Way back in the early 1990s, my roommate Richard brought home two CDs that I absolutely hated. One was Nevermind by a band called Nirvanna. The other was a trippy, eclectic work titled Mellow Gold by some naif with the moniker "Beck". After a few years, my reactive pushback against both performers faded.
Fast forward a generation, and toss in a visit to NPR's "All Songs Considered" website. Host Robin Hilton hit a triple this week with a series of recommendations that each snagged my attention in very different ways.
First up -- a Canadian troupe named Malajube and the lovely, dark video that rides along with an infectious pop number, "Il Luna". Poking around Malajube's website, I discovered a more eclectic visual romp for "Porte Disparu".
Second, a jazz singer from Texas -- Kat Edmonson -- who Hilton describes here:
I'm admittedly dubious when it comes to singers who cover well-worn jazz songs. How many versions of "Body and Soul" or "Stardust" do we really need? But when I heard Take to the Sky, a new collection of jazz standards and pop-song covers from Austin-based singer Kat Edmonson, I was immediately taken by its unusually novel arrangements. The songs are still rooted in traditional jazz instrumentation and patterns, so it's not like they're wildly experimental. But Edmonson and the gifted and inspired musicians in her backing band rework the songs enough to make them sound entirely fresh. Take to the Sky includes cuts like Cole Porter's "Night and Day" and the Johnny Mercer-Henry Mancini song "Charade," but also features a gorgeous, smoky version of John Lennon's "(Just Like) Starting Over" and Carole King's "One Fine Day."
Like most of the CDs I listen to, I popped Take to the Sky in my computer without checking the liner notes or track listings, to avoid any preconceived notions of what to expect. This opening song is so beautifully re-imagined, I didn't even recognize it, at first, as one of the most covered songs around: Gershwin's "Summertime."
I took a listen, and he's right. Edmonson's cover of "Summertime" is wonderfully conceived. Go take a listen to it here.
Finally, our old friend Beck. Fame and talent can carry you a long way, even when a shmuck in Richmond spends years trying to dismiss you. Beck's brand new website is nothing if not fun to explore, and he's filled it with all sorts of amazing little gems, as Hilton explains:
It started with the brilliantly conceived Record Club, wherein Beck and some of his friends get together and cover some of their favorite songs, like the Velvet Underground & Nico track "Femme Fatale."
Beck has since added a mix-tapes section called Planned Obsolescence, as well as a new interviews section called Irrelevant Topics, featuring completely unstructured conversations between Beck and other artists. His first guest is Tom Waits.
The website actually did more to bring me around to Beck than any of his hit songs over the years, many of which are buried in my brain for a variety of reasons.
