speed of dark

Last Saturday Indie Mom and I went to see the Decemberists perform at the Hollywood Bowl with the LA Philharmonic Orchestra. The evening was comfortably cool, and we had great seats; in fact we had better seats than actor Adrian Grenier, whom we saw with his date. We'll have some posts about the Decemberists and the opening acts, Andrew Bird and Band of Horses, pretty soon. We are hampered by the fact that Indie Mom took the photos but has no computer at this time to upload them.

So this post is not about the concert; it's about the songs that were played over the sound system before the show even began, offering a unique opportunity for time travel. This first song caught my attention because I immediately recognized it from Mr. Folkie's collection of oddball country/folk.

Most people today would rather be beaten with a stick than listen to yodeling, but at one time yodeling was very popular mainstream music. I appreciate it as an elaborate vocal skill, and there are certain other types of music that I actually like less. In the 1940's, the Cackle Sisters, Carolyn and Mary Jane DeZurik, farm girls from Royalton, Minn., took yodeling to an exceptional level. They incorporated birdlike chirps and trills and sounds of farm animals into their yodels.

The Cackle Sisters: I Left Her Standing There

The lyrics to this little ditty are hilarious. The sound quality is not great because apparently their music is available only from recordings of their performances on radio shows.

If you think this song is silly
Go right ahead and laugh
But the heart in this hillbilly
Is busted right in half
Ah, I left her standing there
With a doo-dad in her hair
But I guess she didn't care so much for me.

Listen to more about the Cackle Sisters and stream a couple of other songs at NPR.

While I don't intend for Speed of Dark to become a covers-only blog, I realize we are posting quite a few of them lately. I like a good cover song as much as anyone, however, and at least two I had not heard previously were in the pre-show music. Most good covers were excellent songs in their original renditions, and that is certainly true of these.

I am not absolutely sure that I found the covers that were played at this show. One was the Kinks' "Lola" with female vocals in a British accent. "Lola" was originally released in 1970, and in 1979 The Raincoats released a cover on their self-titled album (Wikipedia). That version is most likely to be the one that we heard.

The Raincoats deserve a Time Travel post all to themselves, although I confess I don't know much about them. I do know that Kurt Cobain was very inspired by these three ladies from London.

The Raincoats: Lola from The Raincoats (1979)
The Raincoats MySpace | Website
Buy: Rough Trade

Ana, Gina and Vicky of the Raincoats, 1981

As I was searching for Lola covers I came across this fascinating a capella version by The Swan Arcade. This Yorkshire group formed in 1970 and enjoyed some folk-rock popularity until breaking up in 1978. In 2001 many of their most popular songs were rereleased on Round Again

The Swan Arcade: Lola from Round Again (2001)
The Swan Arcade: MySpace
Buy: eMusic and iTunes

Then there was an absolutely ethereal version of Peter Schilling's "Major Tom (Coming Home)" with female vocals. This is one of those timeless songs that is thrilling and beautiful no matter how many times you hear it, and this gorgeous re-interpretation nearly made my hair stand up. I spent a long time searching for it, and I am glad that I did and that I am now aware of The Space Lady, whose real name is Susan Dietrich, a solo performer from San Francisco, who often performs wearing a winged helmet.

Whether or not this is the version we heard Saturday night, it is truly a gem that will give you goosebumps on goosebumps. You want to follow the links to her MySpace and website pages because she has more covers and original songs in her unique style.

The Space Lady: Major Tom (Coming Home) from Amazing Thingz (1990)
The Space Lady MySpace | Website | About the Space Lady

As I searched for covers of "Major Tom," I also found this one by Dealership, a delightful foursome from Oakland, CA, across the bay from The Space Lady. This reminded me that I have several other tracks of theirs, and I'll have to work them into the blog. If you like Stars and Husky Rescue, you will probably like Dealership as well.

Dealership: Major Tom (Coming Home) from Dealerkids extras
Dealership MySpace | Website | Label: Turn Records
Buy: eMusic, iTunes

Finally, we heard Donovan's "Wear Your Love Like Heaven." I'm not sure it was actually a cover; it sounded a lot like Donovan himself. I hadn't heard this song in a long time, and I was reminded just how lovely it is. I am thrilled how those rippling color-words come rolling off his tongue: "...Coloured sky rose carmethine, Alizarian crimson..." Yum.

Donovan: Wear Your Love Like Heaven from Troubadour: The Definitive Collection (1964-1976) (1992)
Original release Wear Your Love Like Heaven (1967) available on LP at Amazon.com

Since I was looking for covers, I came upon this version by My Morning Jacket which is very interesting, but maybe does not improve on the original. Sara McLachlan has also covered this song on Solace (1992).

My Morning Jacket: Wear Your Love Like Heaven from A Gift From a Garden To a Flower (2002)
My Morning Jacket MySpace | Website | Label: ATO/RCA
Buy this album: Amazon.com

I hope you enjoy these as much as I do; you only missed out on how much fun I had finding them.