OK, I've calmed down and the best way to feel better after a disappointment is cuddle music.
For that, I give you Summer Fiction with "Throw Your Arms Around Me", told you it was cuddle music...
The video is cleverly made from cuts of 'Vivre Pour Vivre' a French film from 1967 and soooo deliciously vintage, right up my street ;-)
So Summer Fiction then, it's a band from Philadelphia led by singer/songwriter Bill Ricchini, it does indeed echo 60s folk pop with more than a hint of Elliott Smith.
It's just very pretty music and there is nothing wrong with pretty, I like pretty! This song makes me want to snuggle up in the arms of my loved one.
If you're curious and want to listen to more music, the full self titled album is streaming on the band's website
A few months ago I wrote you a love letter on this blog, but like many other relationships our was not to last. We stayed together for 19 years, not bad all things considered.
Yesterday you played Le Cirque Royal for the second night in a row. It was rubbish. Yes you can still sing, yes the sound was good and the band tight but where has the feeling gone? The fire? The personality?
Wearing a silly hat and costume, playing a ridiculous autoharp and singing like a demented child do not make you original or entertaining. It makes us sad however.
A few old tracks thrown at us like bread at pigeons did not blind me enough to think I had a great night.
If you choose not to speak to your adoring public, at least make some sort of effort to fill the gaps...the silence between the tracks made you look like you don't care so enthralled are you with yourself. It smacked of musical masturbation and you forgot the first rule entertainment: yup you're doing all of this for your AUDIENCE and even if some saw you live for the first time, I'm sure the memory won't last long on the collective memories.
Yet I have many memories that I will cherish and I will forever keep your 4 albums from the 90s close to my heart and my ears. When you were a woman consumed by her emotions, it's what's always seduced me about your music and it's what's lacking so much today.
Gone are the songs written with your heart and tripes, in favor of more intellectual musings.
These are not for me.
One last comment about last night's gig: you also seem to have forgotten what a wonderful vocal range you possess, favoring that nasal high pitch that actually hurts the ears.
Talking of ears, a musician such as you must hear the difference between your previous work and its passion and the dull, steril sound of your recent outputs. Don't be too proud Polly, everybody's allowed to be wrong, just come back stronger soon, please.
I wish you all the best and thanks for the past 19 years.
with love,
Sophie.
PS: if you ever come back, I'll welcome you with open arms....you remember this?
This live version of the classic Bonnie 'Prince' Billy track has recently surfaced on Youtube. It's taken from an Aussie TV show back in 1999, and is therefore quite a rare treat.
