The Giant Panther

I haven't posted in a while. I'm feeling uninspired, and haven't really heard anything new lately to get me kicked into gear. Anybody out there have anything inspiring to share? Anytime I try to grab something from a blog, I end up with a weird recording of some guy saying "We're sorry, this website has been extremely busy." I take it EZ-Archive has now officially tanked.

Rather than write-up something just for the sake of it being new, I'm going to talk about 2005's excellent Superwolf, in my opinion the best thing Will Oldham has ever been a part of, and the only album that's been on constant rotation on my ipod. Sometimes I think I subconsciously categorize my music into seasons, and I can't think of a better soundtrack for the transition from warm to cold as the last of the autumn leaves lay stuck on the roof of my car than Superwolf.

For this effort, Oldham takes on the Bonnie 'Prince' Billy moniker, and is joined by Matt Sweeney on guitar and backing vocals. If you've never heard Will Oldham before, like I before this album came into my possession, I think you'll be pleasantly surprised. It's amazing to me how something as rough and raw as Oldham's voice can come across so beautiful. With a voice you'd expect to hear bedside at 3 am in the half-light, there is simply no other way to present this material. That's not to say this album lacks dynamics, the excellent peaks on songs like "My Home is the Sea" and "Goat and Ram", balance this album with precision. Matt Sweeney's guitar work and backing vocals add a subtle touch that I've found lacking in some of Oldham's other work.

Oldham's writing is poetic to say the least, stringing together the story of the creature Superwolf, that touches on all the important points in life: love, sex, and death. I'm posting the lyrics to one of the most beautiful, devoted songs I've ever heard, "Beast For Thee". If you don't have Superwolf yet, it's an impressive album front to back, and strongly recommended. With every listen I grow fonder of this record.

Beast For Thee
Why aren't you kind to me?
You could so easily
Take me in your arms and see
A Donkey, a beast for thee.

If you had half a mind
Leave wordly things behind
Devote to being kind
You to me, a beast for thee.

Love in some way you choose
God's plan can easy bruise
One bone and blood mass we fuse
And I can be, a beast for thee.

I will toil for years and years
Give you muscle tone and tears
Overcome and flay all fears
Leaving me, a beast for thee.

And at home on Wednesday morn
Astride my horny horn
You'll be in glory born
And I will be, a beast for thee.

Happily, a beast for thee
Quietly, a beast for thee
endlessly, a beast for thee

MP3: Bonnie 'Prince' Billy and Matt Sweeney - Beast For Thee
Buy Superwolf
Bonnie 'Prince' Billy's Website

MP3: Bonnie 'Prince' Billy and Matt Sweeney - What Are You
Buy Superwolf
Bonnie 'Prince' Billy's Website