album review: cripple crow by devendra banhart

first of all, thanks to luke, i now know about deezer.com, which is like project playlist only better and more legal. so check out the ENTIRE album i'm going to tell you about:

second of all, i apologize for the fact that this album was actually released in 2005 and is therefore not new or exciting. it's not like i'm pitchfork, dudes. i just bought this album and it was FUCKING GREAT so i decided to share it with you.

so yes, here's the dizz-eal, some friends and i were talking over coffee and samosas (weird? maybe) yesterday discussing the nature of art. we decided that there's a certain amount of effortlessness that needs to be involved in order to make art great. the effortlessness can be actual or imagined by the audience, but it really ought to be there. nobody likes it when you try too hard.

i believe devendra banhart embodies this concept. songwriting and performance seem to come so naturally to him that it's almost impossible to imagine him doing anything else (though he does). cripple crow flows from beginning to end. it's one of those albums you could listen to again and again without getting bored. it's also one of those albums you could talk over without feeling guilty. and with 22 tracks, it's one of those albums where you definitely got your money's worth (i bought it new at a local record store for $12.95).

the album opens with "now that i know." this song immediately transports you into devendra banhart's child-like universe where things are simultaneously innocent and confusing. it's a good world. by the time the album gets to "long haired child," you're hooked. eighteen more tracks, including "chinese children," and "i feel just like a child," (which, in my opinion, are two of his best), and you're still sad when the album ends.

in short, this album rocks. devendra banhart rocks. if it weren't for him, i'd still hate folk music like any other self-respecting crazy dance-rock fan.

in other news, the museum of modern art in san francisco is currently holding a show featuring devendra banhart's music paired with paul klee's art.



may i say that the person who thought this up is just brilliant. banhart's music sounds almost like fucked-up children's songs and paul klee's art looks almost like fucked-up children's book illustrations. needless to say, i am going to this show.



that's all for today, folks! hope you found it informative!

-jocelyn