I've read many "2016 sucks" posts on Twitter and other comment pages. I
haven't written mine yet, but after Victoria Wood's untimely passing
yesterday, I think it's about time. If you've been through my posting history, you'll know I've been writing about my favourite music, and I planned to hopefully introduce people to some left-fielders. However, after the dismal start to this year, the focus is on just one song.
Just one song? Well, one song from a brilliant album by Laurie Anderson. I've been a fan since I first heard O Superman, but Strange Angels (1989) was the first album where the focus left the spoken word and vocoder, revealing the most mesmerising singing voice. The album, which gave rise to the "Empty Places" tour (and we all have those Empty Places in our lives), touches on themes of missed chances, bad decisions, defiance and loss. The tracks include "The Dream Before", which revisits Hansel and Gretel in their twilight years, shacked up in a flat in Berlin, with Hansel wistfully pondering his feelings for the wicked witch; "Coolsville", where the vocals overlay each other with a slow, fading echo to tell a tale of unrequited love, and the delightful "Babydoll", wherein Laurie complains about her very bossy, male brain.
But after hosts of angels singing in the garden, kerjillions of stars and describing Heaven as "...a perfect little place that doesn't really need you", we come to the last song, Hiawatha. The song that takes the idea of Empty Places to its logical conclusion as it brings the album itself to a close. Starting with the opening stanza from Longfellow's The Song of Hiawatha, sung in the upper register with crystal clarity, the song leads into a meandering melody that brings in the familiar metaphor of hanging new stars in the sky, with late and lamented characters from the history books and popular culture carrying on their lives in the hereafter. There are obscure references aplenty, and even The Star Spangled Banner makes an oblique appearance. Then, the song goes back to its beginning, describing a dark forest of pine trees on the shores of a bright, sea-like lake; all those angels fade away in the long denouement as Laurie vocalises over the sparse, yet warm and comforting, music.
Dear 2016 - we have enough stars in the sky for now, thank you.
Friends - I'd love for you to listen to this song (or the whole album). I was going to post a link to the song on YouTube, but there were no official uploads of Hiawatha, and those that I found had "fan videos" to accompany them which detract from the song, as all the imagery you need is in the music. You need to close your eyes and drift away with this song. Indeed, on the cover of the album, even Laurie is seen with her eyes closed. It would be a pleasure to send this song to you via the iTunes "gift" system - let me know if you'd like a copy.
