a recompense for what's done
by Sean
Please note: MP3s are only kept online for a short time, and if this entry is from more than a couple of weeks ago, the music probably won't be available to download any more.


 

two songs for a long night (or for your cheery morning, i suppose). thanks for stopping by.

Nick Drake - "Fly". An alternate version of "Fly," taken from one of Nick Drake's home recordings. It's a hopeful song, a song of lovely visions. Here, however, the Bryter Layter orchestration has been stripped away. and Nick's voice is more urgent, set too close to the mic. When he pleads ("Please!" he says), there's a desperation that's almost painful for me to hear. The music breaks me in half - one side goes winding out along sunlit paths, the other's left alone in the wood, cheeks stained with tears. Really, Nick seems closer to the former feeling than the latter, but listening, I'm not.

The Small Faces - "Ooh La La". One of the finest folk-pop songs ever recorded, a song of such bursting optimism, such reassuring candour. A song that's seen sunsets and the sunrises on the other side. A song for bruised hearts creaking open. Guitars jangle, piano trots, Stevie Marriott Ron Wood singing like your closest friend, rallying you (and rallying himself). For many of you this will be a familiar treasure, but for those who don't know it - listen, revel, live. As for me - this is a song I simply need.

Benjamen Walker prepared an excellent introduction to the mp3blog thing, which aired on NPR this weekend (scroll to the bottom). I said a few words, and you can also hear from Matthew Perpetua, among others. Many thanks, as well, to Douglas Wolk at the Village Voice, who mentioned StG in an article last week. With all this growing attention (there's been talk of Reuters and the NYT doing articles), I can't help but wonder when the Canadian media will begin to pick up on the story. Maybe once the election's been called they'll have more time to dedicate to the minutia of the blogosphere. :)

update: Matthew's post about his new email address reminds me - I'm still waiting for the chance to nab a gmail account. If anyone out there has got an invite that they'd be willing to pass my way, I'd be very, very grateful. Apparently my old blogger account isn't enough to earn me an invitation. Thanks!

Posted by Sean at May 3, 2004 11:57 PM
Comments

One of my favourite Nick Drake songs. This version makes me just as sad though. Its beautiful, though. Thank you.

Posted by Glading the Wanderer at May 4, 2004 12:51 AM

Are The Small Faces and The Faces the same thing?

Posted by esquire1983 at May 4, 2004 5:38 AM

There's a new album of Nick Drake recordings out later this month, including 'Tow The Line', the last song he ever recorded and some of the home recordings, I think. 'Ooh La La' is one of my favourite Faces' songs - the Small Faces were an earlier, substantially different band (eg no Rod). Interesting radio piece - hope it doesn't lead to you or Fluxblog being shut down tho'!

Posted by Dymbel at May 4, 2004 8:09 AM

Thanks for clarifying, Dave... I didn't realize that Rod didn't join the band till they reformed (egg on my face!). I've modified the post accordingly.

And yes - I heard about, and am trying to track down, that unreleased Nick Drake song. So far no luck (I may have to wait for the release date!!!). I wonder if it'll be anything special, or just another hissy, half-baked tune.

Posted by Sean at May 4, 2004 12:31 PM

That radio feature was very interesting.. I'm sure the college radio analogy holds up, but in terms of general music radio it breaks down. What the mp3blogs do is to lead taste and break new artists in the way that radio used to, but the rise of clearchannel and consumer driven radio has meant that the sole purpose of a radio station now is to reflect what its listeners like, as if people are happier to hear the same tunes all the time, from set playlists with the DJ's free choice marginalised to as little as one song a week.

If anything, I think mp3 blogging is a service to the music industry, for which they should be thankful; I've bought three albums in the past month of which I probably would never have heard but for reading these sites.

Posted by kieran at May 4, 2004 1:19 PM

Actually, "Ooh La La" isn't a Small Faces song at all. It's a Faces song off of their final album. So, this was recorded well after Steve Marriott left the band and they reformed with Rod Stewart and Ron Wood. That said, it's not Stewart singing on the track either. It's Ron Wood.

Sorry to confuse things even more :-)

Posted by Emery at May 4, 2004 1:20 PM

Oy, Emery, you've got to be kidding. :) All right, updated accordingly. Thanks!

Kieran - I think Ben would agree with you completely, and so do I. An individual's favourite mp3blog(s) will be the one(s) who 'break' music that is new to the listener and altogether great. There's only a minor thrill from reading a blurb about a track you're already familiar with - you hope to be exposed to new stuff, or to antique gems that you missed the first time round.

Just out of curiosity, which records have you picked up thanks to the bloggers?

Posted by Sean at May 4, 2004 1:53 PM

wasn't 'OHH LA LA' featured in the end credits of a movie?? i am having difficulty remembering which movie..

Posted by brad at May 4, 2004 1:54 PM

How's THIS for creepy synchronicity? I was just listening to both Faces and Drake this weekend before going on a massive Laughner bender.

Didn't Ooh La La play over the credits of The Royal Tenenbaums?

Posted by Paul at May 4, 2004 2:24 PM

Hmm~ I have yet to listen to the NPR piece because I refuse to install RealPlayer :x Do you still need an invite to Gmail? I'll do it if you haven't gotten one already :p

Posted by elchan at May 4, 2004 2:26 PM

I honestly can say that Ooh La La is in my top 5 songs ever list, and that's a damn hard place to be. Oh, and I would heart a Gmail account too, if anybody has any spares laying around. Really.

Posted by Shane at May 4, 2004 2:45 PM

The albums I've got based on the samplers here were advisory committee by Mirah and now more than ever by Jim Guthrie (I couldn't find 1000 songs anywhere unfortunately, but I like this all the same and it also led to a purchase of Royal City's Alone at the Microphone by proxy) and I got the CocoRosie album after hearing them over at fluxblog.

The other nice thing about mp3blogs is that they are about music that the blogger appreciates, which stops the descent into pfork style reviews aimed at critical mileage rather than actually commenting on the music. It's nice to read about the music itself, rather than have it contexualised within its musical heritage and inevitably defined in terms of another band's music. It's really hard actually to describe music and music journalists rarely do, but it's something at which stg seems to excel (see the description of Modest Mouse's Bukowski).

Keep up the good work :o)
kieran

Posted by kieran at May 4, 2004 3:21 PM

Ooh La La played over the credits of Rushmore, not the Royal Tenenbaums. I remember hearing it for the first time there and being enthralled with the song for months.

Thanks for reminding me how much this song kicks ass, Sean ...and this version of Fly is fantastic.

Posted by rojazz at May 4, 2004 3:39 PM

did you just get done doing a wes anderson marathon?
the faces track was in rushmore over the beautiful slowmotion final shot. and 'the fly' was in royal tenenbaums when ritchie is going home from the hospital in the bus. now you just need a bottle rocket track, i suggest "zorro is back" by oliver onions.

Posted by paul at May 4, 2004 3:56 PM

Aside from that song, the Faces album is terrible. But that song is good. Oh, and the final track from Tennenbaums was a Van Morrison track.

I sent you an invite to gmail, if you're interested. I haven't really got into it yet, but it's still new. The interface is pretty crappy, and reminiscent of a stripped down yahoo. Anyone know if the official release will get a redesign?

Posted by music robot mark at May 4, 2004 4:01 PM

close, 'ooh la la' played during the credits of the other wes anderson film, rushmore.

Posted by mike d. at May 4, 2004 5:46 PM

i must recommend Silkworm's version of "ooh La La" on their excellent record called Lifestyle. has anyone heard this? it is worth checking out.

Posted by scandal face at May 4, 2004 10:11 PM

To confuse things even more: I think "Oh La La" was sang by the late Ronnie Lane, not Ron Wood. It's been ages since I last heard it, though.

Posted by Diego at May 5, 2004 1:56 AM

I went and checked the liner notes on the Faces album (the one with pop-up cover). Both Ron Wood and Ronnie Lane are credited for writing the song.

(nerd)

Posted by music robot mark at May 5, 2004 2:32 AM

I seconde kieran : mp3blogs (and STG in particular) give people a chance to escape from the main commercial stream, and help labels touch a larger audience. It may concern already curious listeners, though.

BTW, I've just bougth The Frames' "Set List" and intend to buy more of them, as well as Iron and Wine (see salon.com Wednesday Morning Download) or Stereo Total (see indiepoprock.net).

Thanks for your work.

Cheers :)

Posted by Ronan at May 5, 2004 3:06 PM

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about said the gramophone
This is a daily sampler of really good songs. All tracks are posted out of love. Please go out and buy the records.

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Said the Gramophone launched in March 2003, and added songs in November of that year. It was one of the world's first mp3blogs.

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about the authors
Sean Michaels is the founder of Said the Gramophone. He is a writer, critic and author of the theremin novel Us Conductors. Follow him on Twitter or reach him by email here. Click here to browse his posts.

Emma Healey writes poems and essays in Toronto. She joined Said the Gramophone in 2015. This is her website and email her here.

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Dan Beirne wrote regularly for Said the Gramophone from August 2004 to December 2014. He is an actor and writer living in Toronto. Any claim he makes about his life on here is probably untrue. Click here to browse his posts. Email him here.

Jordan Himelfarb wrote for Said the Gramophone from November 2004 to March 2012. He lives in Toronto. He is an opinion editor at the Toronto Star. Click here to browse his posts. Email him here.
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