A happy Monday to all. Ju-ly ju-ly.
SJD - "Superman, You're Crying". SJD is Sean James Donnelly, a laptop songwriter from Auckland. Yeah, I know, 'laptop songwriter' is an idea that's about eleven months stale. Hold on, though, and give this song a try. Give it a feel. Because it's wonderful - it's got a melody that takes you by the tuxedo lapels, that sings to you eye-to-eye. It has rippling strings and teeming electronics, a black matte bass-line and, like an unexpected homecoming, the lazy murmur of a harmonica. Donnelly's got Elbow's backup vocals and David Bowie's falsetto; he's got Sea Change's melancholy and his own earthbrown pulse. Better yet, it's the best Superman song we've heard in years: on snowy nights at the Fortress of Solitude, Kal El won't be turning on Coldplay. (Thanks so much, Adele.) [buy]
Hui Ohana - "Ulupalakua". Mike passes on this summer sweet track, taken from Hui Ohana's 1972 debut. It's so wonderfully gentle, harmonies like the nestling of clouds. They perform without any formal musical training, just the natural affinity of their voices, the play of fingers on slack-key guitar. Hui Ohana - Dennis Pavao and twin brothers, Led and Ned Kaapana, - was at the forefront of the 70s Hawaiian folk renaissance. As with Iz, their music is soft without being insipid; there's a hope, an open-heartedness to it. Maybe even a little sadness, there in the end of the phrases. [buy]
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Download an entire Tilly and the Wall record at their website. Yes, they have a tapdancer instead of drums.
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I'm always the last one to a party. I've long held Neil Young in esteem, but I can't say that I've much enjoyed his music. "Heart of Gold" is a scourge upon the earth, and the rawk side of his persona is not really my cup of tea. But thanks to the wise recommendations of my friend Jordan, I've been dipping a toe into Neil's back catalog. (Bob Dylan is next.) What do I discover but the bluegrey pleasure of Comes A Time: it's a magnificent little album, surprisingly reminiscent of Leonard Cohen's Songs From A Room and bits of recent Wilco. While I'm sure that you're all way ahead of me on this one, if you were an ignorant fool like me, well - i've done what i can. :)
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Gramophone business:
Starting at the end of September, Said the Gramophone will be on hiatus as I go travelling in Europe. I'll be backpacking and hostelling with my good friend Julian, visiting slightly familiar haunts and the colourful unknown. We really hope to get a feel for the places we visit, rather than being limited to museums and tourist traps. We're both E.U. citizens; when the train-hopping's done, we'll be finding somewhere we like and settling in.
If anyone out there lives in one of the following cities and would be willing to say hello, I would be absolutely delighted to hear from you. We want to meet people and listen to music, to find good conversation and magical places. We're both 22 and although he's got a distorted English accent, I assure you that we both possess a Canadian good humour.
Anyway, if you think you can help us out or meet for a pint, drop me a note. Human beings know the best haunts, I'm sure.
Our September-December itinerary includes (but is not necessary limited to): Brighton, London, Oxford, Cambridge, Glasgow, Dublin, Galway, Cork, Tampere, Helsinki, Tallinn, Riga, Prague, Bratislava, Budapest, Zagreb, Sarajevo, and Ljubjlana. After that, we'll hang around Italy or sweep up through Spain/Portugal/France; whatever our bank-accounts permit. And then live somewhere.
As always, thanks for reading. Tomorrow - a special tune for any MeFites who decide to stick around.