SOUNDTRACK: A CAMP-Colonia (2009).
This is the second album from the side project of The Cardigan’s Nina Persson. This disc was created with her husband Nathan Larson from Shudder to Think. Their first album had a country flair to it, but this one eschews that entirely for a pop feel that is entirely different from The Cardigans’ two main styles: the “cheesy” happy pop of “Lovefool” and the bitter guitar pop of their later discs.
Although like the Cardigans, Nina uses her beautiful, almost angelic voice to mask the critical, often bitter lyrics that fuel this disc. The music is kind of sparse, which really allows for Nina’s voice to shine through. “Stronger Than Jesus” is a wonderful song about, of all things, love. While “Bear on the Beach” opens with a delicate twinkling piano. And “Love Has Left the Room” has soaring vocals and a wonderfully catchy melody line.
The best track is probably “Golden Teeth and Silver Medals” a cool duet with a tongue-twisting chorus.
They also have a bit of fun with genres, so “Here Are Many Wild Animals” opens like a doo-wop song, but swerves into a cool minor key masterpiece. Even the album closer, the slow, meandering “The Weed Had Got There First” works nicely with Nina’s voice (although I wouldn’t want a whole album like this).
Anyone who misses the Cardigans would do well to track down this disc; or, if you find the Cardigans too treacly, this is a great representation of the true side of Nina’s character. I just can’t decide if the A in the band name is the indefinite article or the letter A.
[READ: March 3, 2010] “By Song, Not Album”
My friend and coworker Anna loaned me this issue of The Sun saying that she thought I would enjoy it. I’d never heard of it before, but I’m always up for new things, so I decided to check it out. I really enjoyed the Photo Essay “With Eyes Shut.” And I read two of the longer pieces as well.
This first one, is, I believe non-fiction. And if it is non-fiction, it is the least believable non-fiction piece I may have ever read. I was interested to read it because of the title, which seemed an interesting conceit for a story. And while that does come into play, the story is really about a young woman who is studying abroad in France who is suffering from a severe depression.
The only one who can pull her through is her father, who is similarly afflicted with depression. He flies over to assist her and they wind up spending several days together.
What I found unbelievable, was the way her father behaves. He brings a baggie of pot on the plane with him and, later, offers to smoke up with her (which she accepts). This is so far afield from my frame of reference, that it seems utterly implausible. It was even weirder when they do smoke up and she says that they had never done this together before. I have such a major disconnect here. If it wasn’t something they did, why would he bring it? Why wasn’t she freaked out when he brought it? I’m baffled. She also says that she never wants to smoke up with him again (this was the first thing that I could relate to). Of course, after smoking up he apparently just starts driving again, so, there’s very little good judgment anywhere in this tale.
In many ways the story is nice. Her relationship with her father is certainly a strong one. And they have had many close moments while driving (the title should have been more about driving than music). And yet I simply didn’t believe any of it. I’m not even entirely certain I believed the music choices that they had in the car with them.
One summer. when she was 19, they drove from Washington DC to Vermont and played a game called By Song Not Album in which the passenger has to switch CDs after each song. They jump between Lucinda Williams, Bob Dylan, Belle and Sebastian, PJ Harvey and Van Morrison. It’s not an unreasonable selection of music, but it is can only be the tip of the iceberg, and I have to wonder how much her dad like her tastes (and just how old this guy is, after all). What was most frustrating is that this special bond over music never comes to fruition when they’re in France, almost contradicting the title of the story.
The only part I really believed was the very tender scene when her parents first get divorced, and she breaks into tears upon hearing Raffi song “Five Little Ducks Went Out One Day.” I was quite moved by that and would have been far more interested to hear more about that sequence and the comfort her father was able to give her then.
I’m happy that they were able to help each other in France, but I can’t imagine a more bizarre father-daughter relationship. It’s one I hope to never have with my daughter. Close and comforting, yes. Dropping a hat to visit her in France, absolutely. Even happily enjoying the same music, sure. But smoking pot that I smuggled into a foreign country. No thank you.
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