Damon Albarn - Farmer In The City - Scott Walker

[sadysady65]

Should have had brett anderson. Would have been interesting seeing him and damon on same bill. Seriously though, I am surprised he wasn't involved in this, but i guess in 2008 no-one was interested in him. Shame as he has a great voice and could have made a good contribution.

[6dawsvnn1]

Albarn did a great job here. His performance is sincere and reverent. I dare anyone who says otherwise to even attempt to tackle a piece featuring a voice like Walker's.

[Sodhats]

It should have all been done in the operatic style, like the beginning.

[desertrun]

People whose names typically cannot be found on a Google search register their existence by making niggling points and murmuring tiny objections. These fan squabbles are all over Youtube. They're like fingerprint smudges on fine vases. My guy is better than your guy. No, they're just different. Now go buy some popcorn and be quiet.

[DexterStrangeways]

Seems sincere.

albarn has always namecheck Scott since mid-90's

[MisAnnThorpe]

Let me start by saying that I consider Walker to have written some of the most beautiful "pop" songs ever & an incredible poet. However, I feel that as a vocalist he is hugely overrated. I've always found his singing style very 1 dimensional & lacking any real shade or light. What's far worse is that it's always struck me as very pretentious, becoming ever increasingly so from "Climate of Hunter" onwards. No doubt I'll be struck down by lightning for my blasphemy but this is my genuine feeling.

[TheChaossurfer]

Damon is a nice good guy with good taste, and he tries hard... deserves big respect and i am a die hard too...even if his attitude and voice is to thin.. but.....it was worth trying

[mynameisMalikZidi]

Nenhuma apresentação das últimas décadas se equipará a esta - uma peça de arte!

[jarvizcocker]

not bad

[RedlineAngel]

BOOOOOOOOY, BOOOOOOOY FOOORR SAAAAAAAAALEEE! ONLY SEVEN GUINEEEEEAAAAAAAAS!

Still, at least he tried.

[dangrimmy]

From the looks of the comments I'm in a minority when I say I think this is fantastic.

[danishwolf71]

@dangrimmy yes you are!

[ghostfaceiller]

£21

[Hubrizoid]

I would have preferred seeing Thom Yorke attempt this song.  Maybe he was busy.

[pyenapple]

Stop repeating the "Ugh, nobody can fill Scott's shoes" meme. WE ALL GET THE FACT THAT YOU LOVE SCOTT WALKER. The point of this show was pure love. These people ALSO love Scott, and their careers were profoundly influenced by his music. They are merely testifying here. The point is not to judge the music, but to share in the act of holding the music up with every voice we have. So I suggest you haters shut up. You don't get it: great. Now go listen to your LPs at home, the only way you like it.

[danishwolf71]

@pyenapple UGH .... get it?? This is fucking awful. I know Walker himself was involved in this concert, but this is horrible and Damon Albarn (who?) is not worthy to touch this material ...

[pyenapple]

@danishwolf71 Really? You don't know who Damon Albarn is? Can you get any more ignorant? No, probably not. Stop being an elitist and let people perform his music out of love. Scott is a hero to so many musicians out there, and those musicians all *know* they can't do the same justice to his music that he can. I'm truly glad that your kind of thinking is in such a tiny minority, otherwise there wouldn't be any live music at all in this world. You're anti-art.

[danishwolf71]

@pyenapple of course I know who Albarn is ... some washed up pop singer from the nineties who tries to reinvent himself as a Real Artist ... but I ain't buying.

Farmer in the city is one of the most haunting and beautiful pieces of music .... and this is fucking ridiculous - this is anti-art - and if Albarn wants to pay tribute he can do it alone in the shower like the rest of us

this stinks ....

[pyenapple]

@danishwolf71 Haughty elitism smells bad no matter what your rationale, my friend. If you're starting an exclusive music club in which only YOU get to approve which vocalists can sing which songs, go peddle it somewhere else. I'm willing to bet there will only be one member of that club, and you can have a chat with him while you're looking in the mirror.

[danishwolf71]

@pyenapple ouch, that really hurt ..... hell yes, art is elitist, there's a reson why we put Picasso in museums and not my children's drawings. And´speaking of ... Though I can't afford to buy a real Picasso, I would never buy a bad copy of Picasso and hang on my wall instead. But when it comes to music it is somehow okay. But what I hate most about this is Albarn's pretentiousness and his trying to elevate himself on Walker's dispense: Hey, look at me, I'm Scott Walker'ish ....No, he's not, eww

[pyenapple]

@danishwolf71 That's the fundamental difference between art and music, maybe you don't understand from whence music came? It's a folk art, grown out of ritual and storytelling, and passed down from generation to generation. Visual art isn't like that: skill is passed along via teaching, but the works of art themselves aren't passed down from generation to generation in the same way. In music, the SHARING OF THE EXPERIENCE IS PARAMOUNT. The passing of art from one person to another is key.

[danishwolf71]

@pyenapple maybe so ..... but that doesen't mean that some music isn't better than other .... Your art view sounds totally hippy-dippy-socialist: As long as we're having a good time and sharing, everything is fine, YUK! Ps, last time I checked music is also being taught at some very high level, advanced schools ... you really need to think through the consequences of what you're saying: Mozart- Paperboy whistling on the street corner-Scott Walker-Damon Albarn-Me singing in the shower: Same shit!

[pyenapple]

@danishwolf71 "Hippy-dippy-socialist"! Did I just get called a hippy-dippy-socialist by a Dane? Am I asleep right now? Man, things are hilarious sometimes. Anyway, nice comeback: "maybe so...but you're a socialist!" You really oughta get a job on Fox News here in the US, they can use logical, analytic minds like yours — you know, ones that don't resort to baseless name-calling and tomfoolery when losing an argument. And as for the "scary consequences" of my opinions: hahahaha.

[danishwolf71]

@pyenapple Uhh ...?? You lost me there. I thought we were having a discussion about art .... and now: Fox News? Danish political system? You are getting hysterical now, so allow me to conclude that I won this argument. 1-nil to the Dane ... yeah, and the nil is you! Sheeesh ....... far out, maaan

[pyenapple]

@danishwolf71 Actually, I lost you about three comments back and some kindly folks found you wandering around with a dazed look on your face, bumping into things just like a sad robot would. They promised me they'd return you home where you can safely listen to all your music without the scary world contaminating it with new ideas that might freak you out. Oh, and they unplugged your internets. Don't sweat it, maaaan, stay loose! Cool out! Peace dude. — From your hippie socialist pal in the US.

[ryko26]

Great version. Love it.

[stopmeltingme]

This video goes to show you can't successfully imitate Scott Walker.

[gabe25591]

Damon Albarn is a very good songwriter in his own right, and it's unfair to say that he's mocking Walker...

However, it's not unfair to say that this sounds like a huge mistake, this show... His voice is not right... The whole thing sounds rushed

[CounterNormal]

It was a dedication to Scott Walker from a series of theatrical performances by many famous singers called Drifting and Tilting.

[jetsonkite]

no, there was no official filming of any of the performances

[Simpleton021]

Is this on DVD?

[gentlemanjim]

anyone who thinks albarn is mocking or making a mockery of mr. walker knows neither mr. walker, nor mr albarn. blur was profoundly influenced by walker's work and mr. albarn would never mock scott walker. you can play snob all you want, but people like damon albarn, graham coxon, and jarvis cocker have brought walker's music/influence to a new generation...go to bed old man...let the rest of the world discover scott walker however they can!

[sifir0]

oh such an awful performance of this heart-rending masterpiece by Scott Walker ... simply fucked up by Damien. Why don't you go mind your own business kid?

[philipperholland]

small minded prisoner of orthodoxy

[tokyohalogen]

Wait, I've got a better question.. Were any of these "Drifting and Tilting" performances in anyway true renderings of the songs of Scott Walker? "Farmer In The City" got raped. I realize this much.

[tokyohalogen]

Who in the fuck is Damon Albarn?!?

[Litowczuk123]

Frontman of a band called blur, and the Gorillaz.

[quadrophrenic]

ugh

quit trying to do a scott walker impression, you just sound like you're fucking making fun of him

goddammit damon

[wigmeistergeneral]

awful

[raggedsoldiers]

The music was wonderful, I never thought I would hear that stuff played in a theatre, it couldn't be bettered, the man at the mixing desk probably had a bit to do with that too, he was very in control with his team, gesturing when something needed adjusted. The best song Farmer In The City was sung by the most famous singer performing and IMO he performed it pretty badly, made me cringe

[mababaki]

The music was awesome, didn´t think they could get it so well. But I agree with the fact that the singers are not Scott. Nevertheless, it was a great idea and an opportunity for all us who love Scott´s music. I´m happy that I could have the chance to see this life and even saw the man himself.

[HaisleySnook]

I think Scott Walker's work is something far too unique to be covered by other artists. His voice is such a great instrument in itself that you just cannot replace it. A sterling effort but it just does not work for me at all.

[Thecosmicfandango]

This is how desperately we yearn for you, Scott, that we'll endure these talentless dullards who can't sing crucifying your work. This concert was a dreadful idea, excruciatingly executed.

[widefilth]

what a massive bighead.

[wigmeistergeneral]

I was there. Scott is my god, this was fucking rubbish

[chrisjr1975]

Oops. Damon fucked that one up.

[ElectricLabel]

Scott is a genius beyond compare, and this is one of his greatest tracks. Nothing against Damon Albarn, but this performance is an absolute joke. He doesn't stay in time. Horrific.

[p00tw00ter]

Albarn sounds like a fly buzzing round in a jar on this. He hasn't got anywhere near the range, power or expressiveness to make a straight attempt. That said,he sounds like Scott himself compared to Jarvis on his painful struggle through "Cossacks Are"

[tweetermkyman]

The songs and arrangements, both musically and lyrically, are so complex that anyone attempting them away from the studio would seem to lack the intensity of the original. I can't see anyone owning those songs the way Scott does but I cannot say Damon did a bad interpretation of it. He is not Scott. It's just a testament to his fearlessness and love of all things music that he even attempted it. Kudos.

[Appers]

This is my favourite Walker track, and I kind of think after that bizarre rendition of the "do I hear 21" section Damon actually did the song quite a bit of justice?

[derfesche]

Embarassing.

[raggedsoldiers]

I was disappointed, the biggest star sang the best song, and it wasn't right for him.

[CLOB302]

Loved the show.

[readtherightbooks]

is he reading off a lectern?

gotta love that man albarn.

[mababaki]

Damon didn´t get the feeling of the song, I think. It fits Scott´s voice. It´s theater, opera, sadness... Damon´s voice is not the right one for this. But I loved him in Blur and Gorillaz and I was glad to see him on stage.

[murmurists]

I was there on Saturday. I'd waited so very long to see something of Scott's work live - that the whole thing was loaded, nerve-wracking, and very emotional. I had previously moaned about Scott not singing, but within two minutes I realised his reasons: if he had sung it would have been about him, a kind of comeback, rather than the music. It was the music we saw and heard - and it really was the powerful and amazing live experience I've had. I've followed the man for years. All worth the wait.

[PeaceCzar]

Unrelated note, but Damon Albarn should do the next James Bond theme song.

The past 2 have been mediocre; just imagine what Damon could conjure up. Be it solo, Gorillaz, whoever, just ask Damon to compose it.

Thoughts?

[Spidris]

Those songs are so powerful and disturbing and beautiful and scary. Jarvis Cocker's voice, his arched eyebrow, his persona were all wrong. The others were good, though, and the opera singers carried the weight of their songs well. And then I saw Scott himself. What a night.

[margaretwaterhouse]

I witnessed this truly aswesome show on Saturday night, I think it is refreshing to hear different voices doing these songs, gives it a slightly different and interesting angle, and so therefore probably best not to compare voices. Well done to both director and PRODUCER I say !!

[danskelf]

I actually think that Damon was unexpectedly powerful...he didn't do a Scott impersonation, which is what I was worried about, he just sang it in his own way. I have to confess, I actualy thought Jarvis was the weakest of the bunch: his vocal style just wasn't appropriate for the song he was asked to sing.

[less004]

I too was there on Saturday. I thought the whole event was really interesting, though, vocally, Damon Albarn was the weakest, failing to soar over the swelling strings.

As so often, it was the "stars" who were technically weak - another unusual aspect of Scott's career. Apart from his brief "Churn 'em out for the money" period, (vinyl albums wisely not re-issued) everything he's done has been great.

[nelfling]

I went on the saturday night and thought Damon did a good job of this actually. It was stunning to hear this song live, the strings were breathtaking and Damons voice was mint. Im glad it didnt damage the song. Blew me away completely. Could've gone tits up but didnt. In fact, the whole thing was amazing.

[eyencyst]

wish i could ve gone. not as good as Scott, himself, but there is, of course,no comparison.

[kaspersense2]

I'm glad i deceided not to go there, scott is great, this is shit.