5.30.2005
antony and the johnsons, "you are my sister"
i should post more about music...)
jj turned me on to the music of antony and the johnsons a while back, shortly after i missed seeing them with him. ho hum to that.
anyway, in the abstract, the rumors of a frank decaro-esque gentleman who sings like nina simone had me from the get-go, and the comparisons to scott walker certainly didn't hurt either. when their record i am a bird now hit my headphones, i was immediately hooked, and the track "you are my sister" began to emerge as the album's personal highlight...
"you are my sister" is musically not the most daring track on the album, being essentially a piano ballad with the structure of a lullaby. and its initial melancholia brings to mind other handsome, sad compositions of an indie variety-- it has a "classic" sort of quality not unlike nick cave, the tindersticks, etc. but as the track continues, its haunting vocals and subversive, mantra-like lyrics begin to override its own gloominess. the lyric "you are my sister/and i love you" is not slumber-inducing; in fact, it's a bit of a wake-up call. the song's boldness arises from its effeminacy. it becomes grand and glamorous without sacrificing the tenderness that designates it as a ballad. it is immensely theatrical, but somehow not silly.
here it is worth mentioning that i am a bird now consists largely of duets (as if singer antony's deep, soul-penetrating voice needed any assistance). so consider my pleasant surprise to read that the worn, bowie-esque voice that accompanies him at the refrain is none other than 80's superstar boy george. as the two bring the song to its operatic conclusion, it has the resonance of a declaration. its sharp, gender-bending defiance seems to express a solidarity between the two singers, and perhaps even the listener. as a fairly deep-rooted hetero-sexual, my connection to this quality can't extend too far beyond admiration. but the strange sense of unison that the song seems to contain is something i respond to very deeply.
jj turned me on to the music of antony and the johnsons a while back, shortly after i missed seeing them with him. ho hum to that.
anyway, in the abstract, the rumors of a frank decaro-esque gentleman who sings like nina simone had me from the get-go, and the comparisons to scott walker certainly didn't hurt either. when their record i am a bird now hit my headphones, i was immediately hooked, and the track "you are my sister" began to emerge as the album's personal highlight...
"you are my sister" is musically not the most daring track on the album, being essentially a piano ballad with the structure of a lullaby. and its initial melancholia brings to mind other handsome, sad compositions of an indie variety-- it has a "classic" sort of quality not unlike nick cave, the tindersticks, etc. but as the track continues, its haunting vocals and subversive, mantra-like lyrics begin to override its own gloominess. the lyric "you are my sister/and i love you" is not slumber-inducing; in fact, it's a bit of a wake-up call. the song's boldness arises from its effeminacy. it becomes grand and glamorous without sacrificing the tenderness that designates it as a ballad. it is immensely theatrical, but somehow not silly.
here it is worth mentioning that i am a bird now consists largely of duets (as if singer antony's deep, soul-penetrating voice needed any assistance). so consider my pleasant surprise to read that the worn, bowie-esque voice that accompanies him at the refrain is none other than 80's superstar boy george. as the two bring the song to its operatic conclusion, it has the resonance of a declaration. its sharp, gender-bending defiance seems to express a solidarity between the two singers, and perhaps even the listener. as a fairly deep-rooted hetero-sexual, my connection to this quality can't extend too far beyond admiration. but the strange sense of unison that the song seems to contain is something i respond to very deeply.
