Rufus Wainwright - Classic or Dud?

I saw the documentary tonight, and I really liked his whole self deprecating sense of humour.

And why are there so many (well two) attractive gay musicians?

And his sister. Rwor.

I'm prepared to give him another chance, as that's the only track I've heard (and instinctively recoiled from) thus far.

"Vibrate" is so many leagues above anything Thom Yorke has put his name to! Even apart from that I don't see that they share any similarities at all, either lyrically or sonically.

What will happen instead
Someone will demand my head
And then I will kneel down
And give it to them

And I like his voice LOADS more than Thom Yorke, who I honestly have no time for. While I can understand someone saying they have similar timbre and texture, Rufus thankfully never sounds like a lamb bleating out of tune

I kind of dread the next album: I think by now it's clear that Rufus thrives on attention, and this gives him more confidence to really indulge himself, so now his PR people are doing such stellar work fuck only knows what ideas he'll carry through next.

Melody: start on the 5th and descend predictably/diatonically..
E DD CC BB A.

Switch Chord to (predictable) Dm.

Melody : F EE DD AA B

Lyrics (from beat 1 of A minor chord) :

"All the times I tried to hide from,
everything I was denied..."

Remember to hold your breath, plug your nose
for the nasal whine and sing out of the corner
of your mouth.

Repulsively pathetic, boring, depressing, monotonous,
unoriginal and disgusting is Rufus.

-- Musicfan101 (mz...), March 1st, 2006.

the nasal bleating thing is annoying, someone so gaga over opera should pay attention to vocal technique

spot on. it's all one long, mumbled note. I have no idea why his vocals are so admired.

he makes me want to forcibly expunge his sinus bees.

Hott.

new record, still annoying

Classic on songs written by other people (like "What Can I Do" off the Antony and the Johnsons record or "I'll Build a Stairway to Paradise"), but I'm not a huge fan of his own songs (I haven't heard that much, though)...it might just be the production, though.

He's still a genius.

(Haven't picked up Release the Stars yet, plan on doing so soon)

I liked his first two records; now he's a certifiable menace. Has Neil Tennant exercised quality control on this one?

Want One was great though! and Want Two was worth hearing despite the massive overreach. It's the debut I'm not into but I've only given it half a listen. He was great on Letterman last week. I don't know what he was going on about but he belted it out, whatever it was. In lederhosen.

I think, when he's on form, he's a fucking amazing melodicist (and a very good singer, obv.) and he's got just enough control alongside his camp to keep his arrangements just the right side of audacious (i.e. impressive rather than pompous).

I also think he hit an unarguable melodic peak circa Want One, and that Want Two was a serious step backwards, totally over-reaching. The new one gains some control back, definitely, and some of the arrangements are amazing, but there's nothing quite as melodically spectacular as the first four tracks on Want One. This is only off a couple of listens, though.

Expect to see choice phrases from this post in a Stylus review near you later this week...

Perversely (of course) I think Want Two is his best work, certainly the record of his that I play most.

Not quite sure about the new one yet; veering perilously close to writing about His Privileged Life at times and while some of the bitching about previous/failed lovers is quite entertaining he cuts deepest on the America-as-lover-extended-metaphor ballads, e.g. "Leaving For Paris" and especially "Not Ready To Love" which is a quite stunning marriage of Fairport Convention and Art of Noise (both R Thompson and N Tennant making their influence felt). The one with Sian Phillips going mad at the end is also pretty fab.

enjoyed but wasn't blown away by Judy at Carnegie Hall last year, though I'm certainly thrilled I got to go. haven't found my way into the new one yet; first half-listen sounds good.

Richard Thompson vs the horn section on "Slideshow" = stunning. Things start tailing off for me after that, though. I think he overdoes the trick of starting relatively downbeat/unadorned/vulnerable, piling on the orchestral layers, and ending on a note of triumphal resolution, having turned so many musical corners that the end of each track bears scant relationship to its beginning. Don't get me wrong, it's a *great* trick - but it's also somewhat overplayed. I like the dissatified-nomad-in-exile qualities which "Going To A Town" sets up and "Tiergarten" develops, and I don't miss the more overtly campy playfulness which punctuated previous albums.

It's as if he's trying to convince himself that he's happy.

Musically, though, Richard T is man of the match - I noticed those little Derek Bailey scribbles in "Slideshow"...

Very interesting point. (All those bolted on Garland-esque triumphal flourishes - do we necessarily believe them, even if RW might want us to?)

...and, yeah, big love for Want Two, which marked the point where it all came together for me and RW. (I admired Want One, but I *adored* Want Two.)

wait, richard thompson plays on this?

He should do a Randy Newman and just farm his songs out to someone who can actually sing.

Classic moment at Electric Picnic last year:

"I tried to dance, To Britney Spears/ I guess I'm gettin' on in years But I still look pretty good huh?!! HAHAHAH!"

He's got a fantastic voice.

No, it's terrible, and ruins some excellent songwriting, but I don't think this discussion is going to go very far.

i hate his voice so much it makes me want to scratch my skin off

and get a load of this interview :( i just feel like DOES HE HAVE TO TRY THAT HARD TO BE CUTE. I MEAN HE MIGHT AS WELL HAVE JUST ANSWERED "OH AND I'M SOOOOOO WITTY!" IN RESPONSE TO EVERY QUESTION

http://nymag.com/daily/intel/2008/12/rufus_wainwright.html

Name: Rufus Wainwright
Age: 35
Neighborhood: Chelsea
Occupation: Singer-songwriter, performing tomorrow evening at the McGarrigle Christmas Hour at Carnegie Hall.

Who's your favorite New Yorker, living or dead, real or fictional?
-Some gorgeous woman I once saw hailing a cab while walking out of her apartment on Fifth Avenue facing the park.

What's the best meal you've eaten in New York?
-I’m not saying this to be nice: my boyfriend’s Wiener … schnitzel. [Ed. note: He loves this joke.]

In one sentence, what do you actually do all day in your job?
-Presently I’m orchestrating an opera, which means that basically every day is a board meeting with the dead. I do most of the talking, of course, still, I pay serious attention to notes.

Would you still live here on a $35,000 salary?
-No way; this city is for the rich. Mind you, things could change very soon.

What's the last thing you saw on Broadway?
-August: Osage County — Estelle Parsons is a living legend.

Do you give money to panhandlers?
-Yes, and always to someone singing or playing music. That could be me one day!

What's your drink?
-Tap water.

How often do you prepare your own meals?
-I can’t prepare my way out of a paper bag.

What's your favorite medication?
-Clorox bleach, good for foot fungus. I’m a real blast, trust me!

What's hanging above your sofa?
-A Robert Wilson painting.

How much is too much to spend on a haircut?
-A life.

When's bedtime?
-Usually after The Rachel Maddow Show or, if I’m adventurous, Amy Goodman on Democracy Now, which ends at 2 a.m.

Which do you prefer, the old Times Square or the new Times Square?
-Every day I pine for the old Times Square, and I just got a tiny whiff of it in the late eighties. It must have been amazing.

What do you think of Donald Trump?
-He should make friends with some decent architects.

What do you hate most about living in New York?
-All those insane apartments going up everywhere that look like they should be in Toronto.

Who is your mortal enemy?
-The Bravo Network. Bar-lowerer extraordinaire. And what an ironic name!!

When's the last time you drove a car?
-Last weekend. I tend to "weekend."

Who should be the next president?
-First things first.

Times, Post, or Daily News?
-Times, but I only look at the pictures.

Where do you go to be alone?
-My piano bench.

What makes someone a New Yorker?
-Everyone in the world is a New Yorker!

i'm not really sure why i'm reacting this way to rufus today but there it is.

I rebought Lewis Furey's second album - 'the Humours of...' - over the weekend to replace an unreturned loan; everyone should hear that and the even better S/T debut - Rufus certainly has, but he's like Jeff to his Lewis' Tim

Estelle Parsons is in August: Osage County?!?!