Niki N. Phaser

There is no point in showing off every one of Roger Waters’ musical merits, every Pink Floyd album he almost entirely written by himself or every legendary gig he was involved in. We’ll just concentrate on this track, Hello (I Love You), which featured on none of his albums, but on the soundtrack of The Last Mimzy and it was the best thing about that rather mediocre movie. In fact, this Howard Shore co-written song doesn’t even really fit that movie, only maybe in some of the lyrics (“The kids will have to separate Their future from our past”, “Your child can read you like a bedtime story”). It sounds far too dramatic and moody for a film about a sort of Terminator Teddy Bear sent from the future to protect a threatened mankind. With an acoustic background that will bring Bowie’s Space Oddity to mind, you’ll find that this track would fit better on some sort of romantic SF thriller about junkies in love with holograms. But, despite, its context and it’s video, Hello (I Love You) remains an interesting piece of music.

VIDEO

Ok, so maybe your San Francisco gran would spit in my eye for calling The Byrds ignored-gold, but the truth remains that you have to be into 60′s music in order to be well acquainted with this band. They are known, but they just haven’t had the luck of Oliver Stone making a movie about them. Though not a fan of their rodeo-Nashville Mr. Hyde, I can’t help acknowledging the timeless quality of songs like Child of the Universe and Eight Miles High.

But, right off the bet, I must clarify that I’m reffering to the orchestrated version of Child of the Universe, as it appears on the end titles of the 1968 sex-comedy, Candy. Also, I should mention that, despite a cast including Marlon Brando, Richard Burton or John Huston, this song is probably the best thing about that movie, though one must admit that the peeks at Ewa Aulin anatomical highlights gives one a retro hard-on. I guess the real thing about The Byrds, as with many bands of their time, is the vocal harmonics they achieved in both of the songs mentioned. Still, maybe Child of the Universe has more charm because of its flower-power-esque lyrics, like “Love for anyone who needs her, Innocence is all that feeds her” or maybe because of the Krzysztof Komeda-like arrangements (including male choir), done most likely by Dave Gruisin, who co-wrote the song with Roger McGuinn. However, Eight Miles High contains some of the most studied vocal harmonics, because their effect creates a sound that could hardly be characterized. But, don’t take my word for it, listen to both songs:

Child of the Universe Eight Miles High

It’s still unclear what kind of music does Califone play, but it doesn’t really matter as long as it sounds like this wonderful song, Bottles & Bones (Shade & Sympathy). This Chicago outfit of proggies dable in some sort of experimental folk, mostly acoustic, but also with some electric shades here and there. They seem like a bunch of guys who work the fields the first six days of the week and then, on Sunday, they gather on someone’s porch and start jamming. No commercial pressure whatsoever – absolute freedom. And Bottles & Bones (Shade & Sympathy) sounds exactly like that. The emotions which transpire through this song are 100% sincere, musically that is (the ooohhh’s of the chorus will make you ponder on your existential loneliness, wherever you are). The lyrics outline a strange universe, dangerous and degraded: “Nervous john, Rescues all the whores” (Taxi Driver ???), “Aching to get your pocket picked” or “Clouds of angels liquored pink and underage”. It kinda sounds like Kurt Cobain faked his suicide just to retire somewhere with no electricity and release unrehearsed songs under the name Califone. Still, the song was written by Tim Rutili, the founder of Califone. In case it sounds familiar, you should know that Bottles & Bones (Shade & Sympathy) was featured on the Will Ferrell movie Stranger Than Fiction, contributing like 60 % to the film’s profoundness.

LISTEN TO THIS EXPERIMENTAL SONG HERE