So here is a perfect example of me completely reversing a previous stance. About 2 1/2 years ago I coughed up a short little post about how much I detested this Devendra Banhart CD that a friend loaned me. I don't know if the "freak folk" movement had been labeled at that point, by I was having none of it. The voice shot right through my brain and made me want to buy a Mariah Carey disc. (OK, it didn't really, just wanted to see if you were paying attention).
Well, while on vacation last week (and I know this is shocking news) I spent a little time at a record store. How (or why, for that matter) I came to purchase Cripple Crow is that I just happened onto his section shortly after pulling a copy of Kate Bush's Aerial from the rack. That, and I'd recently listened to an mp3 of some Banhart tune that was posted over at Salon.com. I just took a chance, is all.
I made the right choice. I don't know what my ears heard when taking in Oh Me Oh My... but this record is just gorgeous. And still weird. Folk music by way of Venezuela and Mars. I've read a few reviews since where longtime Banhart fans aren't so hot on the new record for all of the usual reasons: not low-fi enough, too accessible, etc. Hey, that all may be true but it's not detracting from my experience one bit. I have a feeling it's going to make me run out and get all of the other (and weirder) Banhart recordings.
Me and The Wife listened to Cripple Crow several times over vacation. We came to the conclusion that it sounds like a 'modern' folks record passed through a 1967-era filter. Or something.
Anyway, this little exercise goes to show you that you just never know about how you'll feel about a chunk of music in the future, which is why I never get rid of anything (except for that one icky Lee Ritenour CD I bought).
First posted on Mark Is Cranky
Article comments
1 - zingzing
"oh me, oh my," d.b.'s first album, was recorded very simply on 4-track and answering machines in paris from san francisco (or something like that). i loved it when it came out, because it was so simple and creepy. his voice sounded like it was coming from a witch.
"cripple crow" is d.b.'s fourth album. in 2004, d.b. released two albums (recorded at the same time,) called "rejoicing in the hands" and "nino rojo." i don't have "nino," but "rejoicing" is almost the middle-point between "oh me" and "cc." it is still creepy beyond belief, but it also features the production values that "cc" shows off. if you like "cc," get "rejoicing;" you won't be disappointed.
2 - Clubhouse Cancer
Glad you loved this, Mark. I like it too, and I think it's Devenrda's best.
I think Deadheads in particular would love Devendra. "Mama Wolf" would sound great on Side 2 of Workingman's. Live, Devendra leads the band and crowd in a demented, cathartic wolf-howl session at the end of this song. It's fun.
May I suggest a delving into Devendra's sometime cohort Joanna Newsom? I've ranted about her before, but I don't mind doing so again. There are lots of free legal Joanna MP3s out there, but you'll be happy just buying her one album, The Milk-Eyed Mender from 2004.
When Joanna sings live, rainbows sometimes come out instead of notes. Her songs are made out of candy, and a team of unicorns act as her roadies. All this is true.
3 - DJRadiohead
That's the backstory on a number of CDs in my collection... except for the part about Mariah Carey. I have learned to try to be more careful about letting a first spin of a CD carry too much weight. I am quick to elevate an album to CLASSIC status only to find out it doesn't hold up or to pan an album and later realize I love it.
4 - Mark Saleski
i've never at first loved a record and then gone away from it. interesting.
5 - DJRadiohead
It's rare that I loved a record and then turned to hating it. I can't think of a situation that has happened, really. It's more... there have been times I have gotten caught up in the excitement of an album and then after the passing of time when I went back to it I found it was still good but perhaps not the masterwork I first dubbed it.
6 - Eric Berlin
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