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coastline
> Teenager of the Year <
USA
3111 Posts |
 Posted - 07/14/2006 : 14:23:17
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From the L.A. Times
http://www.calendarlive.com/music/cl-ca-socalsongs16jul16,0,6987242,print.htmlstory?coll=cl-music-features
THE SOCAL SONGBOOK
'Los Angeles' Frank Black | 1993
By Geoff Boucher
Times Staff Writer
July 16, 2006
BLEARY-EYED and sipping matzo ball soup, Frank Black stared at his notebook and waited for the lyrics to come. It was 1992, and the Pixies singer was at a Burbank deli near Hollywood Way, way behind on lyrics for his first solo album.
Then he remembered a book he had read, "In Patagonia," the British writer Bruce Chatwin's 1977 travel memoir of the bleak landscapes of the South American region. "He went to these lonely places and mysterious valleys, and throughout the area, he came across villages that were called Los Angeles. That stuck with me."
Channeling that, Black came up with "Los Angeles," which remains the signature song of his solo career. It's about many different L.A.s — one in Patagonia, another our metropolis and its halo of helicopters. There's also the one in old black-and-white films and another that "buzzes like a beehive" in the year 2525, a.k.a. "Blade Runner."
The song starts with a cryptic drawl:
I met a man
He was a good man
Sailing and shoring
Dancing the beta can-can
Making me foreign
Black chuckled. "That's either about cultural mutation or it's just gobbledygook."
The track has thunderous guitars, hints of flamenco and layers of synthesizer, along with that classic loud-quiet-loud Pixies structure that would so influence Nirvana. And what was Black's influence? He points to a live version of "Aqualung," the creepy old Jethro Tull story-song. Black's mom took him to see a Tull concert in Long Beach when he was 14.
"Of my solo career it's the best known song, and a little bit of credit for that epic vibe goes to Tull. It's kind of a cinematic song. In a way it's like 'Planet of the Apes,' that moment when he sees the Statue of Liberty and realizes he never really left Earth. I was looking for that kind of feel. And it's about getting out too. Even if you love the place, sometimes it's great to get the hell out of L.A."
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Look, a pony! |
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vilainde
>> Denizen of the Citizens Band <<
Niue
7438 Posts |
Posted - 07/14/2006 : 14:32:09
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quote:
Originally posted by coastline
The track has thunderous guitars, hints of flamenco and layers of synthesizer, along with that classic loud-quiet-loud Pixies structure
uh? I wonder where he heard that. Great article though, thanks.
Denis
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floop
= Wannabe Volunteer =
Mexico
15297 Posts |
Posted - 07/14/2006 : 14:55:22
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i wonder what deli he was at
"I don't have any money to buy new clothes and if they paid me to get some I'd probably buy more hoodies." - Mark Wainfur |
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Cult_Of_Frank
= Black Noise Maker =
Canada
11674 Posts |
Posted - 07/14/2006 : 15:04:09
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Very cool, thanks. I was just conversing with someone about this the other day.
 "No man remains quite what he was when he recognizes himself." |
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coastline
> Teenager of the Year <
USA
3111 Posts |
Posted - 07/14/2006 : 15:12:14
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It just goes to show, if you want to write great songs, you should spend your days reading historical books, not the Internet forum ramblings of bunch of people singularly obsessed with a certain singer-songwriter. Well, that counts me out.
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Look, a pony! |
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floop
= Wannabe Volunteer =
Mexico
15297 Posts |
Posted - 07/14/2006 : 15:16:27
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quote:
Originally posted by coastline
It just goes to show, if you want to write great songs, you should spend your days reading historical books, not the Internet forum ramblings of bunch of people singularly obsessed with a certain singer-songwriter. Well, that counts me out.
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Look, a pony!
i eat at delis a lot though. does that count me in?
"I don't have any money to buy new clothes and if they paid me to get some I'd probably buy more hoodies." - Mark Wainfur |
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TRANSMARINE
* Dog in the Sand *
USA
2002 Posts |
Posted - 07/14/2006 : 15:36:08
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July 16, 2006??
Hank the 8th was a duplicated man
-bRIAN |
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darwin
>> Denizen of the Citizens Band <<
USA
5448 Posts |
Posted - 07/14/2006 : 16:12:04
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quote:
Originally posted by TRANSMARINE
July 16, 2006??
Hank the 8th was a duplicated man
-bRIAN
Doesn't the LA Times Sunday section come out early for subscribers or something? I vaguely remember that from my San Diego days. |
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TRANSMARINE
* Dog in the Sand *
USA
2002 Posts |
Posted - 07/14/2006 : 16:18:24
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quote:
Originally posted by darwin
quote:
Originally posted by TRANSMARINE
July 16, 2006??
Hank the 8th was a duplicated man
-bRIAN
Doesn't the LA Times Sunday section come out early for subscribers or something? I vaguely remember that from my San Diego days.
Damn. I was hoping time travel was involved.
Hank the 8th was a duplicated man
-bRIAN |
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beckett trance
- FB Fan -
USA
170 Posts |
Posted - 07/14/2006 : 16:23:10
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Anybody seen the Vinyl Justice clip on youtube? It's pretty amusing.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8wz4CC3Pq24
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** feeling deluxe for just a couple of bucks ** |
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Carl
- A 'Fifth' Catholic -
Ireland
11546 Posts |
Posted - 07/15/2006 : 16:52:10
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Thanks coastline! I love that pic of Frank (from the Hang On To Your Ego vid set, by the look of it)!
Join the Cult Of Pob! And don't forget to listen to the Pobcast! |
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Genesis of Los Angeles
