The Walrus - Music With Big Fuckin' Teeth!

04/17/2008

Paris 1919, 1973, and 2007

It's no surprise that I don't like much new music. I listen to a lot of it, but only find a teeny bit actually interesting. That being said, I understand the importance of historically contextualizing things for the kids of today. Enter Owen Pallett, aka Final Fantasy, best known for his one man violin mastery and his string arrangements for Arcade Fire, Grizzly Bear, Stars, and Bloc Party. In live shows he occasionally covers John Cale's "Paris 1919" as a solo (which is really really cool.) Case in point...

Here is the originator, Mr. Cale, in all of his symphonic glory performing the same song at my favorite venue in the world: Amsterdam's Paradiso.

Paris 1919, Guts, Fear, and Vintage Violence are the only solo Cale records I know (other than his Velvet Underground/ Lou Reed stuff) but they are all really cool. These albums are extremely worthwhile additions to any music collection. Final Fantasy is worth owning too, he is no John Cale but his stuff is a lot more interesting than most. Amazon away!