now i’m pointed north / hoping for the shore
Between my falling so hard for James Blake’s swooping, androgynous take on Joni Mitchell, and the way I’m absorbing the new Bon Iver record over and over, you’d think I was stuck in some sort of males-who-sing-falsetto rut.
While I have been enjoying the voices of men with a more masculine register as well, James Vincent McMorrow does nothing to break the string here. This haunting song floored me the first time I heard it (listen to that wonderful build! and break!) and made me, in fact, wish that I had a boat and some fog to sail it off into. Been too long.
If I Had A Boat – James Vincent McMorrow
McMorrow is from Dublin, and I would totally set off into the Irish Sea with him. He just finished some tour dates with the Rural Alberta Advantage kids, in support of the worldwide release of his album Early In The Morning. That’s an album he self-recorded in five months in a cottage by the coast, alone and playing all the instruments, and you can sample more sounds from it on his website.
Name: Heather Browne
I love this song so much. Did you happen to see this video someone made for it using footage from an animated version of ‘The Old Man and The Sea’? It’s rather perfect.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e2XPDP6KkkE
Adam — May 23, 2011 @ 9:36 am
Sparrow & the Wolf is a lovely song. Thanks so much.
Carolina — May 24, 2011 @ 7:37 pm
Hi Heather, off topic, but wondering whether you had any plans to repost the Bob Dylan “stray gems” mix from your old site? I remember hammering it when it first came out but cant find it any more and the links are now down…any chance you can point me in the right direction? I’m on a bit of a Dylan kick with his 70th bday and all, and that mix would make my day. Thanks!
Dan — May 25, 2011 @ 7:47 pm
[...] Crew summer looks are amazing (and speaking of J.Crew, I am in love with this dress) and thanks to Fuel/Friends, I am listening to James Vincent McMorrow on repeat (the unplugged of If I Had a Boat above, the [...]
Happy Friday! « Whim & Wanderlust — June 3, 2011 @ 3:07 am