. Here we find Bob Dylan's most obscure flashes of brilliance. Of my limited Bob Dylan knowledge i've chosen "Talkin Hava Negeilah Blues" for your listening pleasure. This is a great example of an obscure Dylan song to show your friends. This will help your claim the title, "Best Itunes Library ever". If they don't understand or believe you, go into the classic 1966 Royal Albert Hall argument. 

Talkin hava negeilah blues

Enjoy!

Things to look forward to:

Record reviews of Kanye West, Ben Folds, The Cure, Land of Talk, High Places, Gentlemen Jesse and his Men, Of Montreal, Vivian Girls and The Sea and Cake.

A Fabakis remix of "Reckoner"

On repeat articles about The Mountain Goats, Jeff Buckley, The Byrds, and The Zombies

The Fabakis October playlist

Halloween Party!

and more articles and interviews

Muse "Plug in Baby" http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ncO5O37fNqQ
Muse "Thoughts Of a Dying Athiest" http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=glx9SVaH2uw
Rush "One Little Victory" http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iJM1TXeRYQY
Nirvana "Where Did You Sleep Last Night"  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ndBnvEXyCtY
Jeff Buckley "Hallelujah"   http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AratTMGrHaQ
Radiohead "You" http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1CnCWAncnwE
Radiohead "Go Slowly" http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qzHCyX6q71w
Radiohead "My Iron Lung" http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xsW7tmK3cWs
Radiohead "Wolf at the Door & Creep" http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-gq7uLqCqPo
Radiohead "I Promise" http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iSmib3mpw3M
Radiohead "You And Whose Army?" http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TQwsB_Aonmg
Jeff Magnum "In the Aeroplane Over the Sea" http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q2jkyuT8unw
Beck "loser" http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-l3_gwIOTGI
Death Cab For Cutie "Title and Registration" http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yl6Cq2mOUF8
Peter Gabriel "in Your Eyes" http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iXRPm7faABo
Seikima II "Jack the Ripper" http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n441gF-sU-Y
The Pretenders "Louie Louie" http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yq7TyAjje0Y
Joe Strummer & The Mescaleros "I Fought The Law" http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lSCkAfW1Gaw
The Strokes & Jack White "New York City Cops" http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-f-o1OBjBPc
The White Stripes "Astro/Jack The Ripper" http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gR0Ri6jNyZQ
The White Stripes "Seven Nation Army/Death Letter" http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xi8KdTk0u0g
The Smashing Pumpkins - "1979" http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X3piyO5veDI
Arcade Fire "Neon bible" http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wjxef8AfVQg
Arcade Fire "Wake Up" http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G8QYnxIjHWg
The Raconteurs "Bang Bang(My Baby Shot Me Down)" http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xhGnuHuD5Fc
They Might Be Giants "Istanble (Not Constantinople)" http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JeQ-wjDH4F4

Here are a few odd and or interesting versions of songs to mull over this weekend. First off we have Jeff Buckley doing a cover of "I Shall Be Released" from his live record. Next we have The Mountain Goats cover of Ace Of Base's "The Sign". And lastly, Ben Gibbard playing Avril Lavigne's "Complicated"...

Enjoy!

I Shall Be Released

The Sign

Complicated

KEjNU -- A word that could only be understood through song. " ...I draw with the words I sing. They draw a little drawing of something simple but strong, mysterious and psychological. My voice is still an instrument and I want to sing sounds I like... ",  says singer/songwriter Nuél Schoch. The pictures he may see in his head may be different than those in the listeners, but one thing's for sure, they're there. I literally can't put into words to describe how his lyrics feel and speak. He sings what he feels but in a way that draws a picture to show you what he's saying. Though some of it may seem very literal, some lyrics aren't so. Influenced by the likes of Radiohead, Tortoise, Godspeed! You Black Emperor and Jeff Buckley. Whether or not they are obvious, he makes his music his own like he should.

Nuél says asking the standard interview questions is boring and pointless. Why should the listener need to know his opinion on what the rest of the world has an opinion on? Why should the reader care for his life story when all they want to know is how he writes his music and lyrics and the concept of it all? I guess discovering something new and exciting, we dig really deep to find out everything we possibly can about it, when really we just want the good stuff.

When describing an album and picking out the great, innovative sounds and ideas, people tend to leave out the rest that aren't as appealing that may not catch an ears attention. To me, every single sound, lyric and full track appeals to my ears. When listening, you can pick out the obvious catchy songs that can be played on the radio and television, but is that what music is all about? It's the story telling, it's the images in your head. It's the escape we all look for, we all need, to keep our minds off of real life. KEjNU's "Companion" track listing holds that and much more. 

"I was unlucky in love until now. Maybe I'm unable to lead a healthy relationship. This is connected to the music, always. Love and love. It's the only thing that keeps the eyes open for more life." -- Nuél Schoch.

Mirando a través de la puerta veo la lluvia caer sobre los dolientes del funeral
desfilando en una vigilia de relaciones tristes mientras se les llenan los zapatos de agua.
Y quizá soy demasiado joven para evitar que el buen amor se tuerza,
pero esta noche te tengo en mi mente así que nunca se sabe.

Roto y hambriento de tu amor sin manera de alimentarlo.
¿Dónde estás esta noche? Nena, sabes cuánto lo necesito.
Demasiado joven para seguir,
demasiado viejo para liberarme y correr.

A veces un hombre
se deja llevar
cuando siente que debería estar obteniendo su diversión,
demasiado ciego para ver el dolor que ha causado.
A veces un hombre debe despertar
para darse cuenta de que, en verdad,
no tiene a nadie.

Así que esperaré por ti
y arderé,
¿veré alguna vez tu
dulce regreso?
¡Oh! ¿aprenderé alguna vez?
¡Oh! ¡Oh!
Cariño,
deberías haber venido,
porque no es demasiado tarde.

La habitación está solitaria,
la cama está hecha,
la ventana abierta deja entrar la lluvia.
Ardiendo en la esquina
está el único que sueña
que estás con él.
Mi cuerpo da vueltas
y anhela un sueño que
nunca llegará.

Nunca se acaba,
mi reino por un beso en su hombro.
Nunca se acaba,
todas mis riquezas
por sus sonrisas
cuando dormía tan tiernamenta junto a ella.
Nunca se acaba,
toda mi sangre por la dulzura de su risa.
Nunca se acaba,
ella es la lágrima que cuelga dentro de mi alma para siempre.

Bueno, quizá soy demasiado joven
para evitar que el buen amor se tuerza.

¡Oh!
¡Oh!
¡Oh!
¡Oh!
¡Oh! Cariño,
deberías haber venido.

Sí, sí, sí, sí.

Me siento demasiado joven como para seguir
y soy demasiado viejo como para liberarme y correr.
Demasiado sordo, tonto y ciego para ver
el daño que he hecho.
Dulce amante,
deberías haber venido.

Oh, amor, te espero.

Cariño,
cariño, cariño,
cariño, cariño, cariño
cariño, cariño, cariño, cariño,
cariño,
cariño,
deberías haber venido.

No es demasiado tarde.

Es una auténtica lástima que Jeff Buckley muriera tan joven.

He decidido traducir "lover" por "cariño", "amante" me sonaba muy raro.

Maar na het zoveelste gejank had ik verdorie toch de behoefte aan wat degelijk zangwerk. Daarom dook ik eventjes in mijn uitgebreide muziekarchief. Deze mensen mogen van mij eens met elkaar wedijveren in een X-factor à la Lievil:

De nog jonge en hier vrij onbekende Kelly Sweet (Hier met een cover van Aerosmith)

De reeds heen gegane Jeff Buckley (veel te vroeg, veel te vroeg). (Cover van Leonard Cohen)

Een dijk van een stem, en een ab-so-lute X-factor. Zowat iedere man die van zware metalen houdt dweept met Christina Scabbia van Lacuna Coil. Waaronder ook mijn wederhelft *jaloerse blik*. (Gelieve de zanger even buiten beschouwing te laten).

Gene Simmons mag dan wel de langste tong hebben van de rock and roll, Steven Tyler heeft de grootste mond. Letterlijk. En dat kan wel helpen om de trillingen van je stembanden hoorbaar te maken.

Een opleiding als operazangeres en een succesvolle carrière bij metalband Nightwish. Wat meer heeft een mens nodig om de stem te trainen om uiteenlopende genres te zingen? Tarja Turunen mag dan misschien net iets teveel divagedrag vertoont hebben voor de mannen van Nightwish (of zo wordt toch gefluisterd), alleen kan ze het zeker ook aan.

Weer eentje die is heengegaan. Volgens veel de stem der stemmen. En dat hij gouden stembanden heeft bewijst hij op het, weermaals volgens velen, lied der liederen. Freddie Mercury zingt Bohemian Rhapsody.

Een vrouw met ballen en één van mijn allergrootste voorbeelden. Ik neem niet snel het woord 'Idool' in mijn mond maar voor Shirley Manson maak ik graag een uitzondering.

Wat krijg je als je enkele liters madness, oosterse invloeden en een geweldige stem onder een bunsenbrander houdt? De mad professor of rock and metal: Serj Tankian.

Een van de weinige mensen met zulk stembereik. Na een dieptepunt van slutty behaviour en dirrty songs werd Christina volwassen en transformeerde in een ware popdiva wiens zangtalent (terecht!) de boventoon voerde (i.p.v. onthullende kleren en daarbij horende dansjes).

En last but definately not least. Maak zin met: Dijk, stem, Chris Cornell, hebben, een.

De wederhelft heeft reeds 's mans capaciteiten live mogen aanhoren *nog eens jaloerse blik in zijn richting*. En volgens hem moet Chris Cornell zijn mond niet eens helemaal opendoen om zichzelf tot achteraan de zaal duidelijk hoorbaar te maken.(Hier nog met Audioslave)

I resented their laziness. Then I changed topics and vowed one day to write an erudite lit-crit analysis of the text. Especially because Wallace excelled at but distrusted literary criticism. But shite happened and I haven't gotten around to it.

I blogged about a month ago that I felt disconnected from the world when I realized Kurt Vonnegut Jr. had been dead for three days before I knew. It was as though my sadness didn't count any more because I had missed the window.

This time, the world rotated twice before I knew DFW died. The announcement rocked me to the core but didn't change my day. And that, itself, saddens me because it means my life is so shifted off its base that the shockingly early death of one of my top ten creative inspirations doesn't even rate a schedule change. The rest of my week, though, shuddered and sputtered as the implications of his death sunk in.

And I don't know what to say. I've known for two days and I don't know what to say. (Updating this weeks later, I'm still not done processing my grief.) His writing changed me. I saw him speak once (thanks MPB and SBB) and his speaking did not change me. The creepy cult curiously smarmy cadre of followers did not change me. I was rarely tempted to quit my job and run off to Pomona to be his student, because I didn't feel any need to be connected with him personally. I didn't want to be taught by him or to talk with him or to write for him. I wanted to read his work.

And now there won't be more.

I may be silly to feel his death as a weighty presence in my life. The man himself had no presence in my life. His characters, their actions, their idiosyncrasies, their seismically surreal lives had a transient presence in my life. But all I have to do is recall the cover of his weighty novel and I can again touch the intellectual dance of reading it. I can feel my hunger for more as I read myself bleary-eyed for the entire summer of 1997 (I was busy in the summer of 1996. I didn't pick up IJ because of the grant. I picked it up because I wanted a book that would ensure nobody would talk to me on BART, a la The Accidental Tourist. But I loved it intensely then, and would love to reread it now.) I can feel my connection and revulsion and confusion at Wallace's characters every time someone says his name.

And I want more. I'm angry and disappointed that there won't be more.

I loved his lobster piece for Gourmet magazine. I love that he took the job, puzzled at the pop cultural status that brought him such tangential work, and I loved his rambling thoroughness. I loved that he came to the conclusion that it's just not okay to boil creatures alive.

I haven't read the obits. I don't even know how he died. (I found out later and wrote a horrible post on this blog, of which I am embarrassed but which I will not erase.) I don't care how he died. This is not a Jeff Buckley story or a Kurt Cobain story or a River Phoenix story. I wish I knew what kind of story this is. All I know is that the woot from Sept. 16 made me feel all too keenly that nobody will take DFW's place.

And now all I can think is, I hope all you bastard literary canon snobs will read his work, because you missed the boat the first time. When I write my PhD dissertation on his work and one of you lazy self preserving pricks says you haven't read it, I will produce all the contemporary fiction on the shelves and say, "well, it's better than and worse than and different than this....And it's all we have left."

The Macarthur grant bit always forces the genius label. I don't know that he was genius. I just know I really love reading his writing. I don't even know that I love his writing itself. I love the experience of reading it. And that is the ultimate compliment for an author. I don't even love your work, man. I just love what it does to my head.

We're all going to miss you, and our minds are poorer now that yours is silent. I hope, at least, that the pain is gone.

1-Van Halen - Oh, Pretty Woman (Roy Orbinson cover)

2-Jeff Buckley - When the Levee Breaks (Led Zeppelin cover)

3-Radiohead - Ceremony (New Order cover)

4-The Polyphonic Spree - Lithium (Nirvana Cover)

5-The Go! Team - Bull in the Heather (Sonic Youth cover)

6-Foo Fighters - Never Talking To You Again (acoustic Husker Du cover on Radio 1)

7-The Lemonheads - Skulls (Misfits cover)

8-Hot Chip - Sensual Seduction (Snoop Dogg Cover)

9-Hooverphonic - Shake The Disease (Depeche Mode)

10-Adrian Van Meter - Mad World (Tears for Fears cover)

BEZZI