Well, don't I feel like a dummy... here I've been enjoying the hell out of the Camera Obscura song "Lloyd, I'm Ready to Be Heartbroken," and I didn't even realize that it was a shout-out to good ol' Lloyd Cole and his good 'ol golden oldie "Are You Ready to Be Heartbroken?" Duh.
All of this is triggered by the fact that Camera Obscura's latest disc, Let's Get Out of This Country, comes out today in the U.S. I find it highly worthwhile, and am fairly certain that I offered up some songs from it at some earlier date. Regardless, if Belle and Sebastian can show us the way to Camera Obscura, then why the hell can't Camera Obscura lead us back to Lloyd Cole?
Okay, a brief bio: Lloyd Cole is a Brit who formed Lloyd Cole & the Commotions in the early '80s. They had a modicum of success with their relatively gentle brand of folk-rock and Cole's literate lyrics. Then he blew the whole thing up and went solo. Things have been somewhat sketchy for him since. But the man can still write a pleasant tune from time to time, as I hope today's offerings will attest.
[A somewhat related but essentially pointless "6 Degrees of Michael Stipe" (sort of): 1) In 1990, Lloyd Cole recorded his first solo album with the help of a then-unknown Matthew Sweet. 2) In 1983, an even more unknown Matthew Sweet recorded the song "Tainted Obligation" with Michael Stipe. 3) In 1998, Michael Stipe sang the title song to the Todd Solondz film "Happiness." 4) In 2001, Todd Solondz enlisted Belle and Sebastian to provide the soundtrack for his film "Storytelling." 5) In 2002, Belle and Sebastian's Stuart Murdoch produced Camera Obscura's first LP, Biggest Bluest Hi-Fi. 6) In 1984, Michael Stipe wrote the lyrics to the R.E.M. song "Camera" and... um... well... his lyrics have often been said to be "obscure." So there you have it.]
From the compilation Collection, 1998 >>>
[MP3] [Myshare] "Fool You Are"
From the LP Love Story, 1995 >>>
[MP3] [Myshare] "Baby"
From the LP Don't Get Weird on Me Babe, 1991 >>>
[MP3] [Myshare] "Weeping Wine"
From the LP Rattlesnakes, 1984 >>>
[MP3] [Myshare] "Are You Ready to Be Heartbroken?"/Lloyd Cole & the Commotions
From the Camera Obscura LP Let's Get Out of This Country, 2006 >>>
[MP3] [Myshare] "Lloyd, I'm Ready to Be Heartbroken"/Camera Obscura
No comments:
Post a Comment