The Counterforce No. 21
Jane Birkin, What A Wonderful World, Achewood, Ludwig Bemelmans, and more
Such sad news about Jane Birkin. What a truly iconic woman. Her life always seemed to me somewhat of a dream. That’s not to say it was easy by any means, and not without sadness and difficulty. But rather her life seemed charmed because she imbued it with such charm. Her own curious blend of strength and fragility. To have emerged out of the magical time of Swinging London, even appearing in Blow Up, to then move to another country where she became muse to one of the 20th century’s greatest songwriters, helping mould his style whilst dealing with his difficult temperament, and soon becoming a powerful musical force in her own right. All the while continuing as an actress, and doing these in a tongue not her own. And of course all those fantastic photographs. I’ve always loved this duet she did with Brett Anderson in 1995
Not ‘Schadenfreude’, but is there a word that means to take heart from a successful person’s lack of success? I’ve been reading this biography of F. Scott Fitzergerald, and the author claims that in the entire decade of the 1930’s, The Great Gatsby sold less than 500 copies. Gatsby is one of my favourite books, and one of the few I’ve read four times (Camus’ The Fall, Gravity’s Rainbow, and assorted Donleavys being the only others), and of course I wish Fitzgerald no ill will, but dang did that fact bolster my spirits about the sales of my own books
On my 29th birthday, during my early days of being in London, we went to one of the upstairs rooms at Lucky Voice karaoke in SoHo, as would soon become tradition. It was that night that I discovered dumping shots of saki into glasses of red wine got the job done that much quicker. (This past Friday it was 11 years since I last had an alcoholic beverage, perhaps you can see why) In such a state I was scanning my brain for songs to sing, something with a big emotional impact, and Nick Cave’s duet with Shane MacGowan of ‘What A Wonderful World’ came to mind, prompting me to see if it was in the catalogue, promptly dialling it up. But what soon spilled out of the speakers was not the expected Louis Armstrong tune, but rather the dulcet tones of Sam Cooke’s number bearing the same name. Everyone paused, then shrugged as if to say ‘this will do too’, and got down to crooning the sweet lyrics of teenage infatuation. I love both songs, and the latter playing in the film of Inherent Vice really captures how pop music, seemingly superficial, can intertwine with our lives in meaningful ways.
The other night, during one of my many recent bouts of insomnia, I remembered this, and got to thinking about both songs. Many spiritual teachings put it that we should appreciate what we have in the here and now, and that groping beyond the moment for what we don’t currently possess is the seed of all unhappiness. Now, Louis Armstrong’s song on the surface celebrates the important things in life, and the gratitude for them is obvious. But I’ve always sensed a much deeper melancholy within ‘What A Wonderful World’, the same that I get from Judy Garland’s ‘Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas’. An awareness of our world’s inherent temporality, that as George Harrison and indeed many others have said ‘all things must pass’, and after that they’re gone. And there’s something so sad about that, even if we must accept it.
On the other hand, going against the tradition of being present in the moment, what I get from Sam Cooke’s ‘What A Wonderful World’ is a sense of joy. A kinship with that all-too-familiar feeling of ‘if only I had this, everything would be alright’. It doesn’t matter that that too shall pass, for there’s a deliciousness in the belief, in the hope. It’s the hope that kills you, maybe, but it sustains as well.
But a truly wonderful thing is that Achewood is back! One of my favourite comics, and just one of my favourite things in general. You can read all the old stories at that link, with new ones now at the Patreon. It’s totally worth the $5 a month. Creator Chris Onstad’s humor has brought much mirth and joy over the years. In showing the power of the mind over present conditions, Robert Anton Wilson liked to tell the story of the man who was diagnosed with cancer and so went out and rented all the Marx Brothers films to laugh himself back to health. Often when I’m feeling ill or depressed, I’ll take a few hours to re-read these strips and they work wonders. Below is possibly my favourite, ‘Ray Gets Sort Of Stoned’
Another of my favourite things is the dedication to Ludwig Bemelmans’ (author of the Madeleine books, as well as many more) How To Travel Incognito:
To Armand de la Rochefoucault, who said to me one evening as we sat in a small tavern which is called the Little Nest of St. Cucuface, and which is located in the Forest of St. Cloud, outside of Paris: “Why don’t you write something amusing, to cheer up the sorry world.”
That last line resonates with me greatly, and I have taken it up as my m.o.
Listening to the Ukridge stories lately, by the master of amusing prose, P.G. Wodehouse, I came across a line which still has me rolling with laughter. Concerning the narrator’s dinner party guests, from ‘First Aid Dora’:
“With a solid unanimity they told me frankly that it was only the fact that I was paying for the supper that enabled them to tolerate my presence.”
If you ever get the chance to listen to Jonathan Cecil read Wodehouse’s work, do so. They are a treat. The library service Hoopla has a great deal of them that I’ve been cherishing these past few years.
And if you’re in the Pacific NorthWest this coming week, I’ll be hitting Seattle (3 times), Portland, and Olympia. Come on out, it’s my first time in these places, and the readings for The Ballad Of Buttery Cake Ass will be wrapping up soon, so don’t miss them.
SEVEN SONGS
Depeche Mode - ‘World In My Eyes’. Speaking of songs with ‘world’ in the title, is there a sexier song?
The Kinks - ‘This Time Tomorrow’. I’m still on my big Wes Anderson kick after seeing Asteroid City (really wanna go again while it’s in theaters), and have been rewatching the old ones. They all have great soundtracks but the music used in The Darjeeling Limited is really something special. The two most devastating Kinks songs (and really two of the most powerful songs I know) - this one and ‘Strangers’ - both so full of weary resignation and yearning for things to be somehow other than they are. But then there’s also the lovely title music from Bombay Talkie, and Joe Dassin’s ‘Les Champs-Elysées’ over the end credits is just wonderful.
Death By Chocolate - ‘If You Want To Sing Out, Sing Out’. I mentioned last time how I’m reading Matt Zoller Seitz’s excellent The Wes Anderson Collection. It never occurred to me before, but of course Anderson is a fan of Harold & Maude. I love Maude’s song. Written by Cat Stevens, but Death By Chocolate do my favourite version of it
Axolotes Mexicanos - ‘Amarre’. Last Counterforce the Seven Songs were some of my favourites not sung in English, and then the very next day I was checking out what Elefant Records is up to lately and I came across this super fun band. Very catchy, chaotic, more pop punk than emo, but with elements of both. I’ve been digging them.
The Real Tuesday Weld - ‘La Bête et la Belle’. Stephen Coates of The Real Tuesday Weld posted this after hearing the news of Jane Birkin’s passing, saying back in the day he had written this with her and Serge in mind. It’s the French language version of ‘TheUgly & The Beautiful’, which is a song I love dearly. The lyrics are a bit different between them and the French version definitely has a unique quality to it.
Mikey Georgeson & The Civilized Scene - ‘Till Its Over’. Stuck in my head a lot lately. There’s an earlier version where the chorus has ‘you only sing September in October’, rather than ‘miss’, which I like better, but still a lovely tune.
Shadowy Men On A Shadowy Planet - ‘Having An Average Weekend’. I’ve been a big fan of Superstore this year. Mark McKinney’s character of Glenn Sturgis is amazing. How he keeps up that voice, I have no idea. Often takes me back to those early days of discovering The Kids In The Hall, when we’d have to stay up til midnight on a Friday night to see it on HBO. You may know this as the KITH theme
I’m also collecting all these Seven Songs lists here on a monster Apple playlist