AND MAY THE HARD TIMES BE GONE!
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.


 

The Limes - "Morning, Noon & Night". The Limes are an international affair: scraps of song sent in brown paper & string from France to America, and beyond, each player adding a touch, a flourish, a voice, a flowerpetal. And with "Morning, Noon & Night" there's something very right in this, or even in sharing it here with you. It feels like a song that's meant to be passed, that's meant to travel, that's meant to arrive at the lover's destination all stamped with visas and stuck-up with transit stickers. I like to imagine David Simonetta's voice, dreamily romantic, in an airplane over the ocean. I like to imagine the band in separate crates: the ethereal ooh-ers; the jovial organ-and-jingles; and dusky-throated Mina Tindle, like David's best friend, the one who carries his voice to the post-office in a little cloche hat (she, not the voice). Rarely has a song of longing moved with so much swing.

[more terrific stuff at their MySpace]


The Shaky Hands - "Summer's Life". It's my last day in Poland. In two months I've learned the singular of obwersanki, the best hot chocolate in Krakow, the strengths and weaknesses of every brand of pierogi. I have not learned how to speak Polish: yesterday I accidentally (and happily) ordered a 7-scoop ice-cream cone. But yes, I stand on another boundary: a beginning and an end, one of those places where your happiness depends on how you take it. Is it a glad thing or a sad thing, this end, this beginning? It's a glad thing, I've decided, and once you make a decision like this you must bolster it. Sunbathe, sing, eat accidental 7-scoop ice-creams. Listen to "Summer's Life" by The Shaky Hands, a track whose melancholy lyrics are stamped to diamond dust by bass-thump, hand-clap, the unlikely pairing of harmonica and trombone. Jordan probably has a Great Book of Chords somewhere, codifying the deployment of every guitar chord. The chords of "Summer's Life" are on a page titled Optimistic Chords. Or maybe C'mon! Chords. "C'mon", like, "C'mon, lifelong friend! We have places to get to!" That kind of "c'mon". "C'mon" like "Float On". I love that I can't figure out if the scrapey-voiced singer is singing he "loved it then" or he "loved ya then", or both. And I love that this glad & striding singer is aware that that there will be regrets, that there will always be regrets, and that he looks forward to those too. "And I loved it then / and I wonder what would have been / And may the hard times be gone! / And I'll learn what I've done wrong / and / it's you that I miss."

[buy]

Need a lift from London to All Tomorrows Parties this weekend? A couple of us are renting a car and splitting the cost. If you're interested in joining us, email me ASAP. (You can also drop me a note if you fancy sharing a drink or something!)

---

Ola Podrida's outstanding debut album will be released by Plug Research this Tuesday. I've written more than once about David Wingo's folksong - and his "Pour Me Another" demo was my #6 song of last year, - so I strongly suggest you pick it up. If not yet convinced, listen to this mp3 mix of every song on the album.

Posted by Sean at April 23, 2007 9:50 AM
Comments

It's my first visit on here and totally accidentally I read about one of the authors visiting my home country. Sean, I hope you enjoyed your time in Poland. Have you been to any other places apart from Kraków? Which obviously is a charming city. That Shaky Hands song - nice! Cheers from Warsaw.

Posted by kuba at April 23, 2007 1:18 PM

Lovely songs. Perfect for the spring moring I'm enjoying.

Posted by Karin S. at April 23, 2007 2:04 PM

7-scoop ice cream, eh? "accidentaly", eh?
icky creme, o-o-oh, sladoled...i know you ;)

good pick of Ostrov (and great cropping!)

:)

Posted by ru at April 23, 2007 3:21 PM

I don't mean to lessen this wonderful post, but you do realize that Dan posted that Shaky Hands song a while back, right? Still, it's quite appropriate. Are you returning to Canada now?

Posted by Sean at April 23, 2007 5:10 PM

Who ever got mad about seven scoops of ice cream?

Posted by Liz at April 23, 2007 7:41 PM

"Summer's Life" is one of my favorite songs now. (Bring on more happy, jingly music!) On cold winter storms in the middle of April, it makes everything hot and summery, and on hot thunderstorms in the middle of April, it makes everything cool and relaxed. Amazing.

Posted by Linka at April 23, 2007 9:50 PM

both of these songs are lovely lovely, bright grass & orange light.

Posted by jenanne at April 23, 2007 10:29 PM

gah! chalk up another faux pas brought on by my lack of proper internet access in Poland, and a truncated music collection. I knew Dan had done a Shaky Hands post, but I didn't think it was this song. (And when composing the post wasn't able to search and look.) I am a fool. Dan, however, is not: he's a perceptive, swell-eared (in a good way) genius. Glass raised to you, sir, and to Sean as well.

kuba - djien dobry! Outside of Krakow, I've visited only Warsaw, Wielicka and Ostrowica Sw. (where this photo was taken). If I had known more people here I would have enjoyed going elsewhere. Next time!

Posted by sean at April 24, 2007 6:55 AM

Ahhh, you're leaving Poland just when I was planning a visit! I'll be down to Krakow in the middle of June, before I return to the States. Have fun at ATP, I still remember it fondly. See you in Montreal?

Posted by Mike W at April 24, 2007 7:29 AM

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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.

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