The 1920's and 30's are often referred to as the Jazz Age. That time when jazz music gained national and worldwide popularity. There's a great TV series called Babylon Berlin (so far 4 seasons, with a 5th and final season yet to be broadcast). Babylon Berlin takes place in the late 20's early 30's Berlin, Germany which saw the rise of the nationalist Nazi Party. It is great drama against that backdrop of jazz and changing political and social times.
Many performers have been chameleons throughout their careers with the prototype being David Bowie. With Berlin Babylon we see the emergence of another chameleon. At the end of the first season and into the second (and I believe third season) Bryan Ferry, of Roxy Music (and solo) fame appears in the series. He performs Roxy Music songs completely re-imagined as Jazz Age classics.
And so we come to the them of "cover versions". It's not often when a musical artist so transforms their own work so that it not only maintains the integrity and hints of the original while become a stand alone work of art on its own. He is given credit in the series as the Bryan Ferry Orchestra. And they have recorded a couple of albums in the style of the Jazz Age.
Here again, I'm going to post 2 tracks. First is the popular Roxy Music track AVALON released in 1982 and sent back to the 1920's/30's for a complete imaginative rework. And below that DANCE AWAY from the 1979 album Manifesto. Enjoy.
Okay today, "day after day", just today is about pure silliness. Of course I'm talking about a lounge lizards cover of the Violent Femmes. Yes, you read right. LOL. The year was 1983, punk was going strong, and the Violent Femmes burst onto the music scene. A trio of raucous folk rockers with an attitude that could peel paint, playing at a speed that dared you to keep up. An album cover that suggested, paradoxically, innocence and danger.
Well I still enjoy this album. more for the nostalgia of the times than anything else. I suppose it was only a matter of time before someone decided to shake it up, martini style. And no one better to do it than Richard Cheese. From his album (inspired by Guns and Roses Appetite for Destruction) named Apertif for Destruction. LOL. Enjoy both versions.
Another cover that made me fall in love with a music artist I'd not heard previously. The year is 1995. I had been of Tom Waits for a couple of decades at this point. I could never have imagined someone doing his music justice as a cover.
Then along came Temptation by Holly Cole and her trio. An entire album of Tom Waits songs. In fact I'll have to post 2 videos from this album. She manages to maintain all the dreamy quirkiness of Tom Waits with a silky smooth breathy voice that will take you to another dimension if you close your eyes and let her. So enjoy this trip with a pair old back catalog classics.
Probably one of the most popular songs by Metallica. Covered by many many people and bands. But few have taken this bold visceral vocal approach by Polish vocal group Tulia. Enjoy.
Like all images since the first of the year - this image can be found in the Museum of Malcontent.
ELO - Getting To The Point
How I feel about the country of my birth (USA) and the coming year: "It's out of control now... It's getting to the point when nobody can stop it now, it's getting to the point of no return, and all that I can do is stand it watch it now, watch it burn burn burn...."
I love this triptych of images. For me they inspire some very complex feelings. The original photographs of deadwood and rocks in water were just “throwaways” until I decided to go very dark and just leave some of the highlights viewable. Then they started to take shape and almost feel like living entities.
I wanted to post some music for these three images but nothing came to mind. After spending 2 hours looking for something I gave up. So to all my wonderful viewers; do these images make you think of any particular piece of music? If so – feel free to post it in the comments. Thanks.
Why the title? This image was created by manipulating a photo of a sweet potato after it had rooted in water. After the manipulation I can see what appears to be an alien female body. I questioned the dark blood-red color but found it kind of amusing – do vegetables bleed? No but vegetarians do. Is this meant to be a violent image? not at all but I can see why some might think so. I am not vegetarian although there have been times I’ve leaned in that direction. Overall vegetarianism and all dietary plans seem very abstract to me. So it makes sense that after I “cooked” the original photo and came up with this that it would be such an abstract image. When all is said-and-done I do like the darkness of the image. It gives me the same feeling of mystery and exploration as stepping into a cave and waiting for your eyes to adjust to the darkness as other senses like smell and hearing become heightened. So after “listening” and “smelling” this image for a while, what you do you think? How does it make you feel? What you do you hear – is there music that comes to mind (if so please add it to your comment)? What do you smell?
... on being and becoming ... 