By ParaMhor
“To be androgynous, Webster's informs us, is to have both male and female characteristics. This means that there is a man in every woman, and a woman in every man. Sometimes this is recognised only when the chips are, brutally, down - when there is no longer any way to avoid this recognition. But love between a man and a woman, or love between any two human beings, would not be possible did we not have available to us the spiritual resources of both sexes.” – James Baldwin
“The fact of the matter is that all true artistes are androgynous by nature, the in and yang perfectly balanced.” – Aparna Sen
“Putting women in military combat is the cutting edge of the feminist goal to force us into an androgynous society.” – Phyllis Schlafly
All of this is subjective, so I called in the brains trust from Para Mansions. They weren’t available, so (OK, OK…) This was to sort out my long familiarity with some songs nominated and resulting lazy assumptions, growing like barnacles. To give a fresh perspective. Needless to say, have been put right on a couple of things and this is what they we came up with. Hope you have a couple of listenable playlists.
We start with Horace Andy. Massive Attack opened Mezzanine with the seriously dark Angel, beloved of lazy TV producers the world over to add a bit of edge. Don’t let that put you off. Check the video for what it’s really about. An amazing song courtesy of pejepeine.
From darkness to light. The Pointer Sisters’ magnificent Automatic. The remarkable Ruth is the last surviving sister of this great band and came into her own with this absolute earworm. Always self-effacing, this is well worth a listen. Must admit, I always thought Stevie W for the “all of my systems…”. Thanks to Isabelle Forshaw for both.
Brett Anderson always looked the part of the pop star. An abundance of great songs later, most of us here know that voice. My lot did too, with definite votes for androgyny in this one. Suede, Animal Nitrate, with thanks to happyclapper.
Next up, a really great slice of 70s glam rock. Secos & Molhados (Dry and Wet) were a Brazilian band in the early 70s, who embraced glam rock with this banger. Sangue Latino is just wonderful. Another from pejepeine. Singer, Ney Matogrosso, has had an amazing life. For those of you as ignorant of this as me check out more information here.
I’ve always been ambivalent about the Clash, but when they hit the spot! Lose This Skin has the benefit of Tymon Dogg on violin and voice. Cheers Carpgate for the following, er, recommendation:
“When I first heard this I was convinced Tymon was a woman , and his name didn't give me much of a clue otherwise. It turned out Tymon Dogg was the man who first taught Joe Strummer to play the guitar, so thank you Tymon. I've always really liked this one but it sounds nothing like The Clash".”
Uncleben nominated Cesária Évora, known as Cize. From Cape Verde and with a voice both angelic and well lived. Here, in a duet with the divine Salif Keita, she sings Yamore, a song of faith and beauty.
We were not going to let this week pass without one from the mighty Prince. If I Was Your Girlfriend was one of the standouts from Sign o’ the Times. Nominated by AltraEgo, it discusses the chances of a platonic relationship. Yup.
A nomination from barbryn, Ezra Furman ups the ante by declaring I Wanna Be Your Girlfriend.
All my friends are writing their resumes
My responsible friends are applying for jobs
But me, I was considering ditching Ezra, and going by Esme
Baby, would you find that so odd?
Moses Sumney, born in California of Ghanaian parentage, offers the beautiful Me in Twenty Years. As barbryn mentions, one of the most striking voices to have emerged in the past few years.
Husky-voiced Zombie Colin Blunstone (I am guessing he has never been referred to in that way before) released a wonderful solo album, One Year, in 1971. According to Neil Tennant, he was the missing link between Dusty Springfield and Nick Drake. One of the standouts was this cover of a song by Denny Laine, Say You Don’t Mind. Denny was in the Moody Blues, Wings (the band that….) and a really good songwriter besides. This is one of his best. Thanks again to TatankaYotanka.
Beach House closed their 2010 album with Take Care: Don’t think Victoria Le Grand has ever sounded better. Comment from one of my jury ‘sounds like he has a cold’. Thanks to untergunther for this one.
So to Nico, from Nicko. This one caused more argument than any other. I think mainly because of my own thinking. Heard her as a teen and that’s always been her voice. Others didn’t agree and so (not reluctantly at all) we have These Days. Written by a 17-year-old Jackson Browne. Let that sink in.
And finally, a mea culpa. Having listened for half my life to Purcell, Handel and other renaissance and baroque composers, my counter tenor cup was overflowing. Bach’s St Matthews Passion is something else. Erbarme Dich, Mein Gott as sung by Michael Chance is sublime. Thanks to magicman for putting this one up. Have mercy, my God, indeed.
“The Polish poet and novelist Adam Zagajewski has called Erbarme Dich “the center and the synthesis of western music.” The violinist Yehudi Menuhin called the aria’s lamenting solo violin obligato “the most beautiful piece of music ever written for the violin.”
Thank you all for your nominations and a really enjoyable week listening in.
I should add that the only difference between the A and B list this week is that it didn’t seem so clear to my jury that there was sufficient ambiguity in the latter. But as I said earlier, a highly subjective week.
Androgyny A-List Playlist:
Massive Attack – Angel (pejepeine)
The Pointer Sisters – Automatic (Isabelle Forshaw)
Suede – Animal Nitrate (happyclapper)
Secos & Molhados – Sangue Latino (pejepeine)
The Clash – Lose this Skin (Carpgate)
Salif Keita and Cesária Évora – Yamore (Uncleben)
Prince – If I Was Your Girlfriend (AltraEgo)
Ezra Furman – I Wanna be Your Girlfriend (barbryn)
Moses Sumney – Me in 20 Years (barbryn)
Colin Blunstone – Say You Don’t Mind (TatankaYotanka)
Beach House – Take Care (untergunther)
Nico – These Days (Nicko)
J. S. Bach (sung by Michael Chance) – Erbarme Dich, Mein Gott (magicman)
B-List Playlist:
Shamir –The Devil Said The Blues Is All I’ll Know (Loud Atlas)
Bear in Heaven – Ultimate Satisfaction (MussoliniHeadkick)
Sweeny Todd – Roxy Roller (Marconius)
Lankum – What Will We Do When We Have No Money? (ShivSidecar)
Maria Bethânia e Gal Costa – Sonho Meu (pejepeine_
Active Child – In Another Life (untergunther)
Gale Garnett – We’ll Sing In The Sunshine (AltraEgo)
Cher – Ringo, I Love You! (Severin)
The Four Seasons – Sherry (Marconius)
Eddie Holman – Hey There Lonely Girl (Fred Erickson)
Peter Ivers – Take Your Chances With Me (Fred Erickson)
Thirty Pounds of Bone – How We Applaud the Unhappiness of the Songwriter (TatankaYotanka)
Slapp Happy / Henry Cow – Apes in Capes (TatankaYotanka)
Guru’s Wildcard Picks:
REM – Tongue
This Mortal Coil – Fond Affections Gordon Sharp/Cinder. What a voice.
Delays – Nearer Than Heaven
Jeff Buckley - Corpus Christi Carol
Not expecting this in the early 90’s. Knew the song, but more like the version that follows.
Mozart: Requiem in D minor, K.626 - Introitus, Requiem aeternum.
This is a little anoraky, but for a long time thought the solo voice at just after the two-minute mark was a boy soprano. But it’s Emma Kirkby. Any excuse to play this one.
Moses Sumney
These playlists were inspired by readers' song nominations in response to last week's topic: Joyous ambiguity: songs with androgynous vocals. The next topic will launch on Thursday at 1pm UK time.
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