OK, I have so much I want to post today, but I will limit my posts to 2 for now. This is a cover of Massive Attack’s Teardrop by Jose Gonzalez. Believe it or not, Jose Gonzalez is Swedish, yup, SWEDISH! The video is a bit psychadelic, but the song so so beautiful.
One Ring Zero - Here Come The Mannequins
Is anyone here familiar with Barbes Brooklyn? Before I get into the chosen song here, I’d like to tell you a little bit abot Barbes. It’s a music bar in park slope on 6th ave and 9th street. Not only is it my favorite bar in all of the 5 boroughs, it is also a recording studio, or at least a label. Owned and operated by two French musicians and long-time Brooklyn residents, Barbès is an awesome spot to see all kinds of music (usually free with a suggested donation). Their regulars are better than most shows you’ll get to see anywhere. They have everything from indie music like this One Ring Zero, to swing guitarists, to balkan brass bands and much more.
One Ring Zero, featured here, is “…gypsy-klezmer circus-flea-cartoon-music you mainly hear in your dreams.” or…“One Ring Zero’s ethno-pop could have been played in the background of a Balkan-embassy party in the 1930s, but that’s not all there is to the band: The songs on its ambitious As Smart As We Are–which features lyrics by literary figures including Paul Auster, Rick Moody and Margaret Atwood–touch on They Might Be Giants whimsy, Residents-style unease, Tom Waits clank and Marianne Faithful melancholy.” -Time Out New York
P.S. anyone who lives in the park slope area and has never been to barbes should check it out.
Camera Obscura - Tears for Affairs
I feel as though I need to redeem myself after my last post. The heat is on from on high and it burns. This is a bit from the past, but not sure how well known this band became. Their music is innocent, happy, earnest, cheerful, laid-back/mellow, romantic, amiable/good-natured, summery, wistful, sentimental, bittersweet, intimate, gentle, and sweet.
Sergei Gainsbourg and Brigitte Bardot/Jane Birkin (see below) - Je T’aime Moi Non Plus
Time for Thai! Who doesn’t love everything Thai (sans the german sponsored pedophelia)? Although I’ve never been, I imagine most aspects of Thai culture is as spicey as green curry.
The song was originally written for and recorded in 1968 with Gainsbourg’s then girlfriend, Brigitte Bardot. However, Bardot pleaded with Gainsbourg not to release their recording of the song: she was married at the time, to German businessman Gunter Sachs. Gainsbourg complied.
Later that year, Gainsbourg met, and fell in love with, English actress Jane Birkin, on the set of their film Slogan. “Je t’aime… moi non plus” was re-recorded with Birkin replacing Bardot, and was released early in 1969. - Wiki
Enjoy a Thai interpretation on a true love story. Here is a tasty translation: I love you, I love you, Oh yes I love you Nor do I Oh my love Like the wave, irresolute I go, I go and I come, Inside you my love I go and I come, Inside you my love And then I hold on
Devin the Dude - Just Because
In honor of true love, I’ve uploaded something a little different. Devin the Dude is an underground (rap slang for indie) rapper out of Houston. This song reminds me of Digital Underground or old LL Cool J. The rap is smooth and he speaks the truth about love. Ladies, don’t take it personal, we still love you.
Tom Waits - Sea of Love
Well is there anything more romantic than Tom Waits? This song is from the soundtrack for the film, Sea of Love. But more recently from his “Orphans: Brawlers, Bawlers & Bastards”. Daniel Durchholz once said that Tom Waits voice sounds “like it was soaked in a vat of bourbon, left hanging in the smokehouse for a few months, and then taken outside and run over with a car.” I would only add that after being run over by a car, it stood up and made sweet sweet love to the first woman that passed by.
Goran Bregovic & Iggy Pop - “In the Death Car”
One of my favorite videos, songs, and movies. Song by Goran Bregovic and Iggy Pop, movie by Emir Kusterica called Arizona Dream starring Johnny Depp, Jerry Lewis, Faye Dunaway, and Vincent Gallo.
The music of Goran Bregovic is takes Balkan rhythms and eastern european styles to such popularity that the world is beginning to listen with a keen ear.
“Bregović’s music carries both South Slavic and Romani themes and is a fusion of popular music with traditional polyphonic music from the Balkans, tango and brass bands” - wikipedia page
The Welcome Wagon - Welcome to the Welcome Wagon
Although 100% of the christian rock/pop that one hears on radio, late night tv, and in places like grand rapids, mi is bad….i have to believe that there is decent contemporary christian music (myself being of the hebrew persuasion). Despite my optimism, I feel safe in the assumption that 99.9% of christian rock is “god awful”. The Welcome Wagon, featured here, is one of those exceptions. With the help AND strong influence of Sufjan Stevens, who helped with producing, arranging, and providing “extensive instrumentation” on this debut album titled “Welcome to the Welcome Wagon”, they help fill a mighty void left by the absence of any decent follow up to Sufjan’s “Come On Feel the Illinoise”.
For further readings, read:
