Flamboyant Male Singers With 5-Octave Voices!

(No, not Michael Jackson. I started putting this post together before he took off for the Great Gig in the Sky. I never really "connected" to his music, but he was a musical giant and I hope he's remembered for that and not for his painfully obvious kookiness.)

Grace Kelley by Mika (current delight of my soul).

Adam Lambert - at the Upright Cabaret:
What's Up (4 Non Blondes cover). See if you spot a Stevie Wonderish warble.
Crazy (Gnarles Barkley)

And finally: the one, the only... the divinely inspired, the incredibly diverse, the fantastically gifted Freddie Mercury.
A couple of Queen links for the completely clueless:
Bohemian Rhapsody
Fat Bottomed Girls - always makes me smile.
Here is his Un-Biography if you're in for a laugh.

Chelsea Hotel No. 2

Leonard Cohen: minimalist melody, understated delivery. That's why his music cuts straight to the heart and why I don't like most cover versions. As often happens also with Bob Dylan, artists try to improve on his performance with a sweeter voice, more variation, more expressiveness and feeling. In most (but not all) cases it rubs off the magic and you're left with just a simple, pretty little mournful song (bordering on kitsch) with eccentric lyrics. See Lloyd Cole and Rufus Wainwright for examples with this song. Less is more.

The ones I liked did not try to add anything for the sake of more. They just delivered it differently.

Chelsea Hotel No.2

Matthew Luke Sandoval: to my taste he overshoots the mark with the sensitivity and feeling and... preciousness in his singing and the choice of piano instead of guitar, but you have to respect how beautifully he does so.

Emilyn Brodsky and Anthony Da Costa. OK, they are trying to add something, but it works, enough to be enjoyed in a live performance anyway.

A girl named Celia McKee in a pink room covering Hop Along Queen Ansleis - well, you'll love it or hate it, it is certainly original. (Please do not look at the band she is covering, it's awful.)

And the original - Leonard Cohen, in concert. He goes on a bit in his self-absorbed, impressionist way about what it was like in his head at the time he wrote the song. But with a speaking voice like that, please never stop.

It's a Leonard Cohen kind of day

To be more precise, a singing Leonard Cohen songs under my breath with a guitar kind of day. Kind of like gently rocking in your seat to soothe yourself.

Famous Blue Raincoat - Leonard Cohen

Wild World - Cat Stevens

Soundtrack of June 15

Fiona Apple: she has a bluesy voice, dark prominent bass lines, and a crisp way of saying exactly what she means.

"Won't do no good to sing no love song.
No song could simulate the presence of a man."
Carrion from her album Tidal.

On a long bus ride from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem I fell asleep next to a man with nice forearms. In the gym a man who looks like my father helped me unload the bar. Don't know why that's on my mind.

Wild Horses

Wild Horses - Bar Belfer and Yuval Mendelson, from the movie "Somebody to Run With".

Word has it this song has been covered by many many singers (Sheryl Crow, the Cranberries, Mazzy Star, Elvis Costello, Jewel and many more), but I couldn't find the version I had in mind. It had an electric guitar, a female lead singer and a man singing backing vocals on the refrain. The one above is the closest I could find. Any suggestions?

...

I think they may have finally dragged me away.

Getting by

2 O'Clock - Kaki King (from her album "Dreaming of Revenge", where her purposely naive voice and eerie melodies sometimes remind me of Björk.)

"2 O'Clock, you're still sleeping
When you wake up you'll be in such pain.
And I wait with the plate piled high with my love
That you won't eat from."

How can you not love the person who wrote these words?

Another from her: covering I Think That She Knows (LoveStoned), originally by Justin Timberlake.

* * *

Mad World - Gary Jules (originally Tears for Fears)
All my love girl, you're the Tigger to my Pooh =)

Since "with a little help from my friends" was on my mind and I know Sgt. Pepper by heart, the next song is Lucy in the Sky With Diamonds.

* * *

Finally the surreal Pink Elephants on Parade from Disney's Dumbo *wink*, not with the original music from the film but a cover by the wildly eccentric jazz artist Sun Ra. Here are some of the original sketches for the scene.

Tuesday, June 09

Shadowboxer - Fiona Apple
I should listen to other songs by her, but I just can't get past this one. Looping it. Yishai, thanks for suggesting it and for priming me by asking the right question. It's a mystery how sometimes you don't recognize how good a song is until you've listened to it several times, and happened to be in the right mood. (I resist the compulsive urge to philosophize about the nature of art and the relativity of quality and/or the weakness of human perception! Swat those pesky thoughts with a fly swatter! Or drown them in another repeat of the song.)

"Once my lover, now my friend
What a cruel thing to pretend
What a cunning way to condescend
Once my lover, and now my friend

Oh, you creep up like the clouds
And you set my soul at ease
Then you let your love abound
And you bring me to my knees

Oh, it's evil babe
The way you let your grace enrapture me
When well you know I'd be insane
To ever let that dirty game recapture me

You made me a shadowboxer, baby
I wanna be ready for what you do
I been swinging around 'cause
I don't know when you're gonna make your move

Oh, your gaze is dangerous
And you fill your space so sweet
If I let you get too close
You'll set your spell on me

So darlin' I just wanna say
Just in case I don't come through
I was onto every play
I just wanted you

Oh it's so evil, my love
The way you've no reverence to my concern
So I'll be sure to stay wary of you, love
To save the pain of once my flame and twice my burn

So I'm a shadowboxer, baby
I wanna be ready for what you do
I been swinging around at nothin
I don't know when you're gonna make your move

Yeah I'm a shadowboxer baby,
I wanna be ready for what you do
And I been swinging around me 'cause
I don't know when you're gonna make your move."

Three Rock Stars

With domineering guitars and throbbing charisma. (Or one of the two, at least.)

Happiness is a Warm Gun - John Lennon
I wonder how the late Beatles music would far were it released as it is in 2009 for the first time.

Smells Like Teen Spirit - Kurt Cobain

The Cairo Speech - Barack Obama
* I'm not kidding. I know less than nothing about politics and I'm hardly interested but this man is phenomenal.

One more for today:
Ad Ha'oneg Haba - Machshefot (the Witches)