To sing or not to sing...
“Music is the cup which holds the wine of silence.”
Robert Fripp
Charlie Haden and Carla Bley – Silence
I don’t know if this will divide opinion. It certainly takes a long time to get nowhere in particular but I find it utterly mesmeric, much like the (Haden and Bley arranged) Liberation Music Orchestra take on We Shall Overcome. This is sustained, mournful minimalism and every splinter of emotion is felt all the more like a death knell.
May1366
Horse – Careful
Zalamanda’s “Wichita Lineman” nom reminded me of this late 80s single, the B-side of which was Horse’s take on the song. One of several records from that era that were forever being re-released in the hope of making them a hit (see also “Mary’s Prayer”, “Dignity”, etc). I’ll be interested to hear what people think of this. I veer between loving it and thinking that that bizarrely tremulous foghorn voice is doing battle with the strings (and the lyric) rather than complementing them.
bishbosh
Yoshida Brothers – Storm
From the recently-purchased Best Of Yoshida Brothers – ありがとうございます。Sakura-chan – I give you a shoo-in for the theme to the next Oriental-located Bond/Bourne/Powers/Johnny English film.
DsD
When Saints Go Machine – Fall Forever (Nicolas Jaar Remix)
This track, Fall Forever, from Danish electro-pop band When Saints Go Machine, is too good not to send in. After Efterklang, I’m beginning to think there’s something good in the water in Copenhagen.
glasshalfempty
Davy Spillane Band and Rory Gallagher – One for Phil
Davy Spillane plays the uilleann (Irish) pipes, and Rory Gallagher hums and plays guitar on this much-too-short tribute to Phil Lynott. Rory Gallagher probably needs no introduction, but Davy Spillane may be less well-known. He was a founder member of Moving Hearts with Christy Moore and Donal Lunny in the early ’80s. He has subsequently worked with many other musicians including Rory Gallagher and Andy Irvine. His album “East Wind” (with Andy Irvine) inspired Riverdance in the mid ’90s. I think he is a fantastic musician and I love this track, but if you don’t like the pipes, best move on to the next selection!
Ali Munday
Ella Baila Sola – Amores de Barra
Marta and Marilia were a duo that wrote songs about being young in mid nineties urban Spain. Great observers of the fauna inhabiting the night. This one’s about one night stands or “Bar counter love” as they decided to call them. The lyrics are excellent – right down to the make up quickly applied in the loo to make sure of getting their man.
Mrs Maki
Please send submissions to earworm@tincanland.com – thanks! Hope you’ve all had good Xmases! xx
Yippee! I’ve just finished the Festive ones, so this is a welcome refreshment of supplies. Thanks Bishbosh. *dons headphones*
Ahh, Ejaydee. Charlie Hayden and Carla Bley. Sophisticated as ever – but a tad depressing for me (says the Roy Harper fan) – admittedly, polishing off a bottle of wine beforehand probably didn’t help, but just too sad.
Bish – Horse – we agree to differ most of the time but I quite like this. I can see why you’re divided about it. The voice is very strident, but it has an emotional pull and in the right circumstances I would really enjoy it. It reminds me, strangely, of Alison Moyet. Which is good.
DsD – We often sing from the same hymn sheet and I really like this. I can’t do Sakura’s technical and astute reviews, music is something that either grabs me or it doesn’t. And this is a surprise – a certain “je ne sais quoi,” as they say.
GHE – you and Mnemonic have this kind of similarity in taste – couldn’t put my finger on it but perhaps it’s the hypnotic / trance kind of feel. Maybe it’s an age thing (no offence) – takes me back to early ‘70s and Steve Hillage era. Superb, probably my favourite this week.
Davy Spillane – mine – superb – too short but compliments GHE’s choice. Nice one Bosh, you have an ear. Or maybe two.
Ella Baila Sola – ah, Mrs Maki. You’ve caught me at last. Very soft and catchy. Na, na na na na, na. na ….
Happy Christmas everyone. And if anyone has a bottle of wine they’d like to share …
Hi Ali
Glad we finally found something in common ! Loved the Davy Spillane, he made an album with Miguel Bosé in the early nineties and was well respected here in Spain, here is one of my favourite tracks, hope you like it !
Ahh, very mellow. Reminds me of some of the modern (as was) Breton music my French penfriend used to play! Lovely, thank you.
There’s a Bose album, ‘Bandido’, that features on Peter Hammill completists lists too, lyrics, translations and backing vocals on various tracks.
Your excellent choice has taken me back to a forgotten album I bought years ago – Davy’s ‘A place among the stones’. (Do you know it?). Listening now – balm for the soul. Thanks…
Funny that, GHE. We’ve just dug it out on cassette (!) for a listen.
Ejaydee? That was May1366. But they do have some overlap in terms of musical taste, innit! The Charlie Haden et al is a little too stately for my poppy tastes, but it does gain in grandeur rather nicely as it progresses. I think I always like ghe’s choices – you have the taste in music that I wish I had, sir! Really like that Davy Spillane too – and thanks for being so patient in waiting for it to appear, Ali! I had been feeling rather guilty about how long I’d been holding onto it… Ditto Mrs Maki’s choice (which I really like too). And as for DsD’s choice, well, it’s just majestic. Love-love-love it.
Re my own choice, I think it works in parts (I adore the “over, over, over, over” x 2 bit), but find other bits (eg, that protracted note at the end) almost unlistenable! But I thought I’d include as it did pop into my head (and ear) unexpectedly recently – and as it seemed to segue quite nicely into DsD’s selection!
Goodness, just found a rather lovely* cover of “Careful” by Will Young:
Who knew?!
*If you like that sort of thing.
Well, I do.
Hungerford’s favourite famous son (I think), and one of my favourite talent show winners (not that I generally follow such programmesm you understand – it’s just that his career transcended his X-Factor-or-whatever-it-was beginnings). He has a pleasing voice.
Mine too, Amanda. Perhaps not quite as much of a fave as Girls Aloud musically (he has a tendency to go too ‘Jamiroquai’ for me), but he has a lovely, expressive voice. And seems like a charming, intelligent chap. He’s on my fantasy dinner-party guest list. Glad he’s still got a career going – this year’s “Jealousy” was rather wonderful.
This’ll make a fine excuse to don headphones to avoid the drilling noises as I fasten Darcey’s new telly to the wall!!
May 1366 / Ejaydee – so sorry. Blame the wine – or general distraction. My son just called me ‘The Queen of Weird’ ….
No problem, Ali – always flattering to be mistaken for ejaydee other than in our respective choices of football team!
When I started listening to “Silence”, the volume on my player was set quite low, and there was a rather trepidarious moment at the beginning when I was concerned that the track was to be several minutes of its title. But then I turned it up and the horns faded in (it is some kind of horn?) and my next thought was how sad it was. The mournful feeling stayed with me throughout the track. I thought it was beautiful, but difficult – mainly because of its sadness (which seemed unrelenting) – and I have to say that I would not seek it out. But I am glad that I have heard it, and I would not turn away from it.
Horse‘s powerful vocals (and the way that she seems to be singing in the back of her throat) reminded me of the singer from Bliss:
I quite liked Bliss, and I quite like this – although I have absolutley no recollection of it from back in the day…
… having said that, I’ve just listened to Horse’s rendition of “Wichita Lineman”, and the cover art that constitutes the video looks familiar. I wonder whether my sister had some of Horse’s recordings? I wouldn’t go a bundle on the cover, mind. It doesn’t seem to work so well as “Careful”.
The Yoshida Brothers track was delightful. It sounded wonderfully and genuinely cheerful, and chased away any mournfulness lingering from “Silence”.
I appreciated the pun in When Saints Go Machine‘s name, but found their music largely unmoving, if interestingly tinkly. It didn’t help that the vocal was, to my ear, cold and unappealing – probably as a result of whatever electronic treatment it had undergone.
When I saw the names Davy Spillane and Rory Gallagher, I knew I was in for some sort of treat. That it was a slightly abstract piece, with wordless vocals, didn’t especially bother me – I just thought it was too short!
Ella Baila Sola rounded the set off nicely with a wonderful pop moment, possibly the most accessible song on the list despite being in a foreign language. Loved it.
Happy Noo Year All!
Charlie Haden & Carla Bley. I can see why May found this haunting, but it kept reminding me of the theme to “Coronation Street.
Horse was ok, but not the sort of thing I’d choose to listen to.
The same goes for the Yoshida Brothers.
When Saints Go Machine. I just can’t get into electro-pop – my loss, I guess.
I liked Davy Spillane and Rory Gallagher.
Also liked Ella Baila Sola.
Thanks for these Bish. Sorry I wasn’t more enthusiastic about Horse.
Not at all, Mitch! As my comments above show, I’m fairly ambivalent about it myself. I think I wanted others to make up my mind for me! Happy New Year when it comes!
I’ve occasionally advocated for and posted Carla Bley on RR and here, and I loved May1366′s selection here. It’s only minimalist in the way that the blues is minimalist, I shall listen to this a few more times and look up the album.
It’s the first I’ve heard of the ensemble known as Horse, and I liked that. I hate it when DJs and reviewers try to describe music in terms of other music, but that had Eleanor Rigby-ish strings with Joan Armatrading-ish vocals and all the better for it.
I skipped to the Davy Spillane / Rory Gallagher because I like them and Phil Lynott, and that’s great too. It didn’t sound like Uilleann pipes though, more like a wooden flute / recorder. Wikipedia (whci isn’t 100%) has a page about the album which says he plays the ‘Low Whistle’ as well as pipes on the album, so maybe that’s the track with the ‘Low Whistle’. Lovely though, and good to recognise that Phil Lynott belonged to Ireland as well as to rock’n'roll.
I’ll return for the other three songs, but Christmas isn’t a time for sitting next to one’s wife with headphones on… I’m looking forward to them though. Cheers all and Bish as always.
Charlie Hayden and Carla Bley. Sublime, subliminal, hypnotic and that. Loved it.
Horse – “It reminds me, strangely, of Alison Moyet”. Me too – and Andy Bell and Antony Hegarty – excellent. Somebody please tell me what the tune reminds me of…..
Yoshida Brothers – yup this is an ideal spy movie theme – not unlike a few Bollywood songs too – great stuff – I want to hear more of this lot – my third “earworm of the week”. Surely we can’t keep this up.
When Saints Go Machine – yes we can – this is beautiful – I’ve just listened to it for the fifth time and it gets better each time.
Davy Spillane/Rory Ga.. – Never bin a great Rory Gallagher fan – I can see he’s talented but his music isn’t generally my cup of tea. Plus, one of my ex-flatmates used to own a Moving Hearts album which she would play obsessively every evening.
This I enjoyed a lot. Nice balance of the bluesy and the traditional. A light touch but heartfelt.
Ella Baila Sola – Yup – pure pop for latino people – and the rest of us. Lovely.
That was a good set innit…….
Finally, finally got around to listening and was very glad I did.
Really liked the whole lot, but special props must go to May1366′s and GHE’s exceptional contributions