Friday, October 3, 2008

Don't be memory



The picture shows an inverted, carved head of Medusa, stolen by the Byzantines and used as the base for a column at the underground cisterna Basilica in Istanbul... I have a feeling I may have used this photo in a post already, but I'm not sure..

Two tracks from the Chills album Submarine Bells..
The first, Part past, part fiction, dealing with the alienation of being overseas, and the way you fall back on memories, only to get mired down and obsessed with the treacherous past...
The second, Don't be- memory, with the anxiousness of a long distance relationship, trying to keep things fresh, stop them sliding into memory, solidifying...

Two tracks from Carmen McRae:

How did he look?

So you ran into my former fiance... and there are so many things I am dying to know..
captures that "rug from under your feet" feeling of encountering an old flame, and suddenly being overwhelmed with old feelings, old desires, even though you rationally know it's over..

Ghost of yesterday..

Memories are a ghost, mournfully stalking the room in the dark..

Next the Go-betweens' Second hand furniture.. maybe I'm being too obtuse here but I see it as being about how we invest objects with memories; after his partner moves out and takes the furniture with her, Grant Mclennan sees it all 4 years later in a second hand store...

End with Richard Galliano and Michel Portal's Oblivion, which I'm linking to the theme of memory via the tango and some exiled Argentineans.. it's a great performance.

Podbean player has forgotton where it stored its mp3s.

5 comments:

.... said...

Very much liked the Carmen McRae. Classy stuff

goneforeign said...

Nilp; Regardless of the music I much prefer Podbean as a means of delivering it, I don't know if the others are easier for the poster but I like the ease of transition 'twixt cuts this way.

nilpferd said...

I like that "regardless of the music.." comment, GF- it says, take notice, guys, there's something for everyone in nilp's posts..

Did I mention I don't even own a car, by the way? I did used to be a big Mercedes fan as a boy, though.. you really should visit the museum here in Stuttgart if you get the chance, it is very good.. my daughter keeps insisting I take her..

Abahachi said...

Very nice. Who's the guitarist with Carmen McRae?

nilpferd said...

Guitarist is (consults booklet) Mundell Lowe, both are off the album "Bittersweet", which also contains McRae's one A-Z listed track so far, "Spring can really hang you up the most". Highly recommended.