Archive for the ‘Call and response’ Category
Trash
Well the insomnia isn’t getting any better
So I thought I’d just go with the flow and follow rivers…
Beirut’s underbelly blablabla
Oh well, not as nitty gritty as I thought it’d be. Or else I wouldn’t be back here posting about it.
I know a girl, a girl called Party
Party girl
I know she wants more than a party
Party girl
And she won’t tell me her name
I know a boy, a boy called Trash
Trash Can
I know he does all that he can
Wham Bam
And he won’t tell me his name
I have a heart, a heart that’s beating inside
When I was three I thought the world revolved around me
I was wrong
And so I sing along
And if you dance, then dance with me
I know a girl, a girl called Party
Party girl
I know she wants more than a party
Party girl
I know a boy, a boy called Trampoline
You know what I mean
I think you know what he wants
I think he knows what he wants
I think he knows what he wants
U2’s “Trash, Trampoline and the Party Girl” is one of my favorite tracks from Under a Blood Red Sky. Yet another teenage resurgence. I wonder if there’s a pattern here…
PS: the image is the poster to Trash, the 2nd film from Paul Morissey‘s trilogy with Joe Dalessandro.
This movie actually got me into a lot of trouble in the early noughties with my girlfriend at the time. I told her I went to see a “trash” movie with a friend. It was actually Takashi Miike‘s “Visitor X“. And she thought I was lying about my whereabouts. She told me: You’ve seen Trash last week, and made a whole deal about it… It’s crazy what jealousy can put you through… And then you find yourself doing the same thing…
PS2: this night had at least one positive outcome / it’s always good to put a name to a face…
Plus there were the 2 Jenna Haze lookalike dykes at this new 24/7 bar in Hamra…
PS3: Inside joke / Datarock’s Fa Fa Fa (Mediafire Link)
The Night
Just saw the Killing‘s season 2 Finale.
Sarah Lund is definitely Copenhagen’s biggest export since Danish Butter Cookies…
And then, the craziest thing happened: I had just finished typing this first sentence when I got a call from Denmark!
Of course when I picked up, I got the all-too familiar sound of a cellphone bouncing in somebody’s pocket. That’s what you get when you’re name starts with an A and you’re the first number in everybody’s phonebook.
But that was a sweet mistake indeed…
Transition: The picture illustrating this post is DR Byen by night and I had ended my previous post with a link to Mashrou’ Leila‘s latest EP.
Most of the people reading this blog know that Leila isn’t a girl and the band’s name should be understood as “overnight project”.
And then I remembered the first few lines of one of Morphine‘s best tracks.
You’re the night, Lilah. A little girl lost in the woods.
You’re a folk tale, the unexplainable
You’re a bedtime story. The one that keeps the curtains closed.
I hope you’re waiting for me cause I can’t make it on my own.
I can’t make it on my own.
“The Night” (Mediafire link)
Turns out, Mark Sandman was probably also playing on ليلة / ليلى
Of course, my tired brain followed that convoluted hyperlink with a logical musical leap to Eric Clapton’s “Layla”.
Not the unplugged one.
No lyrics equating Pattie Boyd to Majnun’s Layla.
Just the epic part that starts halfway though the original version.
The instumental Scorsese used in “Goodfellas”.
And that scene transported me back to Beirut in the early nineties where a third Leila appeared, followed by a group of hunters.
Yeah I know, you’re saying it can’t be: he’s posting corny Cabrel songs!!!
But listen to it: Leïla et les chasseurs (Mediafire Link)
Leïla, si tu savais les yeux qu’elle a
Quand elle voit s’approcher les chasseurs
[…]
Elle rêve d’un fragile, d’un fou
Qui l’embrasse au quinzième rendez-vous
Qui tremble en lui prenant la main
Et surtout qui ne dise rien
In my teenage years, it contributed to some of the most naive and persistent theories on love I’ve ever come up with.
Anyway…
Hi hi CPH!
See you in my next life!
Habibi
Just finished reading Craig Thompson’s gorgeous graphic novel, “Habibi”.
I was scared I’d be disappointed because of the exotic looking subject and how much I love “Blankets”.
Don’t be put off by the cover or the dots under the “B”s: it’s a mind-blowing labour of love and – … I’ll just leave it at that.
For more info on Habibi:
Official site
Review
Slideshow
Craig Thompson’s Blog
And here’s the quote from Thompson’s interviews that justified and triggered this post (’cause yes, for the time being this is still only a music blog…):
“There’s a description of Arabic calligraphy as ‘music for the eyes, and that’s how I felt about it from when I first saw it. The musicality of it, the movement, the flow.”
I immediately heard Soapkills’ cover of Asmahan’s “Ya Habibi Taala” in my head:
Habibi (Live in Circus, 24 June 1999) (Mediafire Link)
And yes, Dodola does look a bit like Yasmine.
And this is where the plot thickens: Habibi is the missing link between Beirut’s various alternative scenes through time!
Balkan Beat Box – Habibi min Zaman (Mediafire Link)
Forget where they come from, the intro sounds so much like the Incompetents’ “Bullets Gently Dancing Over My Head” (2008)
And of course, in 2011 Mashrou’ Leila released another “Habibi” on their latest EP, El Hal Romancy (Official free download).
Sleep
According to our friends at Wikipedia, Sleep is a naturally recurring state characterized by reduced or absent consciousness, relatively suspended sensory activity, and inactivity of nearly all voluntary muscles.
It is distinguished from quiet wakefulness by a decreased ability to react to stimuli, and is more easily reversible than being in hibernation or a coma.
Sleep is also a heightened anabolic state, accentuating the growth and rejuvenation of the immune, nervous, skeletal and muscular systems. It is observed in all mammals, all birds, and many reptiles, amphibians, and fish.
Unfortunately I can’t get any!
Faithless – Insomnia (Mediafire Link)
I only smoke weed when I need to,
And I need to get some rest,
I confess, I burnt a hole in the mattress,
Yes, yes, it was me, I plead guilty,
And on the count of three I pull back the duvet,
Make my way to the refrigerator,
One dry potato inside, no lie
Not even bread, jam,
When the light above my head went bam!
I can’t sleep, something’s all over me,
Greasy, insomnia please release me,
And let me dream about making mad love on the heath,
Tearing off tights with my teeth.
But there’s no relief,
I’m wide awake in my kitchen,
It’s dark and I’m lonely,
Oh, if I could only get some sleep,
Creeky noises make my skin creep,
I need to get some sleep,
I can’t get no sleep…
And now, here’s the Kinks’ pong to Faithless’ ping: A cover produced by Geoff Barrow of Portishead
The Kinks – I Go To Sleep (Demo Version) (Mediafire Link)
When I look up from my pillow I dream you are there with me.
Though you are far away I know you’ll always be near to me.
I go to sleep, sleep, and imagine that you’re there with me.
I go to sleep, sleep, and imagine that you’re there with me.
I look around me and feel you are ever so close to me.
Each tear that flows from my eyes brings back memories of you to me.
I go to sleep, sleep, and imagine that you’re there with me.
I go to sleep, sleep, and imagine that you’re there with me.
I was wrong, I will cry, I will love you to the day I die.
You alone, you alone and no one else, you were meant for me. ot sure how
When morning comes once more I have the loneliness you left me.
Each day drags by until finally night time descends on me.
I go to sleep, sleep, and imagine that you’re there with me.
I go to sleep, sleep, and imagine that you’re there with me.
Somebody told me recently that some things are better left unsaid. I should’ve just posted the lyric that came through my head. Now, this post has taken a totally different meaning… or has it?
Coming down with something?
This post isn’t about the flu or a cold.
It’s the first in a series of calls and responses, Q&As, pingpongs…
A brooding relatively new track by the Dum Dum Girls and the heartwrenching Interpol track it immediately sent me back to.
Even if time machines cannot bring back our long lost teens, the controls are set for October 2002: Nuit blanche in Paris.
“You abuse the ones who love you
You abuse the ones who won’t
If you ever had a real heart
I don’t think you’d know where to start
‘Cause I think I’m coming down…”
“I will surprise you sometime.
I’ll come around when you’re down…”
Interpol – Untitled (Mediafire link)
Audiogrammes 
