Verlaines - "Death & the Maiden" video

[ZtDreamRider]

I'm sure it was about 1983 when I saw this band play in Dunedin.

[akrotirifry9]

One of the most criminally underrated bands ever.

[KiwiShamoo]

I remember seeing these guys play this at my University orientation back in 1992 .The Bats, Chris Knox and The 3Ds played that year as well...all lo-fi gods!!

[andreaneilcmc]

Listen to Lorraine by Bad Manners . The chorus is uncannily similar to the chorus of this song. Verlaine, Verlaine, Verlaine, Verlaine.

[metalhedwig]

@andreaneilcmc you're the first person who has pointed that out to me, v. nice connection, I'm into it

[papasmurff3456]

Perfection.

[sigourney17]

Little Shane Carter standing up there(top right) dancing around! He must be about 15-16!

[COMMUNISTPHILOSOPHY]

those ghastly Dunedin flats, please never again

[KARENK72886]

I will always love you, Verlaines! nz to a tee!

[witchgreens]

god, man if nothing else good ever came outta nz, id still be proud to be from here, just because of this song. its so great.

[metalhedwig]

@witchgreens i feel exactly th same way, except replace "NZ" w/ "Earth"

--mza.

[tatunkha]

Fantastic music. Song about Gustav Mahler innit? lol

[chopinsmith]

Thanks for uploading... I had this on a flyling nun VHS 'In love with these times', but lost it years ago... great track!!

[metalhedwig]

@chopinsmith truly th Internet is a generous place

--mza.

[oleus23]

one of the top ten videos of all time, for me anyway....probably top 3, or 2, or perhaps #1

[MsMiguel70]

Wonderful band, magic song, cool video.

[erolagyssup]

You're just too obscure for me Oh and you don't really get Through to me And there's no need For you to talk that way Is there really less special little Things to say? Do like Paul Verlaine? Is it gonna rain today? Shall we have our photo taken? We'll look like Death and The Maiden Verlaine, Verlaine, Verlaine, Verlaine, Verlaine etc I still choose to lose the way I like

[erolagyssup]

Fool around, slit my arms out of spite But I won't reject so long as You make sense But I'm through the ruse and Vague intentions You shouldn't talk to me find Better company There's better people to know You'll only end up like rimbaud Get shot by Verlaine, Verlaine, Verlaine, Verlaine, Verlaine etc You shouldn't talk to me find Better company There's better people to know You'll only end up like rimbaud Get shot by Verlaine Verlaine, Verlaine, Verlaine, Verlaine, Verlaine

[Oilisdeathtomany]

@erolagyssup Hurrah pussygalore!

[sm0kecat]

Love the haircuts and 80s dancemoves.

[spiekblix]

Living in Berlin, this makes me proud to be from NZ. We've got something no-one else has... don't know what it is, but it is there...

[pododwyer]

Is The NZ Alternative Music scene as good now as it was in the 80's? Seems like it was amazing back then. The Clean The Chills Flying Nun these guys. Who have we got now?

[Petorian2012]

and geuss what else my other mums on that too, i just found out, aaaahahahaha. the one with the bunny at the end - shes my real one.

[nananaalgoodaye]

awesome song-elemeno p version is good too

hooray for nz music (:

[EstebanCambiassoARG]

Anyone have any idea how to play this? I think the first chord is A but I get confused after that!

[Petorian2012]

Cepa Tepa, you look like me in the mirror. My mum is proud, so am I.

[Petorian2012]

my mums on that video. Im paul verlaine

[metalhedwig]

nice mother!

--mza.

[Petorian2012]

shes the one making the eyes at the end.

[mamatis]

ultra-cool drumset

[metalhedwig]

ultra-warm feelings

--mza.

[muddy2]

Not just a quintessential NZ song, but a video that could only have come out of 80's NZ. Classic

[metalhedwig]

their camaraderie is to be envied/emulated!

--mza.

[antonfjordson]

yeah but who killed sgt pepper?

that's what i would like to know...

[NodeNorth]

I love this album, Juvenilia. It didn't get the best reviews at that time, but those were different times. Some albums stand the test of time, and this test is strangely random. I don't know what I mean by that, but it still seems true. My buddy, Shannon, sent me a tape back in the eighties with a few of their songs mixed in with all sorts of stuff - The Gordons, too! - and it always stood out. Now and again I scour around online looking for evidence that this album existed, but alas...

[metalhedwig]

i love Th Gordons, too!

--mza.

[yayah102]

Th' Dudes are awesome

[ants4rocket]

This is a reply to NodeNorth's comment.

No, this album will never fade into obscurity. It's still listed on Amazon even tho it's currently unavailable there. It's gettable at musicstackDOTcom, and quite a few other sites that specialize in hard to find music. This music could never die I would say.

[NodeNorth]

Hey, thanks! I just downloaded it, and what a joy it is!

[metalhedwig]

that's a long trip ...!

--mza.

[ants4rocket]

Graeme is a severely under-rated guitarist (in the media I guess) I can't see why this band hasn't conquered the world; they sure seem a lot more talented than some "super"bands, i.e. U2, Pearl Jam. This song is one of my all timers.

[anvilofcrom]

Becuae they didn't have multi million dollar promotion from major record companies and MTV.

[maggiesausage]

Whenever I'm walking down the street and this song pops up on my MP3 player I always find myself unwittingly matching my step to the waltz part. Yeah, I get funny looks.

[metalhedwig]

th fun you get is worth any funny look

!--mza.

[metalhedwig]

i could sleep to this but also dance to this

All hail Dunedin

!--mza.

[casinodelonge]

Greame Downes looks like Richard Ashcroft but with real talent!

[metalhedwig]

i like th Verve song where he's walking down th street w/ a bad attitude

--mza.

[maggiesausage]

I was always disappointed he wasn't torn apart by an angry mob at the end.

[metalhedwig]

when they do th 20th-anniversary remake, you have to be th director

--mza.

[blacklightposter]

Hey guess what! This reminds me of The Church just a little-bit. =5stars !

[metalhedwig]

i'd never thought of it -- have to do a back-to-back taste test

--mza.

[ShadowSoulNZ]

I'm fortunate enough to have the Guitarist/Singer Graeme Downes as my University Lecturer for a couple of my music classes, he's a great inspiration!

[metalhedwig]

lucky! He seems like a super-smart man

--mza.

[Spraoiceol]

We're siting here in Toronto celebrating our 10th wedding anniversary listening to one of the greatest pop songs of all time. Thank you.

[metalhedwig]

congratulations, cheers to love!

--mza.

[reubsmusicaljournal]

Ah. the Verlaines. This is one of the truly great New Zealand songs. I'm lucky enough to have of the original, hand numbered 7" singles.

Always makes me wonder, if music this good is still this obscure .. what else must be out there that we don't know about.

See also Pyromanic. Ah.. I feel 17 all over again.

[metalhedwig]

well, everything obscure will be on th Internet soon enough, @ which point our only limitations on discovery will be time and attention-span!

It's good to feel these time-travel feelings, I'm glad you did.

--mza.

[pjanesful]

just seen this on u-tube, i shot and directed this - nice to see it still about...a touch of history in this clip...

[metalhedwig]

really good work is hard to forget.

--mza.

[weswally1]

You might like "Deerhunter" they were just in NZ...

[reubsmusicaljournal]

Ah. the Verlaines. This is one of the truly great New Zealand songs. I'm lucky enough to have of the original, hand numbered 7" singles.

Always makes me wonder, if music this good is still this obscure .. what else must be out there that we don't know about.

[holygalaga]

^bragging^

[juliioopp]

Nz tunes from back in the day! if your into this check out straightjacket fits ... she speeds ..

[metalhedwig]

sJF are pretty cool, I never liked them as much as Bats, Verlaines, Clean, Terminals, Renderers, 3Ds, Tall Dwarfs, Gordons, Dead C, Bailter Space, Look Blue Go Purple, and Chills, though

--mza.

[y0ur0ck]

they sound a lot like television, is that why they're called the verlaines

[metalhedwig]

hmm hmm ah seem to remember th name was doubly inspired -- by Tom Verlaine and Paul Verlaine. I like this band about 100x more than I like Television, though

--mza.

[lillebjorn]

Cool you discovered this. This is Dr Graham Downes's Band (Lead singer) 'The verlaines' one of many NZ bands signed to The kiwi label 'Flying nun' in the 80's he now teaches at Otago University, and still puts out amazing albums..

[metalhedwig]

i'm glad he got a stable gig, and I'm glad he still makes th music! He was always a doctor ... of rock'n'roll

--mza.

[metalhedwig]

iowa has Slipknot, though

--mza.

[karsynisrad]

songs great,

from lame ass iowa

[graves666]

nice... loving this.

SF, CA

[metalhedwig]

this is probably one of th more UNIVERSAL things that exists -- it's just that more people have to know about it!

--mza.

[Pantouflard]

Thank you, thank you, thank you for this gem.

[metalhedwig]

i should steal things from th Internet and upload them to Youtube more often!

--mza.

[Pantouflard]

Heh! Got that. Thanks for the reference ;)

[metalhedwig]

yeah! I'm pleasantly surprised that web site is still active

--mza.

[metalhedwig]

louiseskybunker is Australia

--mza.

[Louiseskybunker]

THANKYOU to SMARTPANTSER DIVISIONS, xxx

[metalhedwig]

thank you, Australia

Love, Washington, D.C.

--mza.

[harrytheelephant]

New Zealand!!!!!!!

[metalhedwig]

25 years later, that rabbit's great-great-grandchildren lean into their retirement years

--mza.

[dudeman1999]

Come on dont to this to us. Just say 20 years that feels so much better.

[metalhedwig]

two decades later ... how does that feel

!--mza.

[AloneInNewPollution]

BUNNY!!!!!!

[54spiritedwill54]

They're just such a great band.

[metalhedwig]

they might just be better than John Mayer

!--mza.

[diskochimp]

"Verlaineverlaineverlaineverla­ineverlaine..." - thanks for this...

[metalhedwig]

my pleasure, I wish I could thank th band directly, w/ a handshake or something ...

--mza.

[dartmouthhoop]

only 21,000+ views....what a sad commentary on our world...oh well, at least there are 21,000 cool people in the youtube world!!

[esrevernidellepS]

I've loaded this vid a bunch of times. My guess is you could cut that number in half.

[metalhedwig]

i think I was half of th remaining half

(:

--mza.

[metalhedwig]

we should form a support group

--mza.

[AloneInNewPollution]

I love this song!

The Stephen Malkmus cover is good too!

[metalhedwig]

very much so, he is a good interpreter of it

!--mza.

[FanoMessan]

Er... no.

[metalhedwig]

all you NZ people is makin' me jealous ...... in a good way!

--mza.

[bergenblue]

Legendary Dunedin sound, many a great memory had sitting back with a jug of Speights at the Crown....Graeme Downs legend!!

[jasondykes]

The first gig I went to was to see these guys. I sneaked out of school with a friend and his older brother and saw them playing at Waikato Uni in 1984. I made the mistake of wearing colour - all the older students were wearing black jeans and jerseys and drinking from 750mm bottles. But this song was a standout and I'll never forget it.

[metalhedwig]

some guys get all th luck!

Colour is never a mistake

(:

--mza.

[cleptocanman]

How were the Verlaines not more world famous in New Zealand?

[metalhedwig]

they need some of that beer commercial action Chris Knox got!

--mza.

[PaulitoGrande]

they were too busy being ACTUAL world famous, I guess

[CRAWBURGER]

LOUDER!!!!

[nosaiddate]

This is the coolest music video in all of youtubeland.

[metalhedwig]

i really love yr name, li'l ghost

--mza.

[metalhedwig]

i meant "killa", of course!

--mza.

[dartmouthhoop]

Sadly an era long gone by....again thanks for posting!!!

[metalhedwig]

you're welcome ... again

Now I'm gonna check if th site I yanked it from is still up ...

--mza.

[loadspeed1]

fantastic band. remember seeing them at warners in chch must have been early 90's. they were fantastic.

[metalhedwig]

right time & place, friend

--mza.

[Spraoiceol]

Yep, the very best. Powerfull youtube thingy.

[metalhedwig]

it'd be hard to recreate th FEELING in this video now, I think, reckon that's why so many people are crazy nostalgic for it

--mza.

[garstangflats]

I can see where pavement got the tune to box elder from!

[taniwha9]

They called this dance the Mutant Hop.  Good times...

[metalhedwig]

one day I'd like to have a vacation in NZ

--mza.

[fireboi55]

That was great! Thnaks for posting. More velaines and Rabbits, in that order. Is Joe'd out up here?

[metalhedwig]

thks for saying hello friend, ain't seen Joed Out anywhere but ah'll look out for it

!--mza.

[dlanodrelda]

New Verlaines album coming December 2007...

[metalhedwig]

oO y'jest made my day if this is for real

!--mza.

[mellkiades]

I prefer the Tall Dwarfs by a universe to the Verlaines and the Bats.

[metalhedwig]

yeah bro I dig them a lot, too

--mza.

[mellkiades]

And the American east coast kind of copied all these great NZ bands in the 90's with their own "alternative mellow" genre as I call it. Grandaddy is, in my opinion, the one band that surpasses them all. There's also Neutral Milk Hotel and others on the Elephant Six label.

I wish bands like Grandaddy and NMH would join some of those great NZ bands in an interview or a big show, or a world tour together.

[metalhedwig]

haha alternative mellow

I kind of liked American Analog Set ...--mza.

[PatrickAlanMcL]

Great song, shocker of a video, even for that vintage.

"well, th Bats are still together!"

Buddy, the bats aren't fit to roadie for the verlaines

[metalhedwig]

hey now. Th Bats' last album was beautiful, I'd not hesitate to stack up th Bats' best songs against th Verlaines' best songs, and they're STILL GOING

--mza.

[Incognegroes]

Put on Daddy's Highway or Live at the National Grid and see if you can still say that.

[dartmouthhoop]

Right up there with Flight of the Concords for NZ's best!!!

[metalhedwig]

and Tenacious D are America's best!!!!!!

--mza.

[katokowgirl]

The Verlaines were up there with the Clean = pure genius!

[metalhedwig]

that's pretty high up there, all right

--mza.

[methodishca]

They're just such a great band. Is anyone making music this good today?

[metalhedwig]

well, th Bats are still together!

--mza.

[daugherity]

this song gives me such warm feelings.

[metalhedwig]

yuh it is like ... a party ... in a living room w/ rabbits ... and no hangover ... on REPEAT

--mza.

[daugherity]

verlaine, verlaine, verlaine, verlaine,.....

[metalhedwig]

yeah EXACTLY sometimes that just comes into my head in th middle of th day from nowhere, have you heard th Spinanes song that does that part right in th middle for no apparent reason?

--mza.

[Lcacique]

How fucking wonderful! I've loved the Verlaines for a lifetime. It's impossible to find there stuff in the U.S. Thanks so much for posting this glorius footage!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I'm going to go drink a beer and smile!

[metalhedwig]

oh I wouldn't say "impossible", but then I haven't been in a record store for a long while. I'll have a beer, too. Cheers.

--mza.

[angelicajinx]

there's an aussie label that released a best of not too long ago. the shipping is miserable, which is why i haven't done it yet, but its always in the back of my mind.

[metalhedwig]

thnks for th information, I am just glad/surprised people are still releasing actual CDs, instead of just beaming songs straight to our brains

--mza.

[chelseabrooks]

i like this video a lot.

[metalhedwig]

i like anyone who likes this video a lot a lot.

--mza.

[taojones]

Ahhhhhhhh..Love the flying nun era Sneaky Feelings....Bats Chills

[metalhedwig]

i love them more than life itself, which if you think about it is not that difficult on most days

!--mza.

[fantasie]

thank god this is on youtube. i'm so happy. ahhhhh.

[metalhedwig]

it doesn't take much to make me happy, either

--mza.

[mattaki]

i love this band.

i miss this band.

[metalhedwig]

same.

Same.

I guess that's what th recorded music is for!

--mza.

[Graftauber]

Graeme Downes is the "Ray Davies" from down under!

[metalhedwig]

haha "down under"

--mza.

[RanceChampion]

I'd go so far as to say these guys are the best band to come out of New Zealand. Graeme Downes is a pop genius.

[metalhedwig]

i might be w/ you, 'cept I'd have a hard time putting 'em over th Bats. We're lucky we don't have to choose, we can have 'em all. Tall Dwarfs, etc.

--mza.

[RanceChampion]

you're right, it's a goldmine down there.

[natasinst]

I was going through some old VHS tapes last night and found the US release of IN LOVE WITH THESE TIMES video comp. I watched this video twice and now I can't get the song out of my head.

I saw many NZ/Flying Nun bands when they came to the USA in the late 80's and early 90's. Chills, the Bats, Straightjacket Fits...all very nice folks too!

[lette7]

Makes me realise how old I am getting when I read comments here by people who think the '80s were an age ago or never heard of the Verlaines.

I real blast from the past! I experienced the Dunedin sound/scene first hand during my years studying at Otago. This class act does not date!

[bleeb88]

Went to the pub and saw The Verlaines on my 21st birthday. It was absolutely brilliant. :)

[metalhedwig]

wow, are you a geezer. I wish I could see them on my 21st birthday.

--mza.

[hollowmenrule]

the bunny is cute, the song is great

[metalhedwig]

i put it under th Pets & Animals category

--mza.

[dartmouthhoop]

I never, ever, EVER thought I'd see this video again!!! Just a great,great band as were so many New Zealand bands in the 80's/early 90's. This site ceases to amaze me on what I find here!!

[metalhedwig]

glad you found it, stranger.  Youtube's raised th game, for sure.

--mza.

[oncassette]

just found this video while searching for tom verlaine/television stuff. this is great! why have i never heard of these guys?

[metalhedwig]

they're from NZ.

--mza.

[knidonovan]

By the way I LOVE This video! I am so glad it was sent to me!

[metalhedwig]

i love it, too! Here's another one Youtube directed me to, looks like it was filmed in th same room:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v­=f5nthT5-WFo&NR

--mza.

[knidonovan]

Meaning of the lyrics

You'll only end up like Rimbaud

Get shot by Verlaine, Verlaine, Verlaine, Verlaine....

The lyrics above refer to Paul Verlaine, who was a French poet in the 1800's. After going into a drunken rage, he shot his lover - fellow poet Arthur Rimbaud.

Paul Verlaine was also the band's namesake.

Shall we have our photo taken?

We'll look like Death and the Maiden

This is a reference to a 1916 painting by Egon Schiele, which shows a woman embracing a dead man.

[lspaceman3]

Were they named after Tom Verlaine of Television?

[CaliTRIXIA]

perhaps paul verlaine

[lette7]

Paul Verlaine. Graeme Downes the lead singer is now a Professor at the University of Otago. Head the school of rock. Only one in the world

[bartlebybartleby]

Paul Verlaine, as lette7 said, but I wouldn't be surprised if the name was a bit of a double-entendre - it seems like just the sort of sly humor Downes would enjoy. Great video, too.

[acidflower2]

One of the best songs by the Verlaines, one of the glorious bands that made the '80s bearable.