All you have to do is look at a photo to know that Devendra Banhart is a weird dude. Long hair, bushy beard- it's no surprise that his music recalls the hippie/naturalistic elements of the 60's. But we're all in a new century now, and whether he's projecting naked pictures of himself during his shows, or wearing a skirt made of penises, Devendra is constantly blazing new trails. We'll ignore all the debauchery and stick to the music though. Yahplay is a
Since 2002, Devendra has released five albums. What I hope to convey with this playlist is how he is constantly evolving his sound- from his early acoustic, four-track recordings to his more polished, eclectic songs of recent albums. Therefore, this playlist is generally set up chronologically, although I do mix up the songs a little bit.
The early bedroom recordings (notice this hissing and background sounds of cars passing and birds chirping) of Oh Me Oh My... The Way The Day Goes By The Sun Is Setting Dogs Are Dreaming Lovesongs Of The Christmas Spirit are followed by the companion albums Rejoicing in the Hands and Niño Rojo. His best work(s), in my opinion, the songs from these two albums were all recorded at the same time, but released separately. In the final two albums, Cripple Crow and Smokey Rolls Down Thunder Mountain, Devendra really expands, by adding a full band and branching out to explore new genres, including funk, classic-rock, gospel, and Latin American music.
Yes, Devendra is eccentric, and yes, for the most part, his lyrics are nonsensical. I think these pose as barriers that not many people are willing to overcome when it comes to listening to his music. Yet, for those willing to make the leap, you'll find his songs are consistently meaningful and full of emotion.
1) Michigan State / Oh Me Oh My... / 2002
2) The Charles C. Leary / Oh Me Oh My... / 2002
3) This Beard is for Siobhán / Rejoicing in the Hands / 2004
4) At the Hop / Niño Rojo / 2004
5) Hey Miss Cain / Oh Me Oh My... / 2002
6) Rejoicing in the Hands / Rejoicing in the Hands / 2004
7) It's a Sight to Behold / Rejoicing in the Hands / 2004
8) We All Know / Niño Rojo / 2004
9) Little Yellow Spider / Niño Rojo / 2004
10) Insect Eyes / Rejoicing in the Hands / 2004
11) Cripple Crow / Cripple Crow / 2005
12) Sister / Niño Rojo / 2004
13) Santa Maria de Feira / Cripple Crow / 2005
14) Tonada Yanomaminista / Smokey Rolls Down Thunder Canyon / 2007
15) Lover / Smokey Rolls Down Thunder Canyon / 2007
16) Little Boys / Cripple Crow / 2005
17) Seahorse / Smokey Rolls Down Thunder Canyon / 2007
18) Autumn's Child / Rejoicing in the Hands / 2004
Total time: 66:19
Why no mention of the Bolan fixation/emulation?
ReplyDeleteWho is Bolan?
ReplyDeleteNah, just kidding. I've read about connections between the two all over the place, but (embarassingly) I haven't heard enough of Bolan's early folkier stuff to make a comparison for myself. I've only listened to Electric Warrior and Slider. Yeah, I suck.
The T. Rex thing really is crazy. His path of development is dead-on. From crazy fanciful hippy folk guru to love-sick horndog guitar god. Except I don't think T. Rex went through a breezy tropicalia faze. Incidently, I think that's my favorite side of Devandra.
ReplyDeleteBanhart and Bolan even share having a weirdo pedophile song. Bolan's was the relatively tame "Planet Queen" ("gimme your daughter"), Banhart's is a bit more overt. "Little Boys" legitimately freaked me out the first time I heard it. But after like 3 listens I thought it was hilarious. And now, after like 10 listens, I think it's the highlight of the playlist. But I hope the lyrics are meant to be ridiculous/funny though and not some creepnificent confession that he likes to get his Garry Glitter on ("And in the shower I get my dreamin' done/ I hold my breath and I wait for the day to come/ Oh little Billy, little Timmy, little Jimmy, you're the one/ I may not look it, but I swear my heart is young/ For so many little boys I want to marry.") Yow. It's a flat out great song though; the transition from beat-up bluesy ballad to a poppy Del Shannon-esque pop song is so so so good. And yeah, I just dropped a Del Shannon reference. 5,000 points to me.
I prefer his more fleshed-out later stuff to the simple folk that he started out with, but I am shocked by how much I dig the whole thing. Why did I think of him as some Tiny Tim-sounding affected weirdo? My guess is that this playlist glosses over some much weaker material, correct? "Hey Miss Cane" makes me think this guy has the ability to miss bad (the tape hiss alone is painful). Doesn't matter though, almost everything on here is great. So apparently I like Devandra Banhart now. Think I'm gonna finally go ahead and buy that penis skirt I've had my eye on...
I've only listened to a couple of songs on the playlist (sorry ryan, i've been busy with finals), but mike's comments about the lyrics to "Little Boys" reminds me of a song that makes me cringe every time i hear it: "I Wanna Be Black" by Lou Reed. For those unfamiliar with the song, here are the lyrics:
ReplyDeleteI wanna be black, have natural rhythm
Shoot twenty foot of jism too
And fuck up the jews
I wanna be black, I wanna be a panther
Have a girlfriend named samantha
And have a stable of foxy whores
Oh, oh, I wanna be black
I don't wanna be a fucked up
Middle class college student anymore
I just wanna have a stable of
Foxy little whores
Yeah, yeah, I wanna be black
Oh, oh, I wanna be black
Yeah, yeah, I wanna be black
I wanna be black, wanna be like martin luther king
And get myself shot in the spring
And lead a whole generation, too
And fuck up the jews
I wanna be black, I wanna be like malcolm x
And cast a hex
Over president kennedy's tomb
And have a big prick, too
I have no idea whether this is some tongue-in-cheek song or it's making some political commentary, but it's use of black stereotypes is pretty offensive. And I'm not easily offended.