Last night the wife and I watched Kevin Spacey’s “Beyond the Sea.” I’ve yet to see a truly terrible Kevin Spacey film, and his performance in “21” has only heightened my curiosity since seeing it last spring. Being a passive fan of Bobby Darin’s the movie looked like a slam-dunk Netflix order for the middle of the week.
We were not disappointed.
In the film, Spacey plays the part of crooner Bobby Darin, and actually sings all of Darin’s hits in the film (soundtrack available here), including our Pax Plena Song of the Week Mack the Knife.
Originally set to the 1928, Brecht – Weill Threepenny Opera, the German text of Mack the Knife tells the dark and twisted tale of murderer Mackie Messer, old Macheath, a.k.a. Mack the Knife. The opera opens with a minstrel solo comparing the villainous Macheath to the menacing teeth of a shark, before recounting Mack the Knife’s manifold robberies and murders.
In the 1959 Bobby Darin hit Mack the Knife, the early verse tells much the same story as the Brecht – Weill version, yet it continues apace offering a modern rendition of the tale. But what really ‘makes’ the song is the contrast between its subject matter and its music. If one compares Brecht & Weill’s german moritat with the version sung by Darin, well, one could be forgiven for thinking the two have nothing in common at all. Far from becoming Brecht’s sinister figure, Bobby Darin’s Mack the Knife could probably be a part of the show dancing on stage at The Copa with the legend himself.
Musically, the song captures the essence of the crooner/lounge era of American music – a point in time often referred to as music’s golden age. The song begins softly with a steady baseline, and builds with casual ease as Darin tells the tale of Mack the Knife. In a voice thick with coquetry, Darin ticks off Mack’s bloody murders to his female audience, subtly mocking any fears the story might conjure. Like most crooner songs, the swinging tempo makes an unmistakable cameo appearance, all while pressing toward the song’s denouement where Darin jubilantly proclaims: Macky is back in town! In the end, the big band music is so alive, and so exciting, it’s as if welcoming a serial killer to the city were a perfectly logical thing to do.
The video below is take from one of Darin’s early performances of the song. Alas, they don’t make ‘em like this anymore. Lyrics follow after the jump. Enjoy!
Mack the Knife
by Bobby Darin
Oh, the shark, babe, has such teeth, dear
And it shows them pearly white
Just a jackknife has old MacHeath, babe
And he keeps it, ah, out of sight
Ya know when that shark bites with his teeth, babe
Scarlet billows start to spread
Fancy gloves, oh, wears old MacHeath, babe
So there’s never, never a trace of red
Now on the sidewalk, huh, huh, whoo sunny mornin’, uh huh
Lies a body just oozin’ life, eek!
And someone’s sneakin’ ’round the corner
Could that someone be Mack the Knife?
There’s a tugboat, huh, huh, down by the river don’tcha know
Where a cement bag just a’droopin’ on down
Oh, that cement is just, it’s there for the weight, dear
Five’ll get ya ten old Macky’s back in town
Now d’ja hear ’bout Louie Miller? He disappeared, babe
After drawin’ out all his hard-earned cash
And now MacHeath spends just like a sailor
Could it be our boy’s done somethin’ rash?
Now Jenny Diver, ho, ho, yeah, Sukey Tawdry
Ooh, Miss Lotte Lenya and old Lucy Brown
Oh, the line forms on the right, babe
Now that Macky’s back in town
I said Jenny Diver, whoa, Sukey Tawdry
Look out to Miss Lotte Lenya and old Lucy Brown
Yes, that line forms on the right, babe
Now that Macky’s back in town………………..
…….. look out old Macky’s back!
UPDATE: The women referred to, toward the end of the song, left me puzzled. A quick search on the web reveals that Jenny Driver, Sukey Tawdry, and Lucy Brown were all characters in Brecht’s Threepenny Opera. Lotte Lenya sang the original german moritat written by her husband, composer Kurt Weill (i.e., of Brecht – Weill acclaim). A video of her performance, lo so many years ago is below. It makes for an interesting contrast with the Darin version above. Some similarities are obvious after watching both – proving once again the music tends to influence music.
Song of the Week: Jingle Bells
With finals beginning tomorrow morning, now seems the perfect time to resurrect the Pax Plena Song of the Week!
The tune this week will be a familiar one to most. Written in 1857 by Boston’s own James Lord Pierpont, the tune was featured prominently atop Diana Krall’s creatively titled Christmas album, “Christmas Songs” in 2005.
But do not let such a blasé album title fool you. This Jingle Bells track boasts an up-tempo rendition of the popular holiday song as sung by one of Jazz’s most popular and sultry vocalists. It’s enough to make one wish for a sleigh and snow – even in the middle of the desert.
Besides some pretty sweet accompaniment from the Clayton-Hamilton Jazz Orchestra, Krall’s version also features the elusive last verse of the song, imploring youngsters to give life a go. Not bad advice this finals week.
As always, lyrics follow after the jump, and a video of Krall’s performance appears below. Enjoy!
“Jingle Bells”
by Diana Krall
Dashing through the snow
In a one-horse open sleigh,
Over the fields we go,
Laughing all the way;
Bells on bob-tail ring,
making spirits bright,
What fun it is to ride and sing
A sleighing song tonight,
O Jingle bells, jingle bells,
jingle all the way!
O what fun it is to ride
In a one-horse open sleigh
[repeat]
Now the ground is white
Go it while you’re young,
Take the girls tonight
And sing this sleighing song;
Just get a bob-tailed bay
two-forty as his speed
Hitch him to an open sleigh
And crack! You’ll take the lead.
Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells,
Jingle all the way!
O what fun it is to ride
In a one-horse open sleigh.
[repeat]
[Vocal Improv]
Hey, Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells,
Jingle jingle all the way!
O what fun it is to ride
In a one-horse open sleigh.
Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells,
Jingle jingle all the way!
O what fun it is to ride
In a one-horse open sleigh.
Jingle bells, jingle all the way!
O what fun it is to ride
In a one-horse open sleigh.
Jingle bells, jingle all the way!
O what fun it is to ride
In a one-horse open sleigh.
I’m just crazy about horses!
Song of the Week: Beat It
From a child of the 80s, to the man who defined the decade, RIP.
Beat It
by Michael Jackson
They told him don’t you ever come around here
Don’t wanna see your face, you better disappear
The fire’s in their eyes and their words are really clear
So beat it, just beat it
You better run, you better do what you can
Don’t wanna see no blood, don’t be a macho man
You wanna be tough, better do what you can
So beat it, but you wanna be bad
Just beat it, beat it, beat it, beat it
No one wants to be defeated
Showin’ how funky and strong is your fight
It doesn’t matter who’s wrong or right
Just beat it, beat it
Just beat it, beat it
Just beat it, beat it
Just beat it, beat it
They’re out to get you, better leave while you can
Don’t wanna be a boy, you wanna be a man
You wanna stay alive, better do what you can
So beat it, just beat it
You have to show them that you’re really not scared
You’re playin’ with your life, this ain’t no truth or dare
They’ll kick you, then they beat you,
Then they’ll tell you it’s fair
So beat it, but you wanna be bad
Just beat it, beat it, beat it, beat it
No one wants to be defeated
Showin’ how funky and strong is your fight
It doesn’t matter who’s wrong or right
Just beat it, beat it, beat it, beat it
No one wants to be defeated
Showin’ how funky and strong is your fight
It doesn’t matter who’s wrong or right
Just beat it, beat it, beat it, beat it
No one wants to be defeated
Showin’ how funky and strong is your fight
It doesn’t matter who’s wrong or right
Just beat it, beat it
Beat it, beat it, beat it
Beat it, beat it, beat it, beat it
No one wants to be defeated
Showin’ how funky and strong is your fight
It doesn’t matter who’s wrong or who’s right
Just beat it, beat it, beat it, beat it
No one wants to be defeated
Showin’ how funky and strong is your fight
It doesn’t matter who’s wrong or right
Just beat it, beat it, beat it, beat it
No one wants to be defeated
Showin’ how funky and strong is your fight
It doesn’t matter who’s wrong or right
Just beat it, beat it
Beat it, beat it, beat it
Beat it, beat it, beat it, beat it
No one wants to be defeated
Showin’ how funky and strong is your fight
It doesn’t matter who’s wrong or who’s right
Just beat it, beat it, beat it, beat it
No one wants to be defeated
Showin’ how funky and strong is your fight
It doesn’t matter who’s wrong or right
Just beat it, beat it, beat it, beat it
No one wants to be defeated
Showin’ how funky and strong is your fight
It doesn’t matter who’s wrong or right
Just beat it, beat it, beat it, beat it
No one wants to be defeated
Just beat it, beat it
Beat it, beat it, beat it
A Cynic’s View of Susan Boyle
The performance is notable for its exercise in contrast. Ms. Boyle is the 47-year-old virgin singer who had never been kissed; who lived alone with her cat; who though homely in appearance sings with the voice of an angel. In the youtube clip of the performance, one can nigh feel the Lord Himself urging us on toward our better persons through song.
Naturally, such viral interest heightens my skepticism. For once, I am not alone. Saturday’s New York Post easily published the most cynical response to the Susan Boyle phenomenon of any major publication in the world. The Post op-ed appears in relevant part below:
Most disturbing of all, perhaps, is that not since Saturday has Susan Boyle been Susan Boyle. It’s a permutation of the Heisenberg principle: That 30 million people have heard her, seen her, embraced her has already changed who she is. The shy churchgoer who said that her recently deceased mother encouraged her to “take the risk,” who admitted in her audition that she has never been kissed, who has forever lived as something of an accidental outcast – she now seems too much of this world. “I’ve been for a meeting with Sony BMG, but I can’t say much about it,” she said this week. “It’s early days.” Susan Boyle is now one of us. And that is really a shame.
[Link]
Aside from being a bit self-flagellating, writer Maureen Callahan utterly nails the cynic’s response. Aside from the substantive change in Ms. Boyle’s life, Ms. Callahan’s larger point is that the performance would be eminently forgettable were it not for the contradictions. In other words, if Ms. Boyle were more attractive, might not we be less entranced? And, by extension, isn’t Ms. Boyle a bit overrated?
Perhaps.
Regardless, I leave you to decide. The video clip of Ms. Boyle’s performance is below. Enjoy! (Or not).
Song of the Week: Sleepy Tigers
The Pax Plena song of the week comes to you courtesy of the Cox Cable commercial below. While watching TV this past Monday, the Cox commercial came on and it had the catchiest little background song that I had ever heard on a Cox commercial. This really doesn’t say much for Cox, but, even so, I couldn’t get the jingle out of my head.
For those of you who clicked the video above, you have to admit that the little robots dancing to the music are quite fetching. Not long after seeing the spot, I found myself errantly half-whistling the tune. Finally, the haunting became too much. This afternoon, I scoured the internet using the only lyrics I could recall (“I love you so very much” & “Wake you up”) looking for the title of the song, and a music video. The song is called Sleepy Tigers from the band/recording moniker Her Space Holiday.
The band is really no band at all. As best I can gather, all recordings are done by artist Marc Bianchi who imports a ‘folk and jam’ sound to his songs while placing an emphasis on lyrics and song writing. The focus pays off. The lyrics of Sleepy Tigers are easily the best part of the song. The track provides a clear instance where lyrics dictate music, and some how the perfect balance is struck.
The tenor of the song is largely up beat. Cox’s dancing robots would have it no other way. Neither would yours truly. Anyone in need of a new ‘happy’ song for your play list will be well served. I will not expand on lyrics that can easily say much more for themselves. But the biography discussing the musician’s underlying philosophy is a good read in narrative form. The suppressed existentialist in me is actually quite sympathetic.
Per usual, a video of the song appears below. (It’s actually a surprisingly interesting fan piece). Lyrics follow after the jump. Enjoy!
Sleepy Tigers
By Her Space Holiday
Oh I like you so very much so much in fact I gotta wake you up
It’s not that I have words to speak
I just wanna see you looking at me
In a way, that states
In an hour when the sun comes up
We’re gonna put on our shoes we’re gonna shake the dust
Open the door with your brand new key
We won’t be afraid of being sweet
to ourselves
Or anybody! anybody else!
Oh I miss you so very much so much in fact i gotta call you up
It’s not that I have news to bring
I just wanna make your telephone ring
So it shows and you know
In a week when I fly back home
We’re gonna jump in bed and be all alone
you’ll make biscuits and I’ll make tea
We’ll curl up close and then fall asleep
To the sound… of no one else, no else around
And if Ive learned anything at all
In this short life of mine,
If you hear that joy has come to town
Track it down, take a picture and tape it to your eyes
Oh I love you so very much so much in fact I’m gonna switch it up
I’m gonna take this room that I built for fun
And burn down the walls in front of everyone
So they see, you and me
Dancing in our sleepy clothes
With two big smiles and a bowl of hope
That we’ll drink down like ginger tea
The heat will help us forget everything
That you and I, that you and I have seen
And if Ive learned anything at all
In this short life of mine (it’s this)…
If you hear that joy has come to town
Track it down, take a picture and tape it to your eyes…
Pax Plena 