What are you listening to right now?

[think positive]

The cutting crew were ok, didn’t stay for the last one, thank god we had free tickets! My sister in law won them, and she already had U2 tickets, so hubby said we would go. Ugh, I’m definitely more of an AC/DC Angels girl! Apparently U2 weren’t much better according to people ringing in to a radio station. I guess our generation of music is getting old!

[watt price tully]

This soulful song from a young Australian song writer / singer / guitarist about the bushfires

Harlin Firmin:

Spotify
https://open.spotify.com/album/35CYUtlnH3r68rN25e5bZF

iTunes
https://music.apple.com/us/album/bushfi ... mpt=uo%3D4

Black Saturday

I remember when I was a baby
that sweet Victoria lady
a land that made me
now this land dismays me

as this heat sweeps on through
now our hearts are burnt in two
to see a lady in such pain
the sky is charred remains

to those heroes in gold suits
see Australia salutes you
for your bravery
I guess I'm blazing on me

and we will sing this song
to our sweet Victoria no longer moans
and new life will come
sadly just like our new life has gone

and there are those that didn't feel at peace
who run with hoses for the families
oh I dismay
oh Black Saturday

breezy gum trees breathing through your windows
now it's black smoke
grab your fire plan
and photo album
and head for the dam

dam why it has to burn so brightly
eating trees and dry leaves
eating houses and families
bringing us to our knees

please say we never going to go that way
oh that all that dismay
Black black black Saturday
for you baby I say

we will sing a song
to my sweet Victoria no longer moans
and new life full come
sadly like just like our new life has gone

and there were those who did not feel at peace
who run with hoses for the families
oh I dismay
oh so I dismay
oh so I dismay
oh black Saturday

[Pi]

Interesting article. It only examines human voice, so its kind of flawed if your trying to understand why different cultures would prefer radically different tonal structures.

https://www.scientificamerican.com/arti ... ZbLNsTVFD8

[Pies4shaw]

Martin Barre at the Corner Hotel. You should have seen (and heard) him wing the solo to Aqualung. It’s fabulous to see someone who isn’t resting on their old technical laurels.

[roar]

Thee Oh Sees - A Weird Exits.

Probably their best album.

[David]

[Pies4shaw]

Fine singer, Lana. The music is a bit derivative, though - it reminds me of that “I don’t wanna fall in love” song by Chris whatshisname - neatly covered by the modest piano accompaniment, rather than the modest guitar accompaniment of the earlier one.

I kind of expected her to start up with “There were 4 of us this morning, there’ll be 1 of us this evening but I most go on....”

Maybe it’s time for Lana to go Full Cohen and remake Jennifer Warnes’ Famous Blue Raincoat - it’s been more than 30 years.

[David]

Speaking of Leonard Cohen, what do you make of her rendition of "Chelsea Hotel No 2"? I really like it, though I'm probably not best-placed to judge how well it stands up compared to the original:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jj_myXdOLV0

[Pies4shaw]

A bit mannered, perhaps? She sings nicely but Chelsea Hotel #2 does not depend on nice singing - and it might even be that it is a lesser piece if it is sung by someone who doesn’t have to strain to keep the notes in pitch. It depends on its apparent rhythmic inevitability - and Lana’s style of singing deliberately breaks that down - she hovers around the tempo (it’s not really rubato - more like she wants to break the sense of rhythm altogether than to emphasise it by holding the pulse back). Lana drops behind the beat because she can (indeed, it is a trademark of her delivery). That undermines the waltz-like aesthetic of the original. The use of 3/4 time in Cohen’s original was, I have always thought, intended to evoke that pop-classical genre of the “haunted ballroom” waltz - except that, in this case, Cohen’s song just has the jaded, faded part (compare with, say, Chopin’s Opus 64, No. 2 in C sharp minor or, if you prefer, Sibelius’ Valse Triste, which filmgoers know as the sad pussycat waltz from Allegro Non Troppo) and the lack of a contrasting, “up” section heightens the sense of loss/regret/passing-nostalgic-whimsy - as you will - of his song. The last stanza (“I don’t mean to suggest that I loved you the best ...”), delivered in strict triple time is heart-wrenching in the original but it loses a little, I think, when it is sung by someone who can ease their way around the melody and drop out of the strict tempo with this much facility.

I hope that’s not sounding too harsh - I actually love Lana but I’m not sure this song isn’t just too personal to cover. Lots of Cohen’s songs are intensely personal but, for the most part, they can be “personalised” by another singer (Judy Collins, Joan Baez and Jennifer Warnes have all made many of his songs “theirs”). This one, I think, may just defy being “sung” by anyone else. Like Lou Reed singing “Sweet Jane” or, if you will, Neil Young singing “Ohio”.

[Pies4shaw]

I should also mention that when I clicked your link, I see from the YouTube recommendations for me (I assume they’re personalised because otherwise the Fairport Convention links are a bit far-fetched) that Lana has actually done a duet of that other song with Chris Isaak, which I see is called “Wicked Game” (who knew?), so maybe her emulation of it was more deliberate than I thought.

[stui magpie]

She has a good voice, I'm not a fan of that cohen song regardless of who sings it. Someone needs to kick it up a notch.

[Pies4shaw]

You might prefer this, then: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W0rZ2CPCYBQ

That's the first track from Famous Blue Raincoat - Jennifer Warnes with Stevie Ray Vaughan.

And here's the second: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bTIaidN ... sQ&index=2

And here's the fifth: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HCXblGX ... sQ&index=5

[Wokko]

Jennifer Warnes known for (I've Had) The Time of My Life from Dirty Dancing does a whole album of Cohen covers that are pretty good.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tNYiMxH ... kwz3vStH90

I think that's the whole album.

[Pies4shaw]

Yes, it is - I didn't think Stui would like the slow ones (eg, "Came So Far For Beauty), though.

See also: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bjrOcrisGyI

[stui magpie]

Much better. Thank you.

For mine, a song can be slow and soft but either needs a killer chorus or an increase in tempo and/or forte to be worth it. A decent beat helps