Jackson C. Frank has one of the more sad stories in music history.


The good news is the music he created is fantastic.

He was a part of the folk music scene in the early/mid 60s.  He only released one full length album in 1965, which is self titled and beautiful.  It's a melancholy collection of songs, but it's one of my favorite records.  Frank's voice is strong and deep.  I feel like it brings a lot of emotion to the songs he sings.  I like the fact also that the songs sound a little faraway, like the equipment they were recorded on was old and on the brink of death.  Oh yeah, and it was produced with said eloquence by Paul Simon-- yeah, the Paul Simon.

Although he was American, Frank was thick in the scene of musicians in London in the mid 60s, and that's also where Paul Simon happened to be.  Frank was also friends with Sandy Denny, even dated her for a while, Bert Jansch, who covered "Blues Run the Game," Al Stewart and more.  Nick Drake also covered several of his songs and Roy Harper is said to have written a song about him.

Rough:  That's the only way to describe Edith Piaf's life.


La Vie En Rose, a recent film about her life, is kind of tough to watch in parts.  Edith lived with so much pain!  The woman who plays her, Marion Cotillard, truly becomes Edith and is likely to garner an Oscar nomination for her acting skills.  I liked how the film flashes between Edith's life at all different stages and ages-- it's not a linear narrative and that makes it all the more compelling.  In rapid succession we see both what Edith becomes and why she became that way, where she has come from.


Piaf's childhood alone is riddled with more drama than most people experience in an entire lifetime:  Edith was born in Paris, ditched by her mom and then her dad.  The film shows how she lived for a time in a brothel and was cared for by the prostitutes there.  She goes through a period of being blind due to ill health.  One day her father comes back for her and takes her off on the road with (of course!) the circus, where he is a contortionist.  When pops quits the circus, he is forced to perform in the streets for change, and one day he pushes Edith out and tells her to "Do something", so she opens her mouth and sings.  With her warbley voice and energetic charisma, she's a hit from the get-go.



From there Edith's life takes off in many different directions and she eventually became the singer we have all enjoyed.  She's got such a dramatic and intense personality and it bleeds right into her performances!  Before watching this film I really had no idea about her back story, other than (of course) that she was French and called "The Sparrow."  Her life was full of roughness and not much love, except  when she was on stage performing.  The film does a good job of showing how Edith becomes addicted to many things, but especially to performing on stage.  It's the one place she can feel flawless.  Her life shifts quickly and often between the highest highs and the lowest lows.  It's both compelling and painful to watch.

I watched the movie Once last night. 

It's a simple but complicated film about two people who meet in Dublin and begin writing songs together.  There's not terribly much plot to it, but I thought it was fantastic.  Nothing seems contrived in this movie, it all feels completely real.  It truly captured a tone, a beautiful feeling of not only melancholy but also joy and inspiration.  There's not much dialogue and most of the communicating actually goes on through the music, which really makes this film different and intriguing. 

We had an instore here at Amoeba SF with the film's stars, Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova back in August and I had the chance to meet them (without ever having seen the movie) and discover how fantastic and genuine they truly are.  Watching the film last night  reminded me of the feeling I had when we met:  Once, like Glen and Marketa themselves (and their equally tremendous road manager Howard), kinda grabbed me right away and I could tell everything was going to be great from just a few minutes in. 

There's a lot of integrity to the characters in the film.  It's a movie about people who are flawed but good hearted, which felt...different from most movies these days.  It was a pleasure to watch this film.  There aren't a bunch of jump cuts and flashy sets.  I enjoyed the fact that the minimal dialogue allowed the viewer to put pieces together and create the story by paying attention.  There's no pandering to the audience in this movie, and that's one of its most refreshing details.  There's also a hell of a lot of chemistry between the two main characters and it's compelling to watch and become absorbed in.  When I finished the movie, I wanted to watch it again right away, which is an unusual feeling!

Kaitlin
4 years employment
Photographer Extraordinaire

ME:  What was the first thing (band/song/moment) that got you into music-- like, really into music?

 

KL: The Beatles and The Beach Boys are my earliest music memories.  Actually, I still have a Shirley Temple record that was the one record I would beg my dad to play for me.  “The Good Ship Lollipop” was my song!

 

ME:  Seeing as you are one of the biggest Beatles fans currently working here, I think this is a really important question for you:  Who is your favorite Beatle and why?

KL:  George.  I wept the day he died.  I think I always identified with him.  John was wonderful, but in a more outspoken way, whereas George was always thoughtful and understated.  He lived his live quietly and peacefully.  I once cut a quote out of a magazine where George tells what he said to the intruder who stabbed him at home: “I just shouted 'Hare krishna, hare krishna!'”  Oh, George.

ME: Yeah he really was the Dark Horse.  Which Beatles track is your favorite?

I finally got my hands on the soundtrack for I'm Not There and waaaaaaaaaaaaay down at the end of the sprawling two disc set is the track that makes it all worthwhile: Antony & the Johnsons' cover of  "Knocking on Heaven's Door". 



What impeccable song selection!  Antony's voice is so moving and completely unlike anyone else's.  He has an unmistakable style and this track is utter perfection.  His rich, deep voice adds a completely different, absorbingly evocative element to the song, creating an almost hymn like sound, and I'm always most pleased with Antony's work when he just accompanies himself with an acoustic piano.

It might be my favorite track of the year.

Antony's next album is supposedly being released this spring.  If you haven't heard his previous albums, please go get I Am A Bird Now! 

Check out this performance of "You Are My Sister" on Letterman: