This was the surprise waiting for me at the end of the long, long slog of 39-40: someone actually taking the time and making the effort to do a cover of one of my own original songs!
And as a bonus, Monkey Typing Pool have arranged this tune from the first Skates & Rays record as a sound-alike for John Cale in general, and rather specifically "Paris 1919", which just happens to be one of a small handful of tune I'd always intended to do for 39-40 but never got to. Cale's a major hero of mine, and his influence looms large over a lot of what I've done over the past year. In addition to massively informing my arrangements, vocal performances, and sometimes my playing, Cale provided the material for the medley I made out of his song "I Keep a Close Watch" and a similar, better known tune, and I quoted him endlessly in my artsy spoken-word ramblings. I only did one straight cover of one of his songs, but it's among my very favorite things I did during the project.
In any case, I am humbled by the effort and the faint association with one of my personal idols. And if my enjoyment of this recording runs to the narcissistic, what the hell. I still like it.
I will take this opportunity to point out that I've just recently remixed my cover of this original tune by Monkey Typing Pool. The drums in general and the kick in particular were just too damn loud on the original mix, and it bothered me when listening to it in the car recently. I have very, very rarely revisited mixes during 39-40, but for some reason it seemed crucial to get that one right... I just dig both the original and my take on it, and didn't want to leave it all half-ass. And, you know, the MTP guy is a friend of mine in a way that Morrissey, to pick one example of many, just isn't quite.
Personnel:
Monkey Typing Pool (J*ff N*rman)
No comments:
Post a Comment