Saturday, July 26, 2008

The Weepies - Hideaway

Every so often I look on Amazon for a few favorite artists, to see if they have something new. So recently I was over the moon when The Weepies' album Hideaway showed up. I blogged previously about these two singer/song-writers. Their music is deceptively simple, but it wears so well for me that I never tire of them. And they sink in and gradually spread until they make my bones glow.

Like my favorite poetry, their songs handle simple subjects with grace. Happiness, for instance, is one of the hardest emotions to handle in art; the usual yield is syrup. Darker emotions seem easier material for art. But these two handle happiness, love, subtle feelings of loss, and emotional ephemera, with a light touch and a unique viewpoint. The emotions don't seem to lose much in translation, and so the numbers work deeply for me. I love to paint to their voices. The Summer Obsession is another group that seems to work perfectly for my painting - not sure why.

>>>> Appendix de Grenouille # 10 <<<<

Grenouille turns up the volume so the bass makes the table hum. He bobs up and down gently to the beat, and does back flips at the peaks.

5 comments:

Life As I Know It Now said...

It is much harder for me to convey positive emotions while writing and so much easier to convey negative ones instead. I don't like that because then it seems as if I am an unhappy person when really I am not.

L'Adelaide said...

"bobbing up and down GENTLY and back flipping at the peaks!! " (laughing hysterically) I wish I had one of those guys! hmmm, maybe I do...

Unknown said...

That little frog sure is growing on me.

I don't like syrupy in art either but I am sort of sappy in life and proud of it. ;-)

If you like Kate and Anna McGarrigle, as I know you do, I trust your musical judgements. I will have to check into these artists.

Peace,
pagan

Unknown said...

Wait! He's a toad. I'm sooooooo sorry, Grenouille (and Steve).

Steve Emery said...

Pagan - You had it right the first time; he's a frog. That's what they called him where I bought him (it's what grenouille means - and if you intone it slowly like "ribbit," it sounds like frog calls). I think of him as being like a leopard frog - they also spend most of their time out of the water.

By the way, I think it's interesting that language makes us hear animals differently. We hear, "Quack, quack," but the French hear "Coin, coin," (which sounds like a nasally version of quack, but with the "ck" left off - the following "q" provides it). Actually, listening closely to ducks after learning this, I think the French hear it more accurately for some breeds.

Linda - I'm glad we made you laugh. Do you have frogs there? Too dry?

Liberality - I've struggled a long time, too, with expressing positive emotions credibly. And to me you don't come across as a "down" person - you seem like a positive person who has had some serious stuff to deal with.