THE SILVER THREAD

We all have a story to tell.

I spent the day at the NHM yesterday looking for some inspiration. What I got were some eerie-ass videos. Here’s one of the penguins case.

These are the lyrics to a song I’m working on with David. There are two versions – “Love” and “War.”

Truce or Treason (War Verison)
By Sparrow Hall

Give me truce or give me treason
Give me a side that I believe in
Give me a song and a voice of reason

Give me truce or give me treason

Give me a heart without the bleeding
Give me the hope that I’ve been needing
Give me peace for one whole season

Give me truce or give me treason

You say revolution is what we need and
storm the gates while the guards are sleeping
Then name your master and start your kneeling

Give me truce or give me treason

Read the books, see what they’re teaching
Go to church, hear what they’re preaching
Then count the pairs of ears they’re reaching

Give me truce or give me treason

Hear our hearts the way they’re beating
Read our lips and the way they’re pleading
We’re in deep and we’re the reason

Give me truce or give me treason

Give me a side that I believe in
Give me a song and a voice of reason
Give me the next best thing to freedom

Give me truce or give me treason

Sparrow Hall
Copyright 2007

Last week I met up with Amanda Tannen, singer and bassist for Stellastarr* to talk about our next project, a collection of short stories, entitled You Looked Good on the Dancefloor & Other Stories. I’d asked her to write a solo piece for the soundtrack that’ll be part of the collection’s digital bundle.

I’ve always loved Amanda’s voice, and the way it chimes through on the Stellastarr* tracks. I wondered what it would sound like if we put her front and center and just let her do her thing. So when I caught up with her a couple months ago at her birthday shindig at Black & White, I threw the idea out there. I told her we were putting out this collection and that I wanted to produce a soundtrack that was a total dance album. She knew about the track Shawn [Christensen, of Stellastarr*] had produced with Kevin [McAdams] for the Two Blue Wolves Soundtrack and took to the idea immediately. I said I wanted her to do a song that was completely her own. I didn’t care what it was. The stories were all about “love and loss on the dancefloor” and she should just take that as a cue — oh, and you have to be able to dance to it.

So last week we met up with producer David Crabb at l’Express on Park Avenue to talk about the track and what she was envisioning. I remember one word in particular – “raw” – being used more than once.

If you want to get a sense of Mandy’s voice, you should go to the iTunes store and download the Stellastarr* track “She’s Gone,” which features Amanda as lead vocalist on the latter half of the song. I think it’s one of their best, but probably one of their least well known. It came out as a B-side to Harmonies for the Haunted, because, as Amanda puts it, “it was too cheery.” It actually reminds me a lot of their older hits like “My Coco” and “Jenny.”

Other artists that have confirmed for the Dancefloor soundtrack include Shawn Christensen (Amanda’s Stellastarr* bandmate), Kevin McAdams of Elefant, The Hourly Radio, The Kiss-Off, hip hop MC Wythe Marschall and producer Brian Scibinico.

Of course, the talks have just begun, and there are plenty of bands we’re interested in. Especially one band in particular, who are about to release their new album, but we won’t name names until we find out if they’re available. We will, however, feature a video in their honor. Hint, hint.

SH

Okay, so there’s some good news and some bad news in the next couple of posts.

First, the bad:

The Trash! party at Rififi has finally gone the way of the Smiths. I got an email from Jess last minute on Friday saying that they changed the venue to the Beauty Bar. Now, let the records show, I like the Beauty Bar – but on a Saturday, when I’m looking to break it down to Justin Timberlake and that song from the Step Up soundtrack. So when I found out that the Depeche Mode crew was taking over the decks, I thought, hmm, I wonder…

In the end, what I got was two parties for the price of none. The back room was up to its old tricks, a la Tiffany meets Bel Biv Devoe, while the front room was Trash!ing it up something fierce. They even brought the go-go dancers who eventually just said fuck it and started dancing on a couple of the hair blower chairs.

According to inside sources, the Beauty Bar is just a temporary thing until they find another spot. I just hope that whatever venue becomes its new home, it has at least an ounce of Rififi’s impromtu charm. I never quite followed what that space was actually meant to be. Are they still showing those old movies? Is there a comedy night? Are the Burlesque girls still taking their tops off on Thursdays?

Rififi was like vaudeville set to a dance beat. I’m sad to see it go. Never again will I find myself at the edge of that stage pretending to hold a laser gun in the throws of a New Order remix. Or standing in that one secret spot where the air conditioning blows directly on you. But then I suppose, like everyone else in this great changing city, we’re all nomads at heart – and this teepee is on the move. It’ll be interesting to see where they hammer down the stakes. Let’s just hope that all of our old friends will come along. Like the indie boy who goes nuts to the Pixies and the guy in the suit who acts out every Pulp song. I think I need to dedicate a post just to the Rififi regulars. No names, of course, because that would be scandalous, and that’s the last thing that crew would ever want.

So Rififi, my love, we bid you a fond farewell. And to Jess, Alex and Antonio – thank you for all those mischievous nights.

Keep feeling fascination.

SH

The video I shot of the Hourly Radio just appeared on The Tripwire CMJ Wrap-Up. You can watch it here:

http://www.thetripwire.com/news/2007/10/22/videos-cmj-wrap-up

When you get to the page, scroll down a few.

Here’s a poem I wrote recently. A producer friend of mine asked that I start writing some some songs, so I figured I’d give it a shot. This was actually just meant to be a poem. But then the chorus came in and I thought maybe there was something there. Anyway, here it is.

Separate Rooms
By Sparrow Hall

My heart is a house full of rooms.
Lingering scents of soft perfumes
of everyone I have ever loved.
Every bed and every glove
that fit the hand of every love
that made a home within those rooms.

And here is the one we two had shared
where those fires once had flared
between two people lost in youth.

I love you now as I did back then,
and in that time have come to mend
the wounds that kept me from the truth.

Separate hearts and separate rooms.
Tonight we sleep in separate tombs.

So I welcome you back into our home
with all the ivy overgrown.
To love a man you’ve never known
and join me in our little room.

Let’s be good, let’s pretend.
Let us make some time to spend,
and say the things we never said.
Too scared to tell the truth.

Separate hearts and separate rooms.
Tonight we sleep in separate tombs.

And let’s make believe this dusty room
is more than just some musty tomb
where both the bodies have been exhumed
by the grave robber of time.

Because it’s time that heals all wounds,
it’s also time that will assume
new fears to keep me away from you
as the ivy continues to climb.

So tonight we sleep in separate rooms.
Separate loves in separate tombs.
As the ghost of us quietly looms
outside your door and mine.

Sparrow Hall
Copyright 2007

Integral / Pet Shop Boys
Eat, Sleep / Prinzhorn Dance School
All I Need / Radiohead
The Sun Always Shines On TV / A-ha
Kingdom/ Dave Gahan
All Things Happen / The Kiss-Off
Closer (Pipes Bros. Remix) / The Hourly Radio
Naughty Girls Need Love Too / Samantha Fox
Callas Went Away / Enigma
Between Planets / The Jesus & Mary Chain

This month we’re giving a shout out to long-time favorites, the Pet Shop Boys, for getting back to the basics on their full-length album Fundamental. I have no idea why it took me this long to discover it (the album came out all the way back in 2006). I suppose I have David to thank for handing me my boller hat and pointing in the right direction.

Seriously, there hasn’t been a PSB release this good since the days of Disco. One of my favorite tracks is featured on this month’s playlist. Other favorites include “Minimal” and the B-Sides – “The Resurrectionist,” “Girls Don’t Cry,” and “Fugitive.”