S(isters) W(ith) V(oices)

Some songs have a certain effect on me. They make me jump up and practice funky dance moves in my living room, while grinning hysterically and singing along really loudly.

I’m So Into You by my favorite 90s girl-group SWV fits into that category. I remember taping this song from the radio and listening to it non-stop when it first came out in 1992. Then I bought a discman, and my tapes where hidden away in a cupboard somewhere. And, shame on me, I forgot about SWV until listening to the GTA San Andreas soundtrack. And thank heavens for GTA, because this is a song to be treasured!

And the video – just fantastic. It’s so prototypically 90s – the styling, the colours, the moves, and the fact that it contains scenes that make no sense at all. I mean, what are the fencing costumes midways all about? Superb.

Philippe Halsman – the father of jumpology

I’m fairly new to the world of photography, and have only just discovered the works of Latvian photographer Philippe Halsman (1906-1979).

And I’m amazed. I love his eye for composition, and the way he managed to establish a strong, silent, yet very visible dialogue with his objects. According to Halsman, the fascinating results of his many encounters with artists, stars and other celebrities, were much due to his psychology skills, his trick being to “provoke the victim, amusing him with jokes, lulling him with silence, or asking impertinent questions which his best friend would be afraid to voice”. He even developed his own, quite amusing, but rather sensible, theory about jumping. Jumpology, Halsman liked to refer to it as, saying, “when you ask a person to jump, his attention is mostly directed toward the act of jumping and the mask falls so that the real person appears”. Quite right. Hope you enjoy these selected works as much as I have.

    

Classical music – not what it says on the tin

I’ve started listening to classical music, and I think it means I’m getting old. But if being old is synonymous with the feeling I get when listening to great musicians play Debussy, Grieg or Beethoven, I cannot wait to get older.

I wish I had paid more attention to what I was taught in music history lessons at upper secondary, though, because the world of classical music is vast. I’m clueless as to where to begin.

Normally in such situations, I would go by looks. Wine, for example. I know the difference between red and white, but that’s pretty much it. Still, if I want a nice wine, I choose a colour and then pick the most sophisticated- and baroque-looking label. Never fails. So I thought approaching classical music in the same way would mean instant success.

A while ago I heard a beautiful version of Rachmaninoff’s Vocalise. After hefty googling, I managed to trace it to the violinist Joshua Bell. Based on his interpretation of Vocalise, I visualised him as a classy, very stylish man – a taller, darker and less rebellious version of James Dean. But when I saw the cover of the CD, I almost hoped this classical music obsession of mine would be short. How on earth am I supposed to find my way around the classical universe when forgettable-looking artists insist on putting their face on the album cover, posing naffly with their instrument, and naming their album Voice of the Violin? I mean, come on… If I saw this album in the shop, turn-off Bell would turn me off listening to his music, and I would lose out on pure Rachmaninoff magic.

Needless to say, I’m quite gutted that my ‘looks’ trick has failed me. Which means I have to find great classical music recordings the hard way. Better get to it, then.

Under The Blacklight by Rilo Kiley

After a short stint as a solo artist, Rilo Kiley vocalist Jenny Lewis has reunited with her old bandmates for a fourth album release – a clever decision, as Under The Blacklight might just be the pop album of 2007.

The four-piece has throughout their musical career shown an impressive knack for writing killer tunes – the heart-wrenching Does He Love You? from 2004’s More Adventurous being just one of many. Blacklight, however, is the L.A. party’s first major-label debut, and possibly their bravest record to date. They have moved away from their indie hive, and chosen to give listeners a master class in embarrassingly charming melodies, killer hooks, power refrains and arrangements so loving you want to hug your foes.

So what’s the key behind Rilo Kiley’s sovereign recipe of perfected pop? Shameless theft, it seems. The band has borrowed the best pop-elements from every decade, and each of the album’s 11 tracks is brimming with references. Smoke Detector reeks of 60s rock’n roll with its simple guitar riffs, walking bass and handclaps, Breaking Up is an upbeat disco tune, while De Jalo’s latino rhythms and steel drums makes one think of Gloria Estefan in her perm days. Tied together with Rilo Kiley’s signature college-rock-sound and mixed with gospel backing vocals, horns and drum machines, Blacklight is nothing short of a knockout!

 

 

 

Cue neo-grunge

Grunge is back. Or neo-grunge, I should say. Dress like a slacker, and be über-trendy.

Ah, if it was only that easy. Neo-grunge may seem like a piece-of-cake trend to master, but trading fashion-tips with the local busker just won’t cut it. There are rules.

Being a humongous fan of the angst-filled grungy teen drama My So-Called Life, I spent quite a few of my teen years trying to emulate Angela. Which is why, limited to fashion only, I consider myself to be some kind of grunge expert.

Which brings us back to the rules. Read on if you need help mastering the slouchy trend:

1. Plaid: Never, never ever, consider yourself fully dressed unless wearing at least one plaid/check item. Preferably an oversized shirt.

2. Layering: Essential. Not as in I’ll-see-how-many-items-in-my-wardrobe-I-can-wear-simultaneously. No. Oversized shirts, baggy vests, big jackets, and stuff tied around your waist, combined with Kurt Cobain-style tees for dudes, and tight-fitting tops (the bodysuit/leotard ones that you button together in the crotch) for dudettes. And accessories. Lots and lots.

3. Mismatch: Colour-coding is a no-no. Unless it’s black, that is. Lay off that neon-coloured stuff, though. Nature is your pallet.

4. Messy hair: You still need to wash it. The trick with neo-grunge is to look scruffy, but still smell of flowers. After your daily shower, go bananas with styling products, and don’t stop until you hair looks a bit like dreadlocks gone wrong. You’ll look a million pounds without causing a stink. Literally.

5. Dr. Martens: Forget dabbling in fancy-looking new twists on Doc’s old formula. Keep it hi, black, worn and torn.

Alternatively, use grungemeister Johnny Depp as your guide. Boy or girl, copy him. You’ll look hot.

Here My Dear by Marvin Gaye

Motown Records, first released in 1978.

Here My Dear was the result of Marvin Gaye and first wife Anna Gordy’s divorce settlement, where a court ruled that all royalties from Gaye’s next, yet-to-be-recorded, album should go to the daughter of Motown-boss Berry Gordy.

Gaye immediately started recording Here My Dear, giving a detailed account of every aspect of their relationship, from love and parenthood to infidelity and deceit. Gaye felt betrayed and dispossessed, and intended to let everyone know by softly cooing ‘If you ever loved me with all of your heart / You’d never take one million dollars to part’.

Who would have anticipated that something originating in such a cold and vengeful break-up could end up sounding so emotional, warm and sincere? Funky keyboards, sleek horns and sensual beats form the background for Gaye’s soar and sensual melodies, the result being everything you would expect from the man who helped define smooth. Seldom does one hear the feeling of despair being expressed as delicately as Gaye perfects it in When Did You Stop Loving Me (When Did I Stop Loving You). Here My Dear is indeed a lecture in how to make sensitive, heart-felt, yet raw music, and the rough termination of his marriage seems to have added even more emotion to his already silky-sore voice.

Once the album was released it received poor critiques, as everybody assumed it was simply something Gaye had put together to insult Anna. This might have been the immediate intension, but the idea of dealing with romance’s every aspects through music soon became an obsession, and Gaye did end up putting his all into the making of the record.

And luckily, over the years Here My Dear has been given the recognition it deserves. Even Anna – who didn’t exactly rejoice when first being played the album – could not at length resist the beauty of this musical masterpiece. Truly one of the most inspirational compositions ever made.

Chelsea Girl by Nico

Released in 1967 on Verve.

Born in Germany in 1938, Nico moved to New York in 1960 to pursue a career in modelling. Her heavy accent and cool European manners soon caught Andy Warhol’s attention, and the two became close friends. This is how she was introduced to John Cale and Lou Reed from The Velvet Underground, and came to feature on the band’s infamous banana album in 1967.

Though the Cale-Nico-Reed triangle did involve a certain amount of tension – assumedly the two lads were equally enthralled by her beauty – they helped Nico write and produce Chelsea Girl in 1967, together with guitarist Jackson Browne. Bob Dylan also contributed with the very Dylanesque track I’ll Keep It With Mine. It was in fact he who encouraged Nico to become a singer, which might not come as a surprise considering none of them really match the prototype of a vocalist with their melancholic voices that often wander off-key.

It is safe to say that Chelsea Girl is the feminine take on the characteristic Velvet-sound. Nico carries the symphonic Wrap Your Troubles In Dreams, the psychedelic It Was A Pleasure Then, and the melancholic title-cut with vigour and elegance, and even though she hasn’t written any of the tracks, she takes complete control of the music, the result being a very individual and personal sound.

The stripped down arrangements for guitars, strings and flute, beautifully accentuates the strong, timeless melodies which make Chelsea Girl unique in its simplicity. And though Nico sings with a demanding, dark and monotonous voice throughout, there is still a fascinating vulnerability to the music, underscored by her broken English.

The Golden Sixties did not just provide Nico with great musical influences, but also a severe addiction to drugs that eventually became her downfall. But Chelsea Girl still stands as an extraordinarily beautiful piece of music you want to return to over and over again.

Daedelus at The Luminaire

The other day I went to Kilburn. It’s not very often I’m in northwest London. In fact, the last and only other time I went to Kilburn, was to linedance with hardcore cowboys in some sort of community centre-cum-wino den. But I like Kilburn, the air seems cleaner there for some reason.

Anyways, the reason I dragged myself to that end of town, was because I had a date with Daedelus at The Luminaire. Never been to the venue before, and apart from the ridiculously sticky floor that made me walk out of my shoes a few times, I quite liked it. Particularly the little ladies’, where I went rather bananas with my camera (check out my Toilet Scribblings before you start playing around with that thought).

But back to the main man. Daedelus definitely hangs out in the right circles – MF Doom, Prefuse 73 et. al. are amongst his many collaborators. But his work has never really caught my attention beyond ‘yeah-great-stuff’. However, I was told he was a firecracker live, and decided to check him out.

LA-based Daedelus is not your typical man-plus-mac act. He looks Edwardian in his vest and tie, he dances like I imagine the Tin Man would, and he sports a massive pair of sideburns.

And he makes friggin great music! At The Luminaire, Joe Jackson samples, bird twitter and funky beats were shrewdly mixed together with hard techno and high-pitched female vocals. Smooth one moment, and delightfully frantic the next. And after an hour filled with dancing, ‘whoh’-ing, a few technical problems (which Daedelus tackled with utmost elegance), and two encores, the Daedelus gig sails in on my Top 5 Gigs list. For a taster, check out Daedelus live in Chicago below.

Toilet Scribblings

I was at The Luminaire recently, and during the course of the evening, I had to visit the ladies’ room. The entire toilet was decorated with scribblings – walls, cubicles – so I started to read. Some stuff was quite funny, some just looked good, so I started taking pictures. And then I thought, hey, I’ll keep doing this, and turn it into a little project.

And here are the first contributions. I’ll keep going to public loos, and hopefully people will continue bringing their felt-tip pens to the toilet. Stay posted. Oh, and next time I’ll use a proper camera…

D’Angelo – D’Man

So, D’Angelo is one of my favourite artists ever. You can tell from his music that he loves Curtis Mayfield, Marvin Gaye, Prince – the people that matter. And although he can never supersede any of these greatnesses, he has managed to combine them all in his music. Which, in my opinion, makes him THE soul star of our generation.

His first album, Brown Sugar (1995), is pure smooth. D’Angelo has an amazing voice, and when he layers his own backing vocals, you get the sweetest, most fulfilling choir harmonies. He also plays the keyboard, and I mean plays as in the real sense of the word – he works it, he uses it’s potential. Some might say he makes love to it, and I wouldn’t disagree. It’s soul dripping with soul.

And D’Angelo didn’t disappoint with his follow-up, Vodoo (2000). Althoug slightly more ‘difficult’, once you crack it, you’re going to want to bring it with you everywhere. Just in case you need a fix. Once you delve, listen, understand and love, I promise, you’re one step closer to understanding important stuff.

Although he’s just released two albums (not counting Live at the Jazz Cafe from 1998), he has done lots of collaborations with Raphael Saadiq, Erykah Badu, BB King, Lauryn Hill and Curtis Mayfield, to name but a few. They’re all worth checking out. But of course, they are just teasers for when D’Angelo – who’s since Vodoo has been in a car crash, arrested, and who knows whatnot – choses to release his third album. In the meantime, check out this live clip of Chicken Grease.