Carrickfergus

Always thought this traditional song was dreadfully romantic, especially the bit about not being sober. There’s something about drowning one’s sorrows. The idea is glamorous, even if in reality it isn’t, at all. Also a fan of the sharp leather jacket on the sleeve there. Very dreamy.

Caroline Says I & II

Caroline says that I’m just a toy
she wants a man, not just a boy
Oh, Caroline says, ooohhh, Caroline says

Caroline says she can’t help but be mean
or cruel, or oh so it seems
Oh, Caroline says, Caroline says

She say she doesn’t want a man who leans
Still she is my Germanic -

- Queen
Yeah, she’s my Queen

The things she does, the things she says
people shouldn’t treat others that way
But at first I thought I could take it all

Just like poison in a vial
hey, she was often very vile
But of course, I thought I could take it all

Caroline says that I’m not a man
so she’ll go get it catch as catch can
Oh, Caroline says, yeah, Caroline says

Caroline says moments in time
can’t continue to be only mine
Oh, Caroline says, yeah, Caroline says

She treats me like I am a fool
But to me she’s still a German -

- Queen, ooohhh, she’s my -
- Queen, ya …
Queen, hey baby, she’s my Queen
(Queen)
(Queen)
(Queen)
(Queen)
(Queen)
(Queen)
(Queen)
(Queen)

Caroline says
as she gets up off the floor
Why is it that you beat me
it isn’t any fun

Caroline says
as she makes up her eyes
You ought to learn more about yourself
think more than just I

But she’s not afraid to die
all of her friends call her “Alaska”
When she takes speed, they laugh and ask her

What is in her mind
what is in her mind

Caroline says
as she gets up from the floor
You can hit me all you want to
but I don’t love you anymore

Caroline says
while biting her lip
Life is meant to be more than this
and this is a bum trip

But she’s not afraid to die
all of her friends call her “Alaska”
When she takes speed, they laugh and ask her

What is in her mind
what is in her mind

She put her fist through the window pane
It was such a funny feeling

It’s so cold in Alaska
it’s so cold in Alaska
It’s so cold in Alaska

Carolina Drama

Very shaky handheld camera verite, so you can make believe you were there. I was, ha ha ha! I never get tired of telling you all this. It’s getting so I’m losing track of how  many times I’ve seen Jack White. Um, three times I think, going on four. Yeah.

Lyrics to Carolina Drama :
I’m not sure if there’s a point to this story
But I’m going to tell it again
So many other people try to tell the tale
Not one of them knows the end

It was a junk-house in South Carolina
Held a boy the age of ten
Along with his older brother Billy
And a mother and her boyfriend
Who was a triple loser with some blue tattoos
That were given to him when he was young
And a drunk temper that was easy to lose
And thank god he didn’t own a gun

Well, Billy woke up in the back of his truck
Took a minute to open his eyes
He took a peep into the back of the house
And found himself a big surprise
He didn’t see his brother but there was his mother
With her red-headed head in her hands
While the boyfriend had his gloves wrapped around an old priest
Trying to choke the man

Ah Ah Ahhh…

Billy looked up from the window to the truck
Threw up, and had to struggle to stand
He saw that red-necked bastard with a hammer
Turn the priest into a shell of a man
The priest was putting up the fight of his life
But he was old and he was bound to lose
The boyfriend hit as hard as he could
And knocked the priest right down to his shoes

Well, now Billy knew but never actually met
The preacher lying there in the room
He heard himself say, “That must be my daddy”
Then he knew what he was gonna do
Billy got up enough courage, took it up
And grabbed the first blunt thing he could find
It was a cold, glass bottle of milk
That got delivered every morning at nine

Ah Ah Ahhh…

Billy broke in and saw the blood on the floor, and
He turned around and put the lock on the door
He looked dead into the boyfriend’s eye
His mother was a ghost, too upset to cry, then
He took a step toward the man on the ground
From his mouth trickled out a little audible sound
He heard the boyfriend shout, “Get out!”
And Billy said, “Not till I know what this is all about”
“Well, this preacher here was attacking your mama”
But Billy knew just who was starting the drama
So Billy took dead aim at his face
And smashed the bottle on the man who left his dad in disgrace, and
The white milk dripped down with the blood, and the
Boyfriend fell down dead for good
Right next to the preacher who was gasping for air
And Billy shouted, “Daddy, why’d you have to come back here?”
His mama reached behind the sugar and honey, and
Pulled out an envelope filled with money
“Your daddy gave us this,” she collapsed in tears
“He’s been paying all the bills for years”
“Mama, let’s put this body underneath the trees
and put Daddy in the truck and head to Tennessee”
Just then, his little brother came in
Holding the milk man’s hat and a bottle of gin singing,

La la la la, la la la la, yeah
La la la la, la la la la, yeah
La la la la, la la la la, yeah
La la la, la la la…
La la la la, la la la la, yeah
La la la la, la la la la, yeah
La la la la, la la la la, yeah
La la la, la la la…
La la la la, la la la la, yeah
La la la la, la la la la, yeah
La la la la, la la la la, yeah
La la la la, la la la la, yeah

Well now you heard another side to the story
But you wanna know how it ends?
If you must know, the truth about the tale
Go and ask the milkman

The Carny

I’m divided – I’m not sure if this is an agonizingly brilliant slice of genius or just agonizing. Sometimes I enjoy it and sometimes I can’t stand it. It’s so Gothic and morbid and downright bizarre. Those things are just what Nick Cave does, but The Carny is just one step beyond. Turns out the world really needed a grotesque carnival murder ballad (never mind the victim is a horse). My advice is, The Carny is best enjoyed at a party or some large gathering of people, so that you can blast it up and watch them squirm. Misery loves company, yeah?

Carnival Eyes

Who’da thunk that David Byrne, freed from Talking Heads duties would launch his solo career by dipping his toes into practically every musical style in Central and South America? Ok, maybe it wasn’t such a huge surprise, given how well African rhythms worked for Talking Heads. Still, Byrne isn’t the first guy who springs to mind when someone says ‘meringue master’ or ‘hot salsa beats’ or ‘ooh la la flamenco’. Oh but someone had to make lusty Latin music safe for nerdy white people.

Carnaval De Sao Vicente

Cesaria Evora is high up on my list of artists I would dearly love to see before they croak. I especially savor the possibility because I imagine that it’s not unlikely that she would play in a real small smoky intimate nightclub. Evora belongs in a hazy speakeasy, if such spots exist anymore. That makes me think it would be nice if she made a jazz record. A lot of highly unqualified people have hopped on the bandwagon, recording big band hits, and looking like an unqualified idiot doing so (I’m talking to you, Rod Stewart).  If anybody is qualified to reimagine some silver classics, this lady is it. I spend a lot of time thinking about who should cover what songs, and I’d like to hear Cesaria Evora sing Strange Fruit.

Model of the Week: Kate Moss

Kate Moss has already been a Model of the Week, but I think that one can never have too much Kate. She is also the cover star of Bazaar’s coveted March issue. Besides, Kate is  more than a successful supermodel. She’s moved beyond the realm of fashion, beyond the realm of celebrity to become a genuinely important cultural figure. She’s always been controversial. In the nineties she appeared in a series of ads for Calvin Klein that whipped up a hailstorm of criticism and accusations, namely that she was a bad role model by dint of being too skinny. (By today’s Skeletorish standards she was the picture of vibrant health) The debate about self-esteem, body image, cultural norms regarding health and sex appeal, the influence of fashion and of fashion models on women’s identity and behavior, etc has been raging ever since, with Kate Moss always the poster child in these identity wars. That she’s remained adamantly unapologetic about her image is either endearing or infuriating. She recently caught flak when she revealed her personal motto “Nothing tastes as good as skinny feels.” That and circumstantial evidence that she subsists on a diet of cocaine, nicotine and booze, well, she’s certainly no paragon of healthy life choices. Nor is it in any way her job to be one. The outrage (and subsequent lost bookings) a few years ago when she was outed hoovering lines of blow at a party was shallow scapegoating by a hypocritical industry. A model doing cocaine? Why I never! I insist that Kate remains an excellent role model thanks to her refusal to give a shit about petty moralists who pass judgement upon her, her body and her lifestyle. Below is just a handful of her ad campaigns in the past year – a remarkable level of saturation, considering she is 36 an age at which the majority of models are collecting Social Security and playing bingo on the veranda with the other old folks.

Just Cavalli, f/w 2009

With Daria Werbowy, Longchamp f/w 2009

Topshop, s/s 2009

David Yurman, f/w 2008

Versace, s/s 2009

Careful With That Axe, Eugene

In the glory days before every single had to be reinforced with a slick video, Pink Floyd enhanced their music with a full length movie of just themselves playing in the wastes of dead Pompeii. The film showcased the virtuosity of their psychedelic early records, offered a glimpse of the sessions that would soon yield the behemoth of Dark Side, as well as various deep thoughts about fame, money, fancy equipment and oysters. It’s not so much a movie or even a concert film as a movie/music version of a luscious coffee table book. Interludes of chat, the band playing in an empty ruin of an arena are intercut with long lush shots of landscapes, artifacts, more ruins and many beautiful images, probably designed to aesthetically balance out the offensiveness of Roger Waters’ mug. If one where so inclined, it is the ideal entertainment for bonged-out trippage, but is equally enjoyable for the non-baked among us here in the audience. The song Careful With That Axe, Eugene is, if you don’t know, a smart and clever literary reference.

Caramel

Suzanne Vega and her daughter Ruby Froom, looking lovely. Ruby is also an aspiring singer. The song Caramel from Nine Objects of Desire was used in the preview of some famous movie when in came out, but I forget which one. A romantic one, I believe.

Captain Fantastic

Captain Fantastic is Sir Elton, clearly, hardly a hero, and the Little Dirt Cowboy is his faithful sidekick Bernie Taupin. Together they’re a regular dynamic duo. Here’s the epic tale of their questing towards stardom and success. Some of the best lyrics in the Elton John canon. They’re very personal, but cryptic, private.

Captain Fantastic And The Brown Dirt Cowboy lyrics
Captain Fantastic raised and regimented, hardly a hero
Just someone his mother might know
Very clearly a case for corn flakes and classics
“Two teas both with sugar please”
In the back of an alley

While little Dirt Cowboys turned brown in their saddles
Sweet chocolate biscuits and red rosy apples in summer
For it’s hay make and “Hey mom, do the papers say anything good.
Are there chances in life for little Dirt Cowboys
Should I make my way out of my home in the woods”

Brown Dirt Cowboy, still green and growing
City slick Captain
Fantastic the feedback
The honey the hive could be holding
For there’s weak winged young sparrows that starve in the winter
Broken young children on the wheels of the winners
And the sixty-eight summer festival wallflowers are thinning

For cheap easy meals and hardly a home on the range
Too hot for the band with a desperate desire for change
We’ve thrown in the towel too many times
Out for the count and when we’re down
Captain Fantastic and the Brown Dirt Cowboy
From the end of the world to your town

And all this talk of Jesus coming back to see us
Couldn’t fool us
For we were spinning out our lines walking on the wire
Hand in hand went music and the rhyme
The Captain and the Kid stepping in the ring
From here on sonny sonny sonny, it’s a long and lonely climb