To remember
is perhaps
the most painful way
to forget
and perhaps
the kindest way
to assuage
the pain
Not a Good Sign
Lana Del Rey – Kinda Outta Luck
Another great track/video from the gangster Nancy Sinatra (as they’re calling her). Album’s out on 30th Jan next year, which seems very far away to me.
You can see the video for her song Video Games here.
Birth of the Cool – Part II
I have always preferred the reflection of the life to life itself – Francois Truffaut
Birdy – Comforting Sounds
Jasmine Van den Bogaerde, known as Birdy, had a top 20 hit earlier this year with a wonderful cover version of Bon Iver’s Skinny Love. Last week she released her debut album and it’s absolutely gorgeous. All but one of the tracks are, like her earlier single, cover versions. It’s an exquisite set; her voice is incredibly evocative and, whilst it’s an overworn cliché (but there really is no other word to describe it better) deeply haunting.
There are two versions of the album (of course) and I really think you should seek out the deluxe edition. Because it has this string-drenched track of wonder that makes the extra effort in finding it well worth it. Go buy it, it’s beautiful music.
Four Lies
The First Lie
I’m the little toy you’ll shatter,
the garden with miraculous
hiding places. You dart in and out
just to be half-found.
I’m the wind that sings in Braille,
your own shadow getting longer,
the beautiful holes that whimper
in your brain.
–
The Second Lie
Am I flower, am I grass blade?
Am I almost, but not quite, a word?
A new island made of hush,
off the map? One thing’s sure:
I’m late for my own creation –
on the eighth day – your afterthought.
You made me and now you must watch
God eat me up bit by bit.
–
The Third Lie
I haven’t explained myself.
You close your eyes, you leap.
It’s almost a devout thing to do,
so God says. Or another trap.
Opening your eyes later
you get remorse like a joke.
Stood next to such a gorgeous lie
you’re in danger of looking fake.
–
The Fourth Lie
You say: I dreamt, and not: I lied.
When you wake up, it’s a strange bed.
you open the door, shamefaced,
on a room so devastated
you run for the lift to the ground floor.
It tings, says, ‘Doors closing.’
There are lies flying in the air
utterly grey from living upside down.
Jo Shapcott – Tender Taxes
Sigur Rós – INNI has arrived
Goodness – it’s been ages since I last posted. No excuse other than that it’s been so very busy. So busy that my head has been a bit of a whirlwind of late and in the evenings I’ve been coming home and making starfish shapes on the sofa until it’s time to haul myself into sleep.
But not this evening. For today, Inni arrived. As some of you will know, Inni is the latest release from Sigur Rós. I blogged about it a month or so back. It’s their first live album and second live film (although the first film, Heima featured live footage with a few talking heads here and there). Inni, on the other hand, is a full on concert film. But one that is unlike any other – it is, quite simply, magnificent. The director, Vincent Morisset, has created an intensely personal experience by removing almost all sense of place and any awareness of the crowd from the film. And the result is utterly breathtaking, indeed I’ve sat here with an almost ridiculous sense of wonder. Music and images combine to create an extraordinarily emotional experience.
Apparently ‘Inni’ means ‘inside’ and, as you see and hear this mesmerising film, you understand why they’ve named it so because it really is as though you are being drawn into the music itself.
Ah – I could wax lyrical all night. You just need to watch it (preferably on a big screen and very loudly). Here’s a taste of what to expect…
memoryhouse 