I told NovySan a few weeks ago that I just didn’t think I gotNick Cave. I said, “I keep trying to like him, and I just haven’t gotten there yet.” I wasn’t sure what it was - it wasn’t the voice. I’ve always liked Bob Dylan, Willie Nelson, Lou Reed, Shane MacGowan, and the previously-mentioned Tod A of Firewater. Tom Waits took me awhile, too, though, so I kept trying, thinking “Sooner or later, I’m going to hear the song that breaks through to me.”
I heard it today. (And many thanks to Radio Paradise for playing it for me.)
Now, I’m aware (because I read the WikiPedia article) that “Where the Wild Roses Grow” was Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds’ most popular single back in 1995, which means it’s going to be one of his more “accessible” songs, and I’m sure Kylie’s lovely vocals helped too. Maybe that’s what I needed. But I’ve been browsing YouTube clips, and I can confirm it - something’s shifted. I get it now.
Of course, having said Tom Waits took me awhile, too, I went searching for a duet. I haven’t found one yet, but I did find this:
Maybe I should give the PonyShow its own category, too.
Tonight’s PonyShow’s was all about raising money for Hillary’s campaign. We had Hillary volunteers, Hillary’s state field director, Hillary buttons and signs and balloons. I danced to Natacha Atlas’s cover of “It’s a Man’s World,” and NovySan offered to stalk the candidate. All in all, a good night.
I understand the 4/4. The 2/4 as well. These are the rhythms of the heart, the rhythms of a human walk, the rhythms of water dripping from the sky. 3/4? More exotic, yes, but it’s a gallop, the rhythm of a horse in motion. A 9/8, though? Where did that come from? How did that extra beat find its way in, and why do I like it so much? And how long is it going to take to master it?
Drove down toward LAX to pick up a rental car, took my father down to a conference in Anaheim (where we had lunch with a recently-discovered, several-times-removed cousin descended (as are we) from Frisian pirates), drove to Riverside for Alli and Astro’s wedding, drove back to Venice, decided I was so enjoying the rented Malibu that I couldn’t be finished driving it yet, and drove to Santa Monica to have a drink at Finn McCool’s (where we’ve often had a drink with dinner, but never before had a drink on its own; sadly, the musicians quit just as we walked in), then walked down the beach in the fog.
Sometimes I think I should just give Duran Duran their own header.
I danced to “Rio” tonight, in honor of the 80s Night theme at the UkuLady’s Pony Show. (Every Wednesday night, at the Elephant Asylum in Hollywood. It’s not 80s Night every Wednesday, though. Next week, it’s Pioneers and Cowboys. I don’t think there will be any Duran Duran, but I am wondering if I can find an Arabic cover of “Rawhide.”)