The Walking is a truly strange record. Not only is the music itself a virtual labyrinth of knotty verses, muttering asides, new-age-y sap, lyrical surrealism, and big, extended pop hooks, there's a real cognitive dissonance to hearing such progressive, avant-garde music employing pillowy, keyboard-saturated, radio-ready 80's production. No one seemed to care much for it when it first came out -- this was reflected in Siberry's choice to severely rein in her progressive tendencies from here on out, cementing The Walking as an outlier in her discography -- but it's always been my favorite of hers. Most of you will probably not like this, but just a few of you might love it. And it's my goddamn birthday.
Track listing:
1. The White Tent the Raft
2. Red High Heels
3. Goodbye
4. Ingrid and the Footman
5. Lena Is a White Table
6. The Walking (And Constantly)
7. The Lobby
8. The Bird in the Gravel
Well, maybe she should go to school
No, no
She's a table
HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!!
ReplyDeleteHappy Birthday! Stay weird ;)
ReplyDeleteI am a fan. Her catalogue never did fit between the lines... wonderfully so.
ReplyDeleteMy dad tells me that I liked this record when I was really young, but my first memory of listening to Jane Siberry is definitely that song on the Crow soundtrack! Also the first I had heard of Medicine and RATM.
ReplyDeleteWent into this with a good deal of trepidation, only to find i like it very much. If she only had engaged in some more Shelley Hirsch styled extended vocals, I could really love it. Thank you for this one, and all the other great stuff here.
ReplyDeleteTremendously good. Surprised to see no one mention 'No Borders Here' which is stunning beautiful while being goofy as hell.
ReplyDelete*No Borders Here* is my favorite Siberry, though *Bound by the Beauty* has sentimental attachments for me too.
DeleteAlas, my beloved Zippyshare has been laid to rest (RIP you little trooper xx), any chance for a re-up on this one please?
ReplyDeleteAbsolutely, it's fixed. Can't let this one go dead, I love this weird-ass record.
DeleteYou total legend, thank you! I'd only ever listened to a tiny bit of her stuff from the 90's before when she got a bit of rotation on alt radio in Australia when.. I think it was When I Was A Boy came out? I could be wrong, the memory is getting hazy going that far back ha ha
DeleteCame across The Speckless Sky on here the other day and when you wrote she had a weird ass record I had to hear it ha ha. Speckless Sky was really good too, think I'm gonna have to track down some more!
That timeline would make sense because I'm pretty sure When I Was a Boy was her commercial peak outside of Canada, due to "Calling All Angels". You should definitely hear No Borders Here as well. Hope you like this one, I have yet to meet anyone who likes it as much as I do.
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