Said the Gramophone: TOO TIRED TO THINK

TOO TIRED TO THINK

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.

Ramblin' Jack Elliott and Tom Waits - "Louise". Under this song's worn out sky, Tom Waits' is not the most compelling voice. Here the man feels like the old pair of shoes, the familiar feeling. It's Elliott's gentler, sharper, burred voicebox that carries the realer sorrow. He's the one whose eyes you're nervous about meeting. The old man whose cheeks are hollowed out by his story.

[buy]

~~The Knife - "We Share Our Mother's Health (Ratatat remix)"~~. [Track removed at request of label.] It's certainly not the iceblock metropolis of the Trentemoller remix; Ratatat uses all the warmest bits of the song, lke a man panning for hot colours. Ratatat recycles some of his own pangs of synth but I like the way he puts this in service of Karin's distorted man-voice, like a regular angst-ridder rocker who too has become caught up in The Knife's electro forest. Ghosts in the student ghetto, shaking into Monday nights. (Thanks Peter.)

[more on the Knife]

Any Montrealers looking for something to do on Wednesday evening, please do yourself a favour and go see Basia Bulat, opening up for Vetiver.

Posted by Sean at July 25, 2006 3:00 AM

Comments

Thanks for reminding me of this fine Elliot disc from, what was it, eight years ago? And it was his album, so Waits is the back voice, but this was a new song Waits wrote for Elliot...

Posted by J at July 25, 2006 10:23 AM

i'm not one for remix's, but damn is that knife one great, way to go ratatat!

Posted by max at July 25, 2006 2:05 PM

He loses me a bit on the chorus, but that's still a great remix. I'm so happy that the mixes of this song have been top quality -- I love "Mothers' Health" too much, you know?

Posted by Matthew at July 25, 2006 8:47 PM

Hey Sean,
Just kidding. I recently heard a very funny anecdote about Tom Waits, who was participating in a tv show with an actor from a Jim Jarmusch (sp?) movie, who was the host. The show was a fishing (for good ratings and) show. They went fishing for red snapper. When Tom (Mr. Waits)caught one, he asked the host (Jo(h)n) what he should do with it. Jo(h)n said that he didn't know. Tom (Mr. Waits) asked if he should put it in his pants. Jo(h)n said that he should. So Tom (Mr. Waits) did. Much later, when they caught another one, the same question (with similar repartee) naturally arose. This time, Mr. Waits (Tom) replied that there probably wouldn't be enough room for two in there. c.f. his own pants.
PS Farbus: Construe this as a commentary on your reply to my response AND as a comment on your lifesteez - c.f. feelings of inclusivity directed towards random objects and your own pants.
To the team: Read the cross-feed, cross-breed.

Posted by Joel Taylor at July 27, 2006 1:41 PM

Thanks for this, Sean.

Posted by Matt at July 29, 2006 1:26 AM