A list of inspirational music artists (and a pick from their work).
- Leonard Cohen. The Gypsy's Wife.
in reality Cohen is a brilliant poet and an inspiring figure whose music is, frankly speaking, of secondary relevance - however, I'm still not sure what he did to deserve such a disreputable shower of fake admirers, stage whores, and karaoke merchants that have all tried to imitate his style - Patrick Cowley. Megatron Man.
unknown to most clubbers and bedroom techno DJs, Cowley is the most important person in the history of electronic dance music; he tragically died in 1982 - Karen Carpenter. We've Only Just Begun.
the voice that can reduce you to tears and break your heart, really no-one else that I know of comes close to her vocal talent - and a truly remarkable human being and lifestory beyond that - John Coltrane. To Be.
one of the problems with performing musicians is that they almost inevitably turn into fucking minstrels - not Coltrane however, he continued to challenge himself and others with the most amazing energy and talent right to the very end - Karlheinz Stockhausen. Licht.
even by simply experiencing Stockhausen through the prism of the responses to his work and texts, you know this man is a genius of the highest order
- Yoko Ono. Fly.
the increasing influence of all the Beatles' muso buddies was a disaster for Yoko's music art career, yet there was still time for some amazing recordings to come out - JS Bach. Goldberg Variations.
more than a god, a composer still possessed by a divine spirit that doesn't even exist - Christian Vander. Köhntarkösz (Part 1).
in the depressingly vast sea of epigones, plagiarists and copycats, we can still have such a rare creature as the brilliant unclassifiable Vander - Fela Kuti. Water No Get Enemy.
Fela's incredible expression and charisma and passion flows through his music in perfect congruency - Toshiji Mikawa. Repo.
the only pure noise artist that matters - all the others are fakes
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9 comments:
Even better than the Dusted Top 10 from a few years ago - cannot disagree with a single choice of yours. I was spinning Coltrane's Olatunji Concert yesterday and the emotional rush was so intense I had to pause it a good few times to comprehend the emotion of the gig. I'm with you with the Carpenters too. Along with your choice, Rainy Days and Mondays and Superstar are amongst the finest pop songs ever created. Thanks for the read.
The Gypsy's wife is my all time favourite. In general the whole "Field commander Cohen - tour of 1979" is my undisputed favourite album (does any other versions of Gypsy's wife exist? i would love to hear them)
The violine alone brings me to tears of blissful despair, adding the lyrics of Cohen it makes the perfect catharsis. The Gypsy's wife is perfectly embraced by "The Smokey life" and "Lover. lover. lover"
The problem of Cohen is whenever you mention one piece such as The Gypsy's wife you have to say Stranger song, Chelsea Hotel, Paperthin motel, Master song, Memories, Closing time, Sisters of Mercy... and i could empathize the importance of a couple of hundred other titles and it would all just be equal...
Leonard Cohen is simply the greatest poet - ever! And it's so easy to love him and despair and rejoice and despair again..
I guess i'm just another hopeless fan... At least i've only got 2 or 3 idols...
To me, Cohen's music never was of secondary relevance as the sound of his voice on his "Songs of L.C." album was what first turned me on to his work. My favourite song of his has to be Teachers.
Couldn't agree more on J.S. Bach. Here's a very short clip (from the Matthew Passion), which I recently found particularly breathtaking:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2QqZEW4Js8c
Did you get those Cohen tickets in the end, William?
Sadly, I missed out.
Cowley is a genius. Though I prefer MIND WARP. Those synth sounds are fucking lovely.
I was only vaguely familiar with Patrick Cowley through the Sylvester classics 'Do You Wanna Funk?' and 'Mighty Real', but your post inspired me to listen to more, and - if we're voting for our favourites here - I'll have to come out of the closet and plump for 'Menergy'. I haven't been able to stop listening to it since - pure genius!
Just peeped out Yoko's "Fly" on YouTube.
Makes "The Smurfs Go Pop" sound like Beethoven by comparison.
Goldberg Variations. Music to sooth the savage beast.
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