Scott Walker. (RIP March 2019)

I haven’t fully revisited it yet but will put in a mention for Ian Penman’s wonderful and long (~70pp!) essay “a dandy in aspic” in rob Young’s book, it makes a case for those middle years: the moviegoer and songs from his tv show and that. Penman touches on stuff mentioned upthread eg that the originals in til the band comes in go well into the second side, and posits that the reason the received wisdom “SIDE 2 IS ALL BAD!!” was allowed to ossify is that for a long time it was difficult to actually get ahold of the album to check - not to be too on brand but maybe cf twin peaks “SEASON 2 IS ALL BAD!!”

it's some way the best piece in the book i think

For sure although I like the David Toop interview where (iirc and I may be thinking of a different one) he asks walker about the significance of kabbalistic references in the drift (serifot and kellipot) and Walker has no memory of even coming across the words before, let alone what he meant by their deployment!

I think he said recently one of his songwriting strategies just involved going to an acquaintance’s vast personal library and reading and picking out words

checked out a preview on google and think i'm gonna buy the ebook of the rob young collection. penman otm that til the band comes in is three quarters brilliant one quarter ok. "war is over" is scott 3 quality

I actually like almost all of the songs that fill out side 2, it's just that this record HAS to end with "The War is Over", going from that to "Stormy" etc is just too weird and jarring. Same with Scott 3 though I love those three Brel tunes. Both LPs have a resoundingly clear natural ending point at which they do not end.

i'd like to argue against conventional wisdom here and suggest the three brel tunes are actually the best possible way to end scott 3, the album entering this arch wormhole at the end ("sons of" both creepy and beautiful! "funeral tango" a complete delight and less jarring in the sequence than "we came through" imo) and closes with the most beautiful "ne me quitte pas," can't argue with it ("two weeks since you've gone" would've been a weaker closer)

No way, "Two Weeks Since You've Gone" is gorgeous and heartbreaking and "If You Go Away" is his worst Brel cover by a country mile.

"Have you written enough songs for the album yet?" "Er, almost".

"If You Go Away" is his worst Brel cover by a country mile.

― Angry Question Time Man's Flute Club Band (Tom D.), Monday, April 1, 2019 10:39 AM (nine minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

idk how you arrived at this opinion but it does not reflect my experience at all

You're NEXT!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q0LmWUUVvUM

had never heard this drift-era track (from a 4ad comp called plague songs) until now, it rules

Oh yeah, also has a classic Scott footnote/gloss iirc

(Contrary to the idea many have of his later career he often took pains to clarify what certain songs were about!)

Brad otm about the Brel covers at the end of Scott 3

Man I wish "We Came Through" was just not on that album though!

Wonderful Amazon review for Rob Young's book here. Yikes!

James J. Omeara
5.0 out of 5 starsThe Implicitly White Genius of Scott Walker
February 17, 2014
Format: Hardcover
Even if my review at the Counter-Currents blog hasn't convinced you that Scott Walker is the ultimate White musician and worthy of your attention for that reason alone, this book will appeal to anyone with an interest in the mechanics of the post-war pop music industry or just some damned fine cultural writing. It’s really quite exciting to see such implicitly White music, both avant garde and MOR, receiving serious critical attention. White Nationalists should be heartened by it, and should encourage this unexpected entry point into the mainstream by purchasing multiple copies for family and friends!
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the jarvis interview from 2017 is awesome for a lot of reasons but i especially liked when walker talked about how much he loved jazz. no one tell james j. omeara

it's almost funny how much effort a human being will put into being racist these days

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/m0004d8x

Freak Zone tribute show, includes bits of interview where he just sounds charming and funny.