I'm The Man With the Cabbage Head

With the deluxe American re-issue of his masterpiece Histoire de Melody Nelson, and subsequently arranger Jean-Claude Vannier's L'Enfant Assassin Des Mouches Serge Gainsbourg's name has become a household world not only of the knowledgeable hipsters, but all of them. Obviously, though, they don't know much else about him, and that's where we differ.

This album, like the aforementioned one, is conceptual. Rather than Serge's own obsession with an Englsih teenager, this one is about another man. One with a cabbage for a head, and like the Kids in the Hall woudl years later, he really pulls it off. While it may not reach the same level of transcendent perfection like Histoire... this record dives into more styles rather than just funky orchestral porno music. Serge, as he would continue to, dives into the world of reggae and straightforward pop in addition to the psychedelic prog the dominates, all with his cinematic bend. With the complexity of the character's story it is a bit harder to follow, at least without knowldege of French, than Histoire..., but the music picks it up even when it can be a little jammy at times. While the music is not as perfectly arranged and there are some throwaway tracks, there overall Serge-ness is prevailent as always, and the music has a way of really carrying you away into the sleazy, sleazy Seventies. Standout tracks include the epic opening title track, "Aéroplanes," which with a little punchier of a mix could be your ultimate action-sexploitation film theme. "Flash Foward," with it's repetitive acousitc guitars and analog synths is the blueprint for much of what AIR became famous for, particularly on The Virgin Suicides, so much that you hardly notice the presence of a track called "Premiers Symptômes"! However, it is "Marilou sous La Neige," which is the real star and was an early favorite of his for me. Definitely a good next step for those already infatuated with Histoire de Melody Nelson and Initials B.B. but wary of something too loungey or Afro-Cuban.


Serge Gainsbourg - L'Homme À Tête de Chou (1976)

Please Make Me Feel The Beat, You're the One That Drives Me Wild

While I did not take this picture, I could have.

The story with Gary Wilson is that he is from Endicott, NY and released the album You Think You Really Know Me, recorded in his parents' basement in 1977. It was a bizarre, smooth set of outsider music all about unrequited love. Unrequited love to the degree of almost stalking. It is cool though, Wilson comes from a tradition of sleazy lounge music as seen in such titles as "Groovy Girls Make Love At The Beach" and "6.4 = Makeout." After 1980, though he kind of disappeared whilst the album made huge impacts on the likes of the PNW underground and Beck, whose "Where It's At" not only name drops Wilson but shows a clear influence from him. In the early part of this decade Wilson resurfaced as there was a desire to re-issue his first album. He was working in an adult cinema and performing in a lounge band in San Diego. Then he started recording again.

This album picks off where he left off 27 years earlier, which is particularly depending on which album you hear first. Really, the only change here is the addition of his sped-up voice as the alter-ego. Here are more songs from the stalker's point of view even including some of the same characters as in the first album. In this regard some of the best tracks are "Linda Wants To Be Alone," "Gary's In The Park," and "Gary Saw Linda Last Night" - both of which are some of the most exciting parts of his show. Both tracks also come from Wilson's uniquely Endicott voice, namedropping the local geography also heard in "Newark Valley" and the instrumental tribute "She Makes Me Think of Endicott." As creepy as it can get at times, this is a fun set of loungey outsider pop.

Wislon still performs lounge music on the side and it seems like his live band may be the same. When I saw them last summer many members looked very old, as in older then Wislon himself (he is in his mid 50s) - a telltale sign of a lounge band. Still, those guys were a lot more fun, original, and rock 'n' roll than any under-30 band I have seen.


Gary Wilson - Mary Had Brown Hair (2004)