Tuesday, 12 February 2008

weekend shorts new innocence mission



Weekend Shorts: New Innocence Mission; Jeffrey Lewis Comes Alive

Badman has blessed us with a song from the upcoming Innocence Mission

album We Walked in Song, due March 13th. It's got the typically

immersive, shimmering beauty you'd expect from the group; combined

with dreamy lyrics on the joys of morning walks in Brooklyn, it's

almost narcotic.

MP3: The Innocence Mission - Into Brooklyn, Early in the Morning

Dave Fischoff contributes a list of favorite musical things to Dusted

Magazine, and mentions one of my very favorite Leonard Cohen songs,

"One of Us Cannot Be Wrong":

Yes, Dylan is probably the more important songwriter, but it was

Leonard Cohen who made the bigger impact on me as a lyricist. This

song, from his first album, is a perfect example of what he does so

well. The lyrics are strange, even surreal at times, but out of

this weirdness come emotions that are completely universal. I think

the third verse is my favorite: "I heard of a saint who had loved

you / so I studied all night in his school. / He taught that the

duty of lovers / is to tarnish the Golden Rule. / And just when I

was sure / that his teachings were pure / he drowned himself in the

pool. / His body is gone, / but back here on the lawn / his spirit

continues to drool." This is also the only song I've ever covered

since I started making records; there's a version I recorded a long

time ago for an obscure vinyl-only Norwegian compilation that's

(thankfully) very out of print. Mr. Cohen's version is much better.

Kirstiecat posts a review, pictures and setlist from Ron Sexsmith's

Chicago show. As usual the pictures are amazing. Ron cancelled his

show here in Northern Virginia due to voice issues but with any luck

will reschedule soon.


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