don’t change a hair for me
Current favorite song: Over the Rhine’s flawless cover of “My Funny Valentine.” Talk about a song with touch; this song has it in spades. I was listening to the (excellent) album on the way to Bible study earlier this evening, and just as I parked the car the song began.
Does this ever happen to you? You’re driving along, with whatever music blaring, cranked up, feeling good, and you park the car and the engine and stereo turn off simultaneously. In that pause between the end of the car noises and music and stepping out into the day, the silence is palpable. It’s like an audible wave that rushes back in to fill in the void left by the sudden absence of sound. I don’t how to describe it better than this: In that moment, I can hear the silence.
That was the backdrop for my experience of the song earlier. It took my breath away. It was the difference between a timid, landscape pastel watercolor and streaks of thick black ink smeared on flawless white canvas. There was contrast, and it made all the nuances in the music stand out–I heard the confidence of every accent and tonal nudge.
It’s the setting in which I recommend experiencing the song. Unfortunately this means shutting off or finding some way to take the computer out of the scene; even the hard drive’s low hum is unwelcome.
When you’ve got yourself situated in a soundless environment, listen to the way Karin sings “favorite work of art” and the intertwining vocals, piano and bass. Move with the ebb and flow of the song. Amazing stuff.
even though she’s no frank sinatra
indeed on all points. i do quite enjoy her version.
I know what you’re talking about, but my current vehicle has this new-fangled feature that keeps the radio going (along with the ability to roll windows up or down) for fifteen minutes after the engine is cut off, as long as neither of the front doors is opened! It’s kinda cool ’cause I can turn the car off and finish singing at the top of my lungs to whatever song is blaring on the radio, but you don’t get the sudden “silence that you can hear” thing happenin’… Kinda sad when you think about it, but it also has automatic headlights… they come on when it gets too dark or foggy OR when you leave the windshield wipers on for an extended period of time (that’s the coolest)! I don’t know if the two are comparable or not, but there you have it!
Grrr… that was me.
happy birthday
i’m glad you were born!
such a good song… but do you think that I could bother you to email it to my gmail account? I am either severely retarded (ie: blonde) or my mac osx does not allow me to just press down and have the pop up menu say save ;p
psst, happy Bday (祝你生日快乐！）
Oh yeah, С днем рождения!!
You have e-mail :) Let me know if it doesn’t come through successfully.
And thank you :) Happy Chinese New Year (?)
Hahaha
Me too, actually… Thank you :)
Merci beaucoup :) (C’est la seule autre langue dans laquelle je sais répondre)
What’s the appeal for you of Sinatra’s version? I have it (you sent it to me :) and it’s nice, but I want to hear why you like it. The originality? His phrasing? Something else?
De rien! Mais, tu ne sais pas l’anglais? ; ) (Wow, how bad did I butcher that up?)
Si, je connais l’anglais, mais j’ai utilisé ce petit mot autre :)
(et tu as fait très bien, d’ailleurs)
Good question (and thanks for asking instead of just accepting my statement :)… One reason why Sinatra’s version appeals to me so is the fact that it’s him singing it. He was known for being such a ladies’ man, and the idea of him singing this song just makes me smile. Sinatra with someone unphotographable? Heh. And while it’d be easy to say that just because he sang it doesn’t necessarily mean he felt that way about a woman, I wouldn’t believe it — the passion with which he sings the song is immeasurable. No one has phrased the song in the same way he did, another reason why I’m fond of his version. ‘Tis brilliant. And I love the string arrangement that accompanies Sinatra’s flawless vocals. Lastly, the flute line (which is only really obvious in the first few measures of the song) is stunning.
The way Berquist sings the song is obviously much different and creates an entirely original atmosphere. The adagio feel makes it a good bit more poignant than Sinatra’s version, in my opinion. Plus OtR’s version uses upright bass and I’m a sucker for that instrument. And I love the way the vocals cut out for a bit and come back in with “is your figure less than Greek…” So lovely.
Yep. Satisfied?