Theme: It Runs In The Family (Week 82) [Wainwright-McGarrigles]
Note: Okay, so I cheated. This is actually a recycled journal entry I wrote a month or so ago.
Today I bring you the utterly insane and fascinating and beautiful Wainwright-McGarrigle family. I suppose, to butcher paraphrase and take George Bush Seniors’ statement out of context; they're less like the Waltons and more like the Simpsons. Well, if Homer was an abusive sonofabitch and Bart was a former crystal meth addict and a flaming queen. (Son, maybe it's the concussion talking, but any way you choose to live your life is okay with me. - Homer's Phobia. Such a good episode.)
l-r: Loudon Wainwright III, Kate McGarrigle, Martha Wainwright, and Rufus Wainwright.
Note: This is a really sketchy, unfocused sorta entry. Things are likely not in the "right" order, things probably don't have a right order. I've heard next-to-nothing of Loudon or Kate's work, and I've been neglecting my Rufus/Martha listening over the past few months.
So, those who are BIG Wainwright fans - I apologise.
They sing ABOUT each other!
Some information blatantly stolen from opheliablue and this article.
i think that i need some space
everyday you're in my face.
how can i get rid of you?
i'd rather be lonely.
Loudon Wainwright III // I'd Rather Be Lonely
Loudon Wainwright’s 'I’d Rather Be Lonely' was written to and for Martha; about the time she was fourteen years old and stayed with him for a year. This was announced it at a concert when she was in audience. She (and unknowing fans) had assumed it was about a romantic relationship. That's fucking harsh, man.
you say my time here has been some sort of joke
that i've been messing around
some sort of incubating period
for when I really come around.
Martha Wainwright // Bloody Mother Fucking Asshole
However, in retaliation and true Wainwright style Martha writes the amazingly awesome BMFA. It's a little rough, a little angry, a little sad, a little matter-of-fact. One of my favourite songs ever. Guys, if you haven't heard it already, just bloody take it, yeah?
go, leave
don't come back
no more am i for the taking
but i can't say that my heart's not aching
it's breaking in two.
Kate McGarrigle // Go LeaveMcGarrigle wrote a song called Go Leave, in which she describes her then husband Loudon running off to Europe with the performance artist Penny Arcade in the early 1970s. The heavily pregnant McGarrigle came over from Canada in search of him, found him, and lost the baby, after which he announced he was leaving her. [+]
Martha
[…] you sing of my mother and me somewhat sentimentally
you sing of a father and son
when all you do from him is run
you like to think that things are okay
by by singing things that you should say
dearest daddy with your songs
do you hope to right your wrongs?
Loudon:
darling daughter can't you see
the guy singing the songs ain’t me
he's someone people wish i was
what i cant do this dude does
and if the songs seem slightly pat i know
life's messier then that. […]
Loudon Wainwright III // Father/Daughter Dialogue
The song above was completely written by Loudon. Goddamn, but that hurts my brain - and I haven't even heard it. Men! Men and your… sales! gross communication problems!
Next up we've got Rufus, who is (and always has been, according to many an article &etc) a spectacular, dramatic, queen. First born son, and a cause for jealousy all round.
ah son, you look so satisfied and i envy you
so put rufus on the left one
and put me right on the right
and like romulus and remus
we'll suck all night.
Loudon Wainwright III // Rufus Is A Tit Man
'cause he's that first born son, he's that special one
no matter what comes next, no matter what comes along
be it another boy or a sweet baby girl
the family's the oyster and he is the pearl.
Kate McGarrigle // First Born
And the echo of her mother, of first born son, son of a gun can be heard in Martha’s ‘Laurel & Hardy’.
three years before me you came out and cried
boy, not a girl, but you get all their goddamn pride
[…]
you've got a lot of friends
but i'm your sister, baby
and nothing can beat that!
Martha Wainwright // Laurel & Hardy
first born son - son of a gun, i love you even more than when this song begun.
I love how they all sing about each other, but it’s Rufus and Martha I have a huge, huge love for. You can feel that they have such a deep affection for each other (amongst all the jealousy, and hate, and anger) - the stories in various articles of how Rufus encouraged her, helped her polish her singing, added layering to her music. The latter I think you can especially see - from what I’ve heard so far, Loudon and Kate are very musically sparse, Loudon bashes out witty, biting lyrics in a gruff voice, backed only by his guitar; Kate duets with Anna (her sister) on simple piano-laden songs; Rufus - oh man, Rufus - has his simple moments (the penchant for doing piano-based smokey-pub-wartime-era 40s/50s songs, I adore), but the sumptuousness and layering of his lush, extravagant moments such as ‘Agnus Dei’ and ‘Old Whores Diet’ are like nothing I’ve heard before (mmm… clichélicious); and well Martha, (correct me if I’m wrong) while she isn’t quite as extravagant as her brother, has a range to her voice, and a more complex musical style than her parents.
little sister come and sit beside me, beside me
and we'll play a tune on this old piano forte
just for awhile, just for awhile, just for awhile
till your hair becomes a powdered wig, and i become a total bastard
feet that hardly reach the pedal, sold to a tremendous shadow.
Rufus Wainwright // Little Sister
However, one of my favourite Rufus/Martha connections comes at the end of this live version of ‘California’ (one of Rufus’ songs). Well, that and it’s always a kick to listen to Rufus speaking - some random stuff comes out of that boy’s mouth.
[clappage] Thank you. Is Martha Wainwright here? Is she here? Are you over there? C’mere. I know I wouldn’t do this, but well, I said I don’t think you should get up and sing on this gig because I know you’re doing the thing at the [?] Club and [?] rehearsal, and I miss you … on tour, because you’ve got your own fucking career - which is great - Martha’s got her own career! [clappage/whoos] Um, you can either use this mike or this mike. D’you want to stand or sit? [laughs] or lie down? [mumbling till end]
Holy crap, how absolutely precious are they?! (So very much!)
And of course, Rufus does the whole "communicating to the parentals in song" thing too…
i never had it
i never wanted it,
i never had your beauty mark
nor did i have your black hair
and hazel eyes.
Rufus Wainwright // Beauty Mark (a tribute to his mum)
but 'til then no, daddy, don't be surprised
if i wanna see the tears in your eyes
then i know it had to be long ago
actually in the drifting white snow
you loved me.
no matter how strong
i'm gonna take you down
with one little stone
i'm gonna break you down
and see what you're worth
what you're really worth to me.
Rufus Wainwright // Dinner At Eight
They sing WITH each other!
And, okay, they sing WITH each other on tracks where they’re singing ABOUT each other, but please… it’s one am and my brain can’t handle much more of the crazy.
Kate & Anna McGarrigle & Rufus Wainwright // Goodnight Sweetheart
tears and parting may make us forlorn, but with the dawn a new day is born.
Some Brits (if you're reading this) must remember that 90s TV programme Goodnight Sweetheart, right? The one with Rodney Nicholas Lyndhurst, as a guy that time travels between modern day and World War II London? Tangential, I know, but I loved that programme when I was a kid, and the theme tune. And like I said, Rufus' voice + World War era music = ♥
i'm gonna bathe and shave
and dress myself and eat solo every night
unplug the phone, sleep alone
stay away out of sight
sure it's kind of lonely
yeah, it's sort of sick
being your own one and only
is a dirty selfish trick.
Loudon Wainwright III // One Man Guy
i don't know why i'm a one man guy, or why i'm a one man show, but these three cubic feet of bone and blood and meat are all I love and know.
Like BMFA, this is another song I can rave about for a long time. The original by a man who clearly has emotional, commitment and communication issues, the cover version by his gay son (with Martha, as usual, harmonising along with backing vocals - mmm).
Rufus Wainwright & Kate McGarrigle // My Funny Valentine
sweet comic valentine, you make me smile with my heart - your looks are laughable, unphotographable, yet you're my favorite work of art.
Hello. My ovaries have just exploded. Zomg. Rufus voice is simple stunning on this track. [+ another version]
i eat dinner at the kitchen table
and i wash it down with pop
i eat leftovers with mash potatoes
no more candlelight, no more romance
no more small talk when the hunger stops
never thought that i'd end up this way
i who loved the sparks
never thought my hair'd be turning to gray
it used to be so dark, so dark.
Kate & Anna McGarrigle // I Eat Dinner
Rufus covered 'I Eat Dinner' with Dido for the Bridget Joues: Edge of Reason soundtrack. It's a faithful version, both of them have a dreamy, hopeless quality to them, though there is the lyrics change of i eat dinner / at the kitchen table / with my daughter / who is thirteen to by the light / the tv screen. I prefer the McGarrigle's version, because Dido is always less appealing when she's duetting with someone else, and the guitar of the original wins out over electronic drumbeats.
The McGarrigle Sisters // What'll I Do
when i'm alone with only dreams of you, that won't come true - what'll i do
This is pure gold. Kate, Loudon, Rufus and Martha all sing it, something which I only realised a while ago (and I've listened to this song so many times and didn't realise), something which now MELTS MY BRAIN. Because you must go your way, and i must go mine and my God, they're so complicated and messy and family-like. Oh.
i just want to be my dad / with a slight sprinkling of my mother.
Rufus Wainwright // Want
Et voila! I hope that was at partially coherent for those of you who were kind enough to read it. :)
buy!Loudon: History, Career Moves, I’m Alright.
buy!Kate & Anna: Heartbeats Accelerating, The McGarrigle Hour, Dancer With Bruised Knees.
buy!Rufus: Rufus Wainwright, Poses, Want One, Want Two.
buy!Martha: Martha Wainwright.
Today I bring you the utterly insane and fascinating and beautiful Wainwright-McGarrigle family. I suppose, to butcher paraphrase and take George Bush Seniors’ statement out of context; they're less like the Waltons and more like the Simpsons. Well, if Homer was an abusive sonofabitch and Bart was a former crystal meth addict and a flaming queen. (Son, maybe it's the concussion talking, but any way you choose to live your life is okay with me. - Homer's Phobia. Such a good episode.)
l-r: Loudon Wainwright III, Kate McGarrigle, Martha Wainwright, and Rufus Wainwright.
Note: This is a really sketchy, unfocused sorta entry. Things are likely not in the "right" order, things probably don't have a right order. I've heard next-to-nothing of Loudon or Kate's work, and I've been neglecting my Rufus/Martha listening over the past few months.
So, those who are BIG Wainwright fans - I apologise.
They sing ABOUT each other!
Some information blatantly stolen from opheliablue and this article.
i think that i need some space
everyday you're in my face.
how can i get rid of you?
i'd rather be lonely.
Loudon Wainwright III // I'd Rather Be Lonely
Loudon Wainwright’s 'I’d Rather Be Lonely' was written to and for Martha; about the time she was fourteen years old and stayed with him for a year. This was announced it at a concert when she was in audience. She (and unknowing fans) had assumed it was about a romantic relationship. That's fucking harsh, man.
you say my time here has been some sort of joke
that i've been messing around
some sort of incubating period
for when I really come around.
Martha Wainwright // Bloody Mother Fucking Asshole
However, in retaliation and true Wainwright style Martha writes the amazingly awesome BMFA. It's a little rough, a little angry, a little sad, a little matter-of-fact. One of my favourite songs ever. Guys, if you haven't heard it already, just bloody take it, yeah?
go, leave
don't come back
no more am i for the taking
but i can't say that my heart's not aching
it's breaking in two.
Kate McGarrigle // Go LeaveMcGarrigle wrote a song called Go Leave, in which she describes her then husband Loudon running off to Europe with the performance artist Penny Arcade in the early 1970s. The heavily pregnant McGarrigle came over from Canada in search of him, found him, and lost the baby, after which he announced he was leaving her. [+]
Martha
[…] you sing of my mother and me somewhat sentimentally
you sing of a father and son
when all you do from him is run
you like to think that things are okay
by by singing things that you should say
dearest daddy with your songs
do you hope to right your wrongs?
Loudon:
darling daughter can't you see
the guy singing the songs ain’t me
he's someone people wish i was
what i cant do this dude does
and if the songs seem slightly pat i know
life's messier then that. […]
Loudon Wainwright III // Father/Daughter Dialogue
The song above was completely written by Loudon. Goddamn, but that hurts my brain - and I haven't even heard it. Men! Men and your… sales! gross communication problems!
Next up we've got Rufus, who is (and always has been, according to many an article &etc) a spectacular, dramatic, queen. First born son, and a cause for jealousy all round.
ah son, you look so satisfied and i envy you
so put rufus on the left one
and put me right on the right
and like romulus and remus
we'll suck all night.
Loudon Wainwright III // Rufus Is A Tit Man
'cause he's that first born son, he's that special one
no matter what comes next, no matter what comes along
be it another boy or a sweet baby girl
the family's the oyster and he is the pearl.
Kate McGarrigle // First Born
And the echo of her mother, of first born son, son of a gun can be heard in Martha’s ‘Laurel & Hardy’.
three years before me you came out and cried
boy, not a girl, but you get all their goddamn pride
[…]
you've got a lot of friends
but i'm your sister, baby
and nothing can beat that!
Martha Wainwright // Laurel & Hardy
first born son - son of a gun, i love you even more than when this song begun.
I love how they all sing about each other, but it’s Rufus and Martha I have a huge, huge love for. You can feel that they have such a deep affection for each other (amongst all the jealousy, and hate, and anger) - the stories in various articles of how Rufus encouraged her, helped her polish her singing, added layering to her music. The latter I think you can especially see - from what I’ve heard so far, Loudon and Kate are very musically sparse, Loudon bashes out witty, biting lyrics in a gruff voice, backed only by his guitar; Kate duets with Anna (her sister) on simple piano-laden songs; Rufus - oh man, Rufus - has his simple moments (the penchant for doing piano-based smokey-pub-wartime-era 40s/50s songs, I adore), but the sumptuousness and layering of his lush, extravagant moments such as ‘Agnus Dei’ and ‘Old Whores Diet’ are like nothing I’ve heard before (mmm… clichélicious); and well Martha, (correct me if I’m wrong) while she isn’t quite as extravagant as her brother, has a range to her voice, and a more complex musical style than her parents.
little sister come and sit beside me, beside me
and we'll play a tune on this old piano forte
just for awhile, just for awhile, just for awhile
till your hair becomes a powdered wig, and i become a total bastard
feet that hardly reach the pedal, sold to a tremendous shadow.
Rufus Wainwright // Little Sister
However, one of my favourite Rufus/Martha connections comes at the end of this live version of ‘California’ (one of Rufus’ songs). Well, that and it’s always a kick to listen to Rufus speaking - some random stuff comes out of that boy’s mouth.
[clappage] Thank you. Is Martha Wainwright here? Is she here? Are you over there? C’mere. I know I wouldn’t do this, but well, I said I don’t think you should get up and sing on this gig because I know you’re doing the thing at the [?] Club and [?] rehearsal, and I miss you … on tour, because you’ve got your own fucking career - which is great - Martha’s got her own career! [clappage/whoos] Um, you can either use this mike or this mike. D’you want to stand or sit? [laughs] or lie down? [mumbling till end]
Holy crap, how absolutely precious are they?! (So very much!)
And of course, Rufus does the whole "communicating to the parentals in song" thing too…
i never had it
i never wanted it,
i never had your beauty mark
nor did i have your black hair
and hazel eyes.
Rufus Wainwright // Beauty Mark (a tribute to his mum)
but 'til then no, daddy, don't be surprised
if i wanna see the tears in your eyes
then i know it had to be long ago
actually in the drifting white snow
you loved me.
no matter how strong
i'm gonna take you down
with one little stone
i'm gonna break you down
and see what you're worth
what you're really worth to me.
Rufus Wainwright // Dinner At Eight
They sing WITH each other!
And, okay, they sing WITH each other on tracks where they’re singing ABOUT each other, but please… it’s one am and my brain can’t handle much more of the crazy.
Kate & Anna McGarrigle & Rufus Wainwright // Goodnight Sweetheart
tears and parting may make us forlorn, but with the dawn a new day is born.
Some Brits (if you're reading this) must remember that 90s TV programme Goodnight Sweetheart, right? The one with Rodney Nicholas Lyndhurst, as a guy that time travels between modern day and World War II London? Tangential, I know, but I loved that programme when I was a kid, and the theme tune. And like I said, Rufus' voice + World War era music = ♥
i'm gonna bathe and shave
and dress myself and eat solo every night
unplug the phone, sleep alone
stay away out of sight
sure it's kind of lonely
yeah, it's sort of sick
being your own one and only
is a dirty selfish trick.
Loudon Wainwright III // One Man Guy
i don't know why i'm a one man guy, or why i'm a one man show, but these three cubic feet of bone and blood and meat are all I love and know.
Like BMFA, this is another song I can rave about for a long time. The original by a man who clearly has emotional, commitment and communication issues, the cover version by his gay son (with Martha, as usual, harmonising along with backing vocals - mmm).
Rufus Wainwright & Kate McGarrigle // My Funny Valentine
sweet comic valentine, you make me smile with my heart - your looks are laughable, unphotographable, yet you're my favorite work of art.
Hello. My ovaries have just exploded. Zomg. Rufus voice is simple stunning on this track. [+ another version]
i eat dinner at the kitchen table
and i wash it down with pop
i eat leftovers with mash potatoes
no more candlelight, no more romance
no more small talk when the hunger stops
never thought that i'd end up this way
i who loved the sparks
never thought my hair'd be turning to gray
it used to be so dark, so dark.
Kate & Anna McGarrigle // I Eat Dinner
Rufus covered 'I Eat Dinner' with Dido for the Bridget Joues: Edge of Reason soundtrack. It's a faithful version, both of them have a dreamy, hopeless quality to them, though there is the lyrics change of i eat dinner / at the kitchen table / with my daughter / who is thirteen to by the light / the tv screen. I prefer the McGarrigle's version, because Dido is always less appealing when she's duetting with someone else, and the guitar of the original wins out over electronic drumbeats.
The McGarrigle Sisters // What'll I Do
when i'm alone with only dreams of you, that won't come true - what'll i do
This is pure gold. Kate, Loudon, Rufus and Martha all sing it, something which I only realised a while ago (and I've listened to this song so many times and didn't realise), something which now MELTS MY BRAIN. Because you must go your way, and i must go mine and my God, they're so complicated and messy and family-like. Oh.
i just want to be my dad / with a slight sprinkling of my mother.
Rufus Wainwright // Want
Et voila! I hope that was at partially coherent for those of you who were kind enough to read it. :)
buy!Loudon: History, Career Moves, I’m Alright.
buy!Kate & Anna: Heartbeats Accelerating, The McGarrigle Hour, Dancer With Bruised Knees.
buy!Rufus: Rufus Wainwright, Poses, Want One, Want Two.
buy!Martha: Martha Wainwright.