Another musical iconoclast
Yesterday on KPCC, one of the local national public radio stations, I caught a nifty little profile of Van Dyke Parks, another of my preferred musicians. Parks hangs out in the best of company — Brian Wilson in his prime (and since), and David Thomas of Pere Ubu, to name just two — and I enormously appreciate his influence wherever he spreads it.
Here’s the transcript of the profile, which ends with the writer putting out the little paper sailboat that perhaps Van Dyke Parks might tour with his (only now) acclaimed album, “Song Cycle.” Yes, here’s hoping.
This quote from the Parks suggests why I’ve always been interested in him:
“We’re still learning not to laugh at funerals,” said Parks. “Especially those of people who are leaving us something. We are supposed to cry. But the arts demands something else, often. Sometimes they suggest uncertainty.” It’s that uncertainty in music — discord, contrapuntalism,”mistakes,” and other elements that allow the music to break free of rigid formal demands — that’s interesting. Witness the lyrics Parks supplies for the Beach Boys’ “Surf’s Up”:
A diamond necklace played the pawn
Hand in hand some drummed along, oh
To a handsome man and baton
A blind class aristocracy
Back through the op’ra glass you see
The pit and the pendulum drawn
Columnated ruins domino
Canvass the town and brush the backdrop
Are you sleeping?
Hung velvet overtaken me
Dim chandelier awaken me
To a song dissolved in the dawn
The music hall a costly bow
The music all is lost for now
To a muted trumperter swan
Columnated ruins domino
I don’t care that they don’t make “sense” or that Mike Love remains outraged. The sonic shape of the words demands the elegaic reading given them in the Beach Boys’ recording. The surf’s up, and something (youthful innocence?) is washing away:
Surf’s Up
Aboard a tidal wave
Come about hard and join
The young and often spring you gave
I heard the word
Wonderful thing
A children’s song
I hope I get the chance to see Van Dyke Parks play live.
December 29th, 2010 at 7:11 pm
I remember, many years ago, seeing Van Dyke Parks on a talk show. It was probably Mike Douglas or Merv Griffin. He most likely performed a song but I don’t remember for sure. What has stayed with me is when he was standing in front of the curtain with the host, who asked him a question. Parks gave an answer that sounded like one of his lyrics. The host said, as I recall it, “I’ve seen people write in free association, but this is the first time I ever heard anyone speak in it.”
And yes, “Song Cycle” is a wonderful album. Parks does lots of producing and playing on other folks efforts. I got a CD by Jazz guitarist Grant Geissman, “Cool Man Cool”, for Christmas and, sure enough, Parks is on one cut pumping the accordion.
January 7th, 2011 at 8:45 pm
Never seen him and though he throws words around, if he has no meaning or thought to communicate, is he just making noise? I wonder: if this is what we call “genius”, are we among the masses admiring the Emporer’s new clothes?