Erdmöbel - "In Den Schuhen Von Aubrey Hepburn (Klavier)". Richard's the man in Germany, and he sent on this beautiful song by Cologne's Erdmöbel. The title translates to "In the shoes of Audrey Hepburn," and I really haven't a clue what it's about. But I'm kind of glad. The piano streams by as Markus Berges (?) sings; drums press with that fine, steady pressure; horns and guitar join in; and the bass says nothing, but you know he's your friend. It's so effortless and wonderful, such a gentle pleasure. Springtime by a fountain, blossomtrees leaving spots of shadow on the courtyard. "If you are feeling fancy-free," he says in English, and that's enough for me - I'd not want this marred by poor lyrics, nor complicated by good ones. Just let those low notes play on against the high ones, let a doe-eyed brunette spin in my mind's eye, let the clouds break, rejoin, and break again. (NB: This is the piano ("klavier") version of the song, from the eponymous EP, and I see that there's a different rendition on his other LPs.) [buy]
Julie Doiron - "The Songwriter". A week ago, I mentioned the new Julie Doiron record, Goodnight Nobody. There were a couple of mp3s on the Jagjaguwar page, both suggesting good things for the album. Well, it's now out - and yes indeedy, there's something special here. A fine return after the slight dip of Heart & Crime, Goodnight Nobody shows more diversity than any Julie Doiron record I can remember. "Tonight Is No Night" is simple and lovely as anything on Desormais (my favourite Doiron album) - guitar and voice and violin. "Good Night" is a twisting, bare-branched instrumental unlike anything she's done before. Herman Düne provide backing on much of the album, and "Snow Falls in November" shows the perfection of the pairing: the little sounds of banjo, the knock-kneed drum, the bloom of Doiron's voice.
But it's "The Songwriter" I wanted to share with you. This is a song that appeared in different form on Doiron's 2003 split with Okkervil River. But where the first version was soft, barren, the Goodnight Nobody recording is noisy, ablaze. It's the juddering return of the Julie Doiron who played with Eric's Trip, who didn't have to worry about waking her kids. Songwriting with spikes of anger, sudden corners and black patches. Most reminiscent of Songs:Ohia's live record, Mi Sei Apparso Come Un Fantasm, "The Songwriter" is a hard, bright, heavy thing, bursting out of a train-tunnel. It could knock me down. [buy] (Oh my; she's going on a US tour with Mt. Eerie. Go go go!)
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Thanks to Kenny, I was able to obtain a clean CD rip of the Kelis/Bjork "Oceania" remix, and I updated the blog mp3 yesterday afternoon. If you missed it, make up for lost time. :)
An interview at The Morning News pointed me on to The Rest Is Noise, a superb musicblog by Alex Ross, classical music critic to The New Yorker.
Readers of Canada's oldest national daily, The Globe and Mail, pick their favourite for the American presidental election.
Posted by Sean at September 8, 2004 11:58 PMI will have to check the Doiron track out as Eric's Trip were pretty much my most beloved band of the first 2-3 years of High School and one of my favourites was Julie's rockin' "Eyes Shut". I'm bummed I never got to see them play, but at least I got to see Rick White and Bob (Gaudet?) perform with Elevator To Hell once. But, Julie was always my favourite. I remember writing to Sappy Records asking for a catalogue and Julie wrote me a hand-written letter back, it doesn't seem like much, but it meant a great deal in grade ten, I still have that note somewhere.
Posted by caley at September 9, 2004 3:13 AMThat's a good interview; I like what he has to say. Thanks for the link.
Good tracks, as ever.
Posted by Tuwa at September 9, 2004 11:58 AMi secretly love avril lavigne too!
Posted by dana at September 9, 2004 1:44 PMwow Sean.
that Julie Doiron track is awesome. i just read that she adn Okkervil Rover have out a 10 song split record on the spanish Acuarella label...heard it?
and just how do you pronounce her name?
Posted by bmr at September 9, 2004 3:22 PMwoops....i see that split CD is one of the records you were writing about. how is the other stuff on it?
Posted by bmr at September 9, 2004 3:30 PMThe split is o-kay. Some nice stuff by Julie (including a track where she sings with her kids), but nothing revelatory. And the Okkervil River tracks are inferior to their LP output -- with the exception of "The Blackest Coat," one of the finest things they've done.
http://www.saidthegramophone.com/archives/000235.php
Julie Doiron's name is pronounced à la francaise: "zhoo-lee dwa-ron". (If you know how to pronounce the name of the French city Lyon, "Lyon" rhymes with "Doiron")
Posted by Sean at September 9, 2004 3:43 PMThe german song is short poem, in my interpretation of the feelings of someone who has seen a (melancholic? sentimental?) movie with Audrey Hepburn, and he is still dreaming or continuing the movie inside his brain.
I?ve tried to translate it.
Yours
Roland Burkl
Mein Film beginnt
mit Abspann und Vorhang
das Licht geht an
eine geht durch den Gang
nicht Fee nicht Reh
aber durch das Foyer
in den Schuhen von Audrey Hepburn
...
In einer Luft
die eisig kalt ist und klar
im Dezember
oder im Januar
dreiundsechzig oder vier
durch die Drehtür
in den Schuhen von Audrey Hepburn
...
und es liegt Schnee
sie singt stapfend Sachen wie
if you are feeling fency free
und ihr Glück endet nie
denn mein Film beginnt
mit Abspann und Vorhang
das Licht geht an
...
in den Schuhen von Audrey Hepburn
...
My movie starts
with credits and curtain
light turns on
one (girl) walks along the corridor
not fay not deer
but through the foyer
in the shoes of Audrey Hepburn
...
The air
is cold as ice and clear
in december
or in january
1963 oder 64
passing the revolving door
in the shoes of Audrey Hepburn
... ...
there's snow
and trudging she sings tunes like
if you are feeling fency free
and here happiness is never ending
because my movie starts
with credits and curtain
lights turning on
...
in the shoes of Audrey Hepburn
....
Regarding "In den Schuhen von Audrey Hepburn" - I think he could sing about his mother - he sings of 63 or 64 - this could be his year of birth. Also he sings about "my movie starts" - this could also be interpreted in that way.
Posted by mo at January 25, 2005 6:02 PM
and it will begin playing. All songs are also available to download: just right-click the link and choose 'Save as...'
