Heathen wrote:
"It comes to my attention that a now rather dull thread over on the Hellblazer forum has more ""pages"" than this one, which concerns me.
In an effort to expand the ""tea"" thread, I have devised the following, rather clever, I think, tangential thread.
As a coffee and beer drinker with an occasional predilection for malt whiskies, I can't say much beyond the twin assault on my head from caffeine-withdrawal and alcohol-overdose. So ...
The theme is ""My Cup of Tea"".
Just to be clear that everyone understands the term is used in england to mean something that you are fond of. As in ""The films of Johnny Depp are just my cup of tea"" which means they really hit the spot.
In the light of a conversation I had when I was recently summoned by The Headmaster, my cup of tea is a type of music I will refer to as ""American Gothic Folk"" or ""alt.country.gothic"".
This music is much maligned and mislabelled by the people who make labels for music.
(An immediate aside: in the fashion trade there are people who make clothes and there are people who make labels. I know which group of people are more talented.)
Like its ancestor ""Country"" (which after all brought us Johnny Cash and Emmylou Harris) it is seen in a rather cliched form.
I am not an american, but I think much of this music is American Folk. Tales of real people's lives that have as much in common with Bruce Springsteen as Woody Guthrie.
I should say that their are british artistes that play this stuff too, but on the whole I associate it with Americana.
The scope of this music is so diverse that you might not recognise its extremes. Jim White has music references in common with Beck, Jason Downs plays with rapper Milk, Sparklehorse collaborate with Tom Waits, PJ Harvey and Nina Persson on songs that combine melody with distortion. Indeed Persson's own solo project A Camp is produced by Sparklehorse main man (and genius) Mark Linkous in the country feedback gothic style. A fine change from the also fine power pop of the Cardigans.
Loose Music is my recommended record label, they have a name for ""alt.country"" but three artists show how diverse they are.
M.Ward sounds like a younger, fitter Tom Waits with a touch of cajun thrown in. His version of Bowie's ""let's Dance"" is surprising.
Canadian Hawksley Workman is a charming charismatic vaudevillian balladeer who has written my favourite song of this year. ""Let's make love like we're the last on Earth, and I've made the choice for us my darling to be the last on Earth."" Intensely sinister !
The Handsome Family tell tales that would not be out of place in the late lamented Flinch anthology. The Giant of Illinois who died from a blister on his foot. The insane woman who gets drunk, but ""there is only so much wine you can drink in one life and it can never be enough to save you from the bottom of the glass"". ""The Cathedral in Cologne looks like a spaceship"". The tale of broken love which states ""it's only human to want to kill a beautiful thing"". The Woman Downstairs who starved herself to death. But you can read the lyrics as stories on the webpage
http://handsomefamily.home.mindspring.com/Nlyrics.html Brett Sparks is the main voice of The Handsome Family, and for me he has the finest, most soulful voice around. On their new album ""Twilight"" he sings ""When the rope of death strangles and dark waters roar and foam, when fear and trembling hold me and the slimy pit pulls down, I know you are there.""
His wife Rennie writes the words and she is a startling storyteller. And very funny between the songs. A song laments the passing of billions of passenger pigeons through culls and hunting and afterwards Rennie scowls ""they're only rats with wings"".
The Handsome Family are My Cup Of Tea.
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Adrian Brown (London)
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