The Oedipus Project
Charlotte Gainsbourg is one of those rare artists whose career is primarily in film but is also a successful musician. (Zooey Deschanel and Jared Leto come to mind.)
Many movie stars dabble but so few create substantive music.
Rest is Gainsbourg’s stunning 5th album.
Deadly Valentine
Deadly Valentine (Soulwax Remix)
She & Him, the charming duet of Zooey Deschanel and M. Ward, have flirted with some of the great songs from the past.
Now they give us a complete album appropriately titled Classics.
This is the song listing:
1. Stars Fell on Alabama (Recorded by: Guy Lombardo, Billie Holiday, Ella FitzGerald & Louis Armstrong)
2. Oh No, Not My Baby (Recorded by: Maxine Brown, Dusty Springfield, Aretha Franklin, Carole King)
3. It’s Not for Me to Say (Recorded by: Johnny Mathis)
4. Stay Awhile (Recorded by: Dusty Springfield)
5. This Girl’s In Love With You (Recorded by: Herb Alpert)
6. Time After Time (Recorded by: Frank Sinatra, Chet Baker and Shirley Bassey)
7. She (Recorded by: Charles Aznavour, Elvis Costello)
8. Teach Me Tonight (Recorded by: Frank Sinatra, The DeCastro Sisters)
9. It’s Always You (Recorded by: Bing Crosby, Benny Goodman, Chet Baker)
10. Unchained Melody (Recorded by: The Righteous Brothers, Elvis Presley, Lee Ann Rimes)
11. I’ll Never Be Free (Recorded by: Van Morrison, Willie Nelson, Jean Shepard)
12. Would You Like to Take a Walk (Recorded by: Ella Fitzgerald & Louis Armstrong)
13. We’ll Meet Again (Recorded by: Vera Lynn, The Byrds)
Listen here to “Oh No, Not My Baby”
Many musicians have gone on to have successful careers in film, from Frank Sinatra and Elvis Presley to Will Smith and Justin Timberlake.
But I can think of only two film stars who have crossed-over and prospered in music: Zooey Deschanel and Jared Leto. This is not to say that some actors are not accomplished musicians, but rather their musical pursuits are more of an avocation. Only Zooey and Jared have flourished as full-fledged musical stars.
Zooey performs with M. Ward as the band She & Him and Jared with 30 Seconds to Mars.
They both have new albums due in May and we feature a track from each.
She & Him “Never Wanted Your Love” (Volume 3)
30 Seconds to Mars “Up in the Air” (Love, Lust, Faith and Dreams)
M. Ward will release A Wasteland Companion in April.
This will be his 6th solo project.
During the 3 years since his last album he recorded 2 marvelous records as She & Him with Zooey Deschanel as well as an album with the indie “supergroup’ Monsters of Folk.
A Wasteland Companion was recorded on-the-road with a slew of indie musicians.
“Primitive Girl” is an inviting preview.
As we have previously discussed, cover songs continue to gush forth in the internet age. Earlier this week we heard Amanda Palmer playing Radiohead. Today we return to She & Him (Zooey Deschanel and M. Ward) whose album, Volume Two, was previewed here a few months ago and has proven to be one of the delights of the year. With a free download we now hear their version of a classic. Originally written in 1940, Frank Sinatra sang it as did Elvis Presley. Brook Benton, Etta James and Rick Nelson all had hits with it, the latter in 1963 when it reached #12 on the Billboard charts. Bow Wow Wow covered it in 1980 and here we have She & Him’s interpretation of “Fools Rush In” as the Song of the Day.
[jwplayer mediaid=”4313″]
“Fools Rush In” by She & Him
Although a number of musicians have made the transition into film, rarely do movie stars succeed in their attempts to cross-over into the world of rock and popular music. Adequate or respectable at best (Billy Bob Thornton, Kevin Bacon, Russell Crowe, Keanu Reeves), occasionally embarrassing (Don Johnson), or satirically fun (Jack Black), these are not the songs that frequent our personal playlists. I can think of only two movie stars that can legitimately make claim to a dual career: Jared Leto of 30 Seconds to Mars and Zooey Deschanel of She & Him. She & Him, the duo of Zooey and M. Ward have just released their second album: Volume Two. “Thieves” written by Zooey is the Song of the Day.
[jwplayer mediaid=”4102″]
“Thieves”
