March 5th, 2009 10:27am
A Danceable Solution To Teenage Revolution
Scissor Sisters “Do The Strand”
Roxy Music’s “Do The Strand” was already a very campy song, but the Scissor Sisters have gone and pushed that campiness to a glorious extreme, even by their own standards. Though the essence of the song remains the same, the Scissor Sisters version strips out the original’s glam rock boogie-woogie in favor of a delirious quasi-Italo disco arrangement that showcases Jake Shears’ signature falsetto, resulting in an odd collision of goofiness and serious sensuality. Whereas the Roxy Music version has a bit of a smirk to it, the Sisters version has a touch of genuine sincerity that infuses the silly, unapologetic fun of the song with a gentle tug of poignancy and intensity, even when it starts to sound a bit like a gay disco jingle for New York City’s most beloved used book store.
Buy it from Amazon.
3/5/09 12:32 pm
See, I feel the sincerity more with Roxy simply due to the conviction in Bryan Ferry’s voice and just how heavy and loud everything is. With the cover, it’s like, obvious the Scissor Sisters knew it was funny to do a disco version, just like they knew it’d be funny to do a disco version of “Comfortably Numb.” Also, Jake Shears’s vocals definitely go for the laffs now and then–”mashed po-ta-toe,” anyone? Of course, this is not a complaint by any stretch of the imagination. By all means, make a funny disco version of “Do the Strand.” It makes me wish Giorgio Moroder had thought of it at the time, or maybe even Roxy themselves, like how Bowie did that disco-R&B “John, I’m Only Dancing (Again).”
3/5/09 1:38 pm
English 10
Sincerity Quiz
1. One item has “a touch of sincerity.” Another one has “a bit of smirk.” Which item is more heartfelt? (Think carefully.)
Extra Credit: Who is the only person to have won three Oscars in one night?
3/5/09 4:48 pm
Great interview with Carl Wilson, although for once I think Colbert should’ve laid back on the jokes and let the guest speak a little more. I look forward to reading a 33 1/3 from you sometime in the future, and maybe even Tom Scharpling’s 33 1/3 on Styx, but I really consider the series to be prejudiced against Hip-Hop music, which really comes off as elitist. It’s five years strong and we still haven’t seen a book on Paid In Full, Illmatic, Ready To Die, De La Soul Is Dead, etc. There are plenty of great minds in the world of Hip-Hop journalism who could offer their insight, so what’s the deal? My proposal: Only Built 4 Cuban Linx by Matthew Perpetua.
3/5/09 5:00 pm
Ha, I don’t think I could even do a particularly good post on Cuban Linx, much less a book!
I am definitely looking forward to the Wu-Tang book that is already in the works, though.
Also, you can expect Christopher Weingarten’s book about It Takes A Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back to be terrific.