26/01/2010

Nouvelle Vague is playing the Crofoot on Thursday night. If you aren’t familiar, the band mixes ‘60’s French pop sensibilities, with female lead vocals that recall those in Brazilian pop (think anyone with the last name Gilberto). They take all this smooth, import sexiness and apply it to New Wave, Post-Punk and Punk standards to great effect. Their most recent album sees them taking on “standards” like ‘Blister in the Sun,’ ‘God Save the Queen’ and ‘So Lonely’. The band is great and I highly encourage you to check them out — you won’t be disapointed. Now for a semi-related tangent… While songwriting is a talent to be lauded, I think it’s been put on perhaps too high of a pedestal. As this band proves, covers need not be only the terrain of bar bands and pre-fab popsters — arrangements are so key to musicial success and interpretation is at least as important as the written changes and lyrics. Elvis, Sinatra — these guys didn’t write songs — they intrepreted and reinterpreted the hell out of them.  The Beatles had hits covering Motown, Motown had hits covering the Beatles.  The Stone’s first three singles were written by Chuck Berry, Lennon/McCartney and Buddy Holly.  In the Stone’s case, this allowed them to become established and find a songwriting voice of their own.  But I think it’s fair to say, sometimes you only need an actual voice. It’s hard to collaborate, it’s hard to be in a band — particularly as a singer that doesn’t write or a writer that doesn’t sing.  However, I think there’s also a certain falliacy that has been perptuated since the late ‘60’s that you have to do everything yourself to be taken seriously. I think it’s a false standard and you can go in any club, in any town and see how it’s limiting talented people.  Every night, you can go see a ‘good’ band, with a ‘good’ singer plowing through their own self-penned garbage.  Right after them, you’ll see a band with decent songs and a lousy singer or flat arrangements.  In a different world they get together and collaborate and make something better, but as the saying goes c’est la vie. NOUVELLE VAGUE with CLARE AND THE REASONS and DJ JIM STONE at the Crofoot Ballroom THURSDAY JANUARY 28 doors at 8PM tickets: $15 in advance

Nouvelle Vague is playing the Crofoot on Thursday night.

If you aren’t familiar, the band mixes ‘60’s French pop sensibilities, with female lead vocals that recall those in Brazilian pop (think anyone with the last name Gilberto).

They take all this smooth, import sexiness and apply it to New Wave, Post-Punk and Punk standards to great effect.

Their most recent album sees them taking on “standards” like ‘Blister in the Sun,’ ‘God Save the Queen’ and ‘So Lonely’.

The band is great and I highly encourage you to check them out — you won’t be disapointed.

Now for a semi-related tangent…

While songwriting is a talent to be lauded, I think it’s been put on perhaps too high of a pedestal. As this band proves, covers need not be only the terrain of bar bands and pre-fab popsters — arrangements are so key to musicial success and interpretation is at least as important as the written changes and lyrics.

Elvis, Sinatra — these guys didn’t write songs — they intrepreted and reinterpreted the hell out of them.  The Beatles had hits covering Motown, Motown had hits covering the Beatles.  The Stone’s first three singles were written by Chuck Berry, Lennon/McCartney and Buddy Holly.  In the Stone’s case, this allowed them to become established and find a songwriting voice of their own.  But I think it’s fair to say, sometimes you only need an actual voice.

It’s hard to collaborate, it’s hard to be in a band — particularly as a singer that doesn’t write or a writer that doesn’t sing.  However, I think there’s also a certain falliacy that has been perptuated since the late ‘60’s that you have to do everything yourself to be taken seriously.

I think it’s a false standard and you can go in any club, in any town and see how it’s limiting talented people.  Every night, you can go see a ‘good’ band, with a ‘good’ singer plowing through their own self-penned garbage.  Right after them, you’ll see a band with decent songs and a lousy singer or flat arrangements.  In a different world they get together and collaborate and make something better, but as the saying goes c’est la vie.

NOUVELLE VAGUE with CLARE AND THE REASONS and DJ JIM STONE at the Crofoot Ballroom THURSDAY JANUARY 28 doors at 8PM tickets: $15 in advance

Photo posted at 08:01

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