I know I'm about to enter another goddamn Mercury retrograde, but something else is going on in the cosmos, because the retrograde isn't due to start until Monday. I'm in this "oh my god could music sound any better???" kind of place. Today it's Crowded House. Not the cutesy but good 80's band we all fondly remember, but the band they have apparently evolved into. They re-formed, put out an album and toured last year, and for some reason I've just now found out about it, thanks to a January 5th Austin City Limits performance which re-ran tonight in Atlanta.
I don't know what happened to this band, but they've matured and deepened, and their songs are both very moving and extremely lyrical. I've never been able to write about music, so I'll post a video for you instead.
Neil Finn's voice has gotten rougher, which in my opinion is exactly what it needed. The melodies are intricate and complex, the harmonies beautiful. Quoting a BBC writer, the Austin City Limits webpage says: “This is an older, wiser, weathered Crowded House, but still as perfect at their craft as ever.” Watching Finn's somewhat craggy but still very handsome face, I have the same feeling I had last year watching Paul Weller sing his new bluesy stuff. These guys have aged so well, and become even better at what they do, something I didn't think possible.
They close the show with a beautiful version of the classic "Don't Dream It's Over." I'm buying this album tomorrow. Thank God for music.
2 comments:
This is nice.
I've always been a Crowded House fan, although I never liked the version of the band with Tim Finn in the mid 90s. Nothing against Tim, I just don't think he clicked very well with the original band.
When I was married and living in LA in the early 90s, they used to do a gig every Valentine's Day sponsored by some radio station called The Crowded Boat with Crowded House. They'd jam as many people as were safe on a little cruise ship and sail around So Cal all night. My ex and I got to go because she was a former rock 'n roll chick in Melbourne and knew the band. I never asked her how well she knew the band, but some things are better left unsaid!
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