Manafonistas

on life, music etc beyond mainstream

 

 
 
 

„Valtz de mon pere“ could have fitted on Emmylou Harris‘ „Wreckin‘ Ball“, one of country music’s darkest hours. Like in that famous scene of Maya Deren’s short film „Meshes of the Afternoon“, Rickie Lee Jones‘ New Orleans-fuelled album is changing scenes dramatically, from step to step and track to track, and it all makes dark sense for a woman, 58, who now lives on a  street made famous by  Tennessee Williams‘ „A Streetcar named Desire“. Manafonista’s only real country girl will open an old bottle of her best Bordeaux in the woods. 

 

This entry was posted on Mittwoch, 27. Mai 2015 and is filed under "Blog". You can follow any responses to this entry with RSS 2.0. Both comments and pings are currently closed.

5 Comments

  1. Michael Engelbrecht:

    Wundervoll.

  2. Michael Engelbrecht:

    „The Other Side of Desire“ (Album Trailer)

  3. Michael Engelbrecht:

    I´m listening now to my new record The Other Side of Desire. It´s also on my own label … For whatever metaphor or entendre, here in the Crescent City, it simply means I live on the other side of Desire, the street of Tennessee Williams play. On this side, things are a little slower, friendly, more … old fashioned than the rest of the world. A little poorer perhaps, and a bit more dangerous than it ought to be but I love it here.

    I am happy with the loss of prestige. We are just who we are here. I see folks with 25 million in their bank account, acting like they are poor singers and wonder, how does that work when you are alone? Who are you? Really. Give it away. You will still be you.

    This work is inspired by many years of not writing anything and sitting with, or on, as it were, all the events of my life until I had something to paint with. I came here to write and to live a different way than what I have known in the west. Here in the south, life is sustained by traditions. We just don´t have it out in Pioneer Country. And I have not grown up with the local evil, and I can see the good, and this is what I have come to do. To see the good, and reflect it back. We are constantly reminded of our ugliness. We are constantly on guard for our cruelty and despair. But … we wake up … the sun rises … and we have a great capacity for forgiveness, recovery, love.

    Here is another record then, made of my imagination, and whatever else that has no words, using the clay of this place and the shapes of my eyes to form some kind of picture of my life, or my heart, that I alone can understand, and hopefully that others can enjoy.

    You can find inspiration, healing, see your own maps. But surely a certain knowledge is given to me – to lay down – once I complete this … odyssey.

    What I mean is, this was spoken to you. I am a pop singer. I like to sing to you, this is not for me, and aren´t you smart if you get it. This is music for you by my journey and the thing on the other side of it. It is never fun to say I am too important to pretend that I don´t love it when you listen to what I say. I´m not Moses. I´m just, you know, his brother who doesn´t stutter.

    I have had a most extraordinary career. The Big Success of the debut, rise and fall of Queen of Pop, which I like to think I reluctantly reigned for a couple of years until the pressure simply disintegrated my will. For some of us are not made for such scrutiny. There were bitter moments seeing my legend rewritten in the image of others, or hearing my … style … lifted, watching my name all but erased. I kept performing. Then one day I looked out at the world and felt little else but love. It happens sometimes.

    I have had many decades to live with fame, and I understand it now better than I did when I was young. What I do not and do desire, and what I am able to accept, and give. These things come to me now, the great tidings of age, for all of us born this day have come to bring you joy. Something that will save us all. Call it what you will. It’s laying there in a manger. Go find it and take it to a hotel. Make sure no one else hears about it or they will be selling little mangers outside of your church.

    So now, no beret, no boyfriends, no bad ass bravado. I am bad ass. But who cares. No one is taking my lifestyle to market. I am who I am, the age I am. If you like to buy that, okay, but you aren´t buying it from me.

    But what I have is music, that is what I am offering, that is what you can make your own. I am fueled, bitten, ignited by the events of my life. But they are grafted from my bone. I am still intact.

    Here is my new record. It took 10 weeks of recording, from start to end. And only about five weeks were in the studio recording. I like that.
     
    Rickie Lee Jones, 2015

  4. Lajla nizinski:

    Rickie Lee Jones hat das uramerikanische Modeste, was Joni Mitchell nicht hat. „Take me as I am“ singt die eine, die andere lebt es. Die dritte hat den Bordeaux schon bereit gestellt.

  5. Michael Engelbrecht:

    JIMMY CHOOS

    o cherie
    come and take a ride with me
    you just need to clear out your mind
    o mon cher
    cuz I’ll go with you anywhere
    can’t we leave that demon behind?
    yeah

    I know about the Motel 6
    I know about the truckstop stations
    I know about giving up on yourself
    you don’t have to tell me about giving up
    but don’t tarry in the street Pauline
    because the cops down here they’re cold and mean

    if they see you up there on your hot tin roof
    throwing pop bottles at them
    with your gold cap tooth
    you chipped it for your vampire smile
    can we leave all this beauty for a while
    just show them the Halston
    they’re gonna love that
    show us the Halston
    and those Jimmy Choos
    the Jimmy Choo shoes
    the Jimmy Choos hey
    the Jimmy Choo shoes yeah

    I know about the Motel 6
    I know about the truck stop stations
    I know about giving up on it all
    tell me about giving up
    I like those Jimmy Choos
    the Jimmy Choo shoes
    the Jimmy Choos
    choo choo choos
    the Jimmy Choo shoes
    choo shoes the choo shoes choo shoes
    the Jimmy Choos
    choo shoes choo shoes
    the choo choo choo shoes
    someone loves you tonight
    someone loves you tonight
    someone loves you tonight
    yeah

    RLJ-Vocals
    Doug Belote-Drums
    Lenny Castro-Percussion
    Jon Cleary -B3
    John Porter-Acoustic & Electric Guitars, Banjo
    James Singleton-Upright Bass
    David Torkanowsky-Wurlitzer Electric Piano


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