Thursday, December 1, 2011

Wintersongs, Pt. IV

This song’s simple acoustic guitar strumming introduction is enough to make the hair on the back of my neck stand on end. And once the lovely Ms. Case’s siren-like vocals kick in I’m lost in the song. It’s clearly one of the standout tracks from her breakthrough 2002 record Blacklisted that saw her move beyond the simple alt-country stylings of her earlier efforts and into a darker, deeper, haunted, Judy Garland-as-channeled-by-David-Lynch type of vibe. (Did I use enough descriptions there?) Well-suited to late night winter drives when abundant snow flurries whip past the windshield on lonely two-lane country roads, her velvet voice and the rich production and arrangement keeping my soul warm.

(horrible fan-made video since she never made one for the song):

Neko Case – Stinging Velvet
Rain falls, I fix my eyes
Let go of the focus and I blur out all the lines
Just to remember, remember

Crying 'cause it's not my fault
Water through my lashes look just like Christmas lights
And I still remember, remember

Cold and shivering
Cold and shivering
Cold and shivering warm

Sing please, rock me to sleep
Quiet as a canyon up under heaven's eaves
I surrender, surrender

Downstairs the furnace swells
Safe from all the horrors in your stinging velvet arms
And I surrender, surrender

Cold and shivering
Cold and shivering

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