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Utopian Turtletop. Monsieur Croche's Bête Noire. Contact: turtletop [at] hotmail [dot] com

Wednesday, June 21, 2006


Happy summer. Broke out the early Beach Boys today. This one's a classic; their 3rd album, 1963, and not a bad cut on it. (The CD reissue is bargainiciously paired with “Shut Down Volume 2,” which does have a couple clunker fillers, and also a great bonus track, the awesome joyous marriage song “I Do.”)

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Borrowed the terrific early Streisand album Color Me Barbra from my mom when I was home and have been listening to it a lot. Didn't know the record, lots of great stuff.

Of note for Celine-watchers (Celine cites Barbra as a prime influence): Barbra's high-vibrato Piaf-homage French-language song "Non C'est Rien." I don't know whether Piaf sang it, but Streisand uses more vibrato than usual and it seems in honor of the great French singer.

Also of note, and mentioned by Glenn Gould in his Streisand essay: the comic patter lyric set to Chopin's "Minute Waltz." Streisand nails it in her Brooklyn-Jewish-comic accent; really great.

And killerest, an over-the-top version of “Yesterdays,” lyric by Otto Harbach, music by Jerome Kern, with the awesome line,

Gay youth was mine, truth was mine, joyous free & flaming life forsooth was mine.
Streisand sings it with all her might. She sings all out. Sends it soaring, sends my listening heart soaring with her.

Joyous free & flaming life to you too!
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