Fever Ray "When I Grow Up"

Many thanks to LD for turning me on to Fever Ray. Fever Ray is a solo effort by Sweden's Karin Elisabeth Dreijer Andersson who also performs in a band called The Knife with her brother Olof Dreijer.

The video for Fever Ray's "When I Grow Up" is really something special. A mystical creature stands in the backyard, familiar ground while the leaves of Fall take refuge in the still waters, but still waters do run deep. The witch is clothed in all the garbage that is heaped upon us throughout our lives. She stands there working her magic, filled with regret and longing for what once was, and also hope for what still might be. Her spells reach a crescendo amidst crashing waves and turbulent emotion only to finally come to rest, and when our soul has been calmed she will leave us to our own dreams, and the gateway through the backyard and the waters will close. We are left alone to find our own way and our own loves, and to accept who we have become.

Fever Ray:  Website





Thanks to FeverRayMusic for the upload to YouTube.

The Carpenters "Calling Occupants of Interplanetary Craft"

The Carpenters cover of Klaatu's "Calling Occupants of Interplanetary Craft (The Recognized Anthem of World Contact Day)" may not be the first thing you think of when remembering the The Carpenters, however, that may change after watching this video!

I'm not sure when World Contact Day is taking place, but I think the odds are pretty good that the interplanetary craft may just turn around and head to the next planet after a couple of minutes after making contact on this one. Too negative for you? Perhaps I'm just seeing our planet as half full today.



Bonus Video: Klaatu's original track...



Thanks to XkqueenringX and KOUJI3288E for the uploads to YouTube.

Off The Charts: The Song-Poem Story

Did you ever see that ad in the back of certain magazines that advertises: Write a hit song! Send us your poem and we'll put it to music!  I sure did and I was always fascinated and curious about what it was all about. I was pretty sure that it was just some sort of scam.

In the 1990's my friends and I actually wrote a nonsense song and sent it into one of those companies - lo and behold, we got back a letter stating that they really enjoyed the lyrics and would like to put it to music. All I had to do was pony up some money. Now I can't remember exactly how much they were asking for, but I do know that I wasn't about to send anyone money to record the lyrics I sent to them - afterall, it was a tune we wrote in just a few minutes that had made up words, and if I remember correctly, idolized Ava Gabor! After seeing "Off the Charts: The Song-Poem Story" I've come to regret that decision.

"Off the Charts: The Song-Poem Story" is a wonderful PBS produced documentary about the people that send in song poems and the musicians who record and send back the recorded music.  Director, Jamie Meltzer, dug deep and his research paid off. The film profiles several unique characters - some behind the pen and others behind the microphone.  All parties involved seem to have their heart in the process and everyone appears to get something out of it.

I watched the movie on my streaming Netflix account, but I was happy to discover that PBS uploaded the film to YouTube - so set aside an hour and get lost in some pretty unique "outsider" tunes. I look forward to hearing what you thought of the film. Leave a note in the comments area below.





Off The Charts Companion CD Soundtrack