Geoff Stahl
I’m well into my third month in New Zealand and thriving, relatively speaking. I’m still not sure what kind of indicators should be in place for Spring here, but if this is what I should learn to expect, well, so be it. Winds have been up near 100 km/h (and sometimes well over) and the rain comes at you sideways. The windows of my apartment are buffetted regularly and seem to bow under pressure, threatening to burst. The harbour looks like a torrid place when it’s like this. But when it’s sunny, and warm, it is a glorious feeling, complemented with a sunny intensity which one must be careful of. It’s not the same kind of get your gear off parade of flesh you’d see in Montreal at the first blush of warmth, but it’s pleasurable enough with plenty to take in as you stroll down Cuba Mall or take your place in a café. Could do without the trucker hats and mullets, though. And the Ugg boots.
Speaking of parades, this past weekend was the Santa Claus parade here in Wellington. Phew what a mess. Corporate and more corporate (and in the bodily sense, too). I got caught in it just trying to get some groceries and the spectacle of it all just depressed me. How do adults countenance this? The tyranny of childhood fantasy and idolatry, I guess. I apologize to my mother for ever putting her and my father through this. Bit of a Scrooge here, really.
Before I forget (which I’ve done in the last couple of posts), I’d be remiss if I didn’t plug a couple of local blogs which keep me occupied with details of Wellington’s nooks and crannies: Well Urban and Wellingtonista. Kudos to them for keeping me up-to-date on local issues and stories of intrigue. And a list of good tapas bars and sunny terraces.
I’m including a file what has to be favourite video of the past couple of years, The Knife’s “Pass This On.” I first saw this on TV in Finland a few years back and failed to catch the artist. Upon moving to Sweden last year, I then had the pleasure of hearing the song again and finally figured out who it was. The Knife’s album, “Deep Cuts,” has some plum tracks on it, including “Heartbeats,” which has a fabulous Rex the Dog remix (you’ll have to get the separate CD single for it, or you can ask me, but if you’re really anybody, you’ve heard this countless times already). I know this might be old hat for some of you, but the video is just something that sends chills up and down my spine, even after repeated viewings. It’s deliciously queer in its way and has a trashy appeal that I find particularly affecting. The veneered-basement setting, that slo-mo which lingers over every body, the sinewy and lithe drag queen, the boys (especially that first breakaway boy in the “Queen’s” sweater, and that petulant scowl on his boyfriend’s face as he dances defiantly at the singer), the older leathery men eventually giving over to the song’s groove, and that slow dancefloor build up. And, of course, the lyrics:
I’m in love with your brother
What’s his name
I thought I’d come by
To see him again
When you two danced
Oh what a dance
When you two laughed
Oh what a laugh
Has he mentioned my age, love
Or is he more into young girls with dyed black hair
I’m in love with your brother
I’d thought I’d come by
I’m in love with your brother
Yes I am, but maybe I
Shouldn’t ask for his name
And you danced
Oh what a dance
And you laughed
Oh what a laugh
Does he know what I do
You pass this on, won’t you
If I asked him to once what would he say
Is he willing, can he play?
I wasn’t really looking for something more than
Some company on the dancefloor and
Does he know what I do and
You pass this on, won’t you and?
Hearing the cut for the first time up close (the video I found just too captivating to actually hear what was being sung), I just loved that sentiment of unrequited lust/love, its intimations of a kind adolescent social taboo of falling in love with your friend’s brother/sister (I think I had too many crushes on my sister’s friends - she’s reading this now, no doubt - I won’t name names….). There’s a kind of erotic innocence and yearning libido mixed with a good dollop of lecherousness which pricks and flirts with some buried memory of your own teenage dancefloor confession. The actual singer, Karin, is the woman left sitting at the table at the end. And the steel drum driving the melody, along with an otherwordly pitched chorus? This song has it all.
(I should note that I got to this Knife reference rather circuitously, through an ad which I saw a couple of weeks ago on television, which uses Jose Gonzalez’s cover of “Heartbeats,” which was coincidentally also referred to by Notes Abbreviated, who I then pointed in the direction of the original song, which led me to track down the video of “Pass This On,” which you have now no doubt seen by now. Gurdy, I hope you’re reading and watching this.)
But just in case the video fails to get you charged up, here are two more songs from my vinyl library to keep you going. One is yet another cover, the other a fanciful language lesson.
Iso G.