Monday, December 3, 2007

Mad Tom of Bedlam

Louisiana born, San Fransisco based folk singer Jolie Holland is my favorite singer. I payed her no attention so far on the blog because her material available on Youtube tends to be relatively pale. This bit Isn't pale at all. In fact, you can't go any darker than an ancient English minstrel that demonizes mental asylum patients. "I make mince pies of children's thighs / and feed them to the fairies"... Add a bit of moonshine chic to that and you've got a masterpiece.

10 comments:

Leora said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Leora said...

oh boy yuval, if you like jolie holland, have i got a music collection for you.

Ari said...

double time on that one, ever heard any of madeline peyroux music?

יובל בן-עמי Yuval Ben-Ami said...

Yeah, I know her. She doesn't move me as much. Dunno why.

Ari said...

I see... i cant say i'm moved by madeline peyroux's lyrics in the way that i am by jolie's..., i think its just my nature to go back to the nostalgic elements of some music and her sound definitely has more of a wistful value for me. with jolie well.. if i may draw a comparison here... she challenges me and touches on the darker skins of my soul in the way tom waits or elliot smith might. but thats just me trying to rationalize the inexplicable.

יובל בן-עמי Yuval Ben-Ami said...

No ,you got that right, the dark current does it. This is why "Catalpa" is better than "Escondida". It's darker.

Anonymous said...

Shalom Yuval. Mah schlomcha? I remember loving the Jolie Holland music that was playing as I lay on your sofa ill and half dazed on a summer afternoon a few months ago. I can't find her in the city library. Please recommend one of her albums to me? ( I'm too broke to want to risk buying any of them!)

Girl who speaks in tongues

P.S. A group that I think you will like is called Feist. I have only heard their album Let it Die. One of my favourite tracks is 'Inside and out', especially the beginning. If you get the chance to listen to them then do. (They sing in French too).

יובל בן-עמי Yuval Ben-Ami said...

Wow! Good to hear from you, H!

I reccomend "Catalpa", her first album. It's made up of basement tapes and assorted recordings that a friend of hers put together as an album, so it's quite rustic and very good.

I hope you're doing well and that life is treating you as well as it should. I'll look up Feist for sure.

Anonymous said...

Thank you. I love Catalpa! It's playing now - I was going to give it to my Dad for Christmas - but I'd like to keep it. It's a tough call.

I spent all of Monday listening to it on the underground and trains as I travelled back home from my Grandparent's in London with, poetically I think, a bag of Jaffa oranges that my Grandma gave me. (Family in Israel send her a box of them every year.)

I'm looking forward to when I'll finally get back to Israel. It's good to see you're looking well in your recent Haifa cafe and Little Prince photos. I guess blogs are a bit like one-way glass - you get yourself reflected back. I check Everywhere most weeks. Ok I'm rambling. i have to go and start my day.

H X O

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