SOUNDTRACK: ROBYN-Body Talk Pt 1 (2010).
Robyn’s Body Talk albums got a lot of praise in 2010. When I looked at them online, they were really cheap (and considered EPs), so I bought Pt 1. I was disappointed when I first listened because it seemed like such a sparse album, that I felt there wasn’t much to it. (Oh, and before I continue, yes, I knew that Robyn was a big time pop singer, but reviewers that I respected–like Sasha Frere Jones raved about the albums).
The opening song “Don’t Fucking Tell Me What to Do” is a really strange song. The verses are simply Robyn stating that different things are killing her. It’s strangely compelling despite the repetitiveness. There’s virtually no music (eventually a single keyboard line keeps a bare melody. And then the titular chorus. After two listens I found that I really liked the song even though the first time I heard it I totally blew it off.
“Fembot” is the first proper song, and it’s a simple twist on the stereotype of “woman as robot” since she, the fembot, embraces her sexuality (over a very simple catchy pop melody). “Dancing On My Own” is an even better song. Fuller, more complex and with a great chorus. Two songs seemed like they’d have been destined for Glee: “Cry When You Get Older” & “Hang with Me” they’re a bit too pop for my liking.
The second half of the disk is where it gets odd and interesting. “Dancehall Queen” has Robyn (a Swedish sing mind you) singing in a Jamaican dancehall accent–which, since I’m infrequently exposed to it, I really like). It’s super catchy (and I love when she sings “the riddim goes boom boom boom”). “None of Dem” is another odd song, with a great minor key transition in the chorus and music by Royksopp.
The disc ends with “Jag Vet e Dejlig Rosa” a sweet lullaby sung in Swedish.
The entire EP displays her impressive vocal range and styles. And even though I really didn’t like it at first it has not only grown on me but gotten my to consider getting Pt 2. (She released Body Talk Pt 1 (an EP) and Pt 2 (an EP) and then Body Talk which is a combination of some of 1 & 2 with more songs thrown in–a cash in, in my opinion).
[READ: April 30, 2011] “The Good Samaritan”
This was a rather dark story that explores people’s generosity and gullibility.
I was confused through the whole story because the main character’s name was Szabo, and I couldn’t figure out if the ethnicity of the character made a difference (I don’t think so) or even if that was his first or last name. But that’s a very minor criticism of an otherwise thoroughly engaging story. I was particularly delighted that while I thought Szabo was going to be a certain kind of character, he turned out to be something else entirely.
As the story opens, it reveals Szabo’s land. He doesn’t like to call it a ranch (the word is abused by developers), rather he calls it “the property.” I kind of assumed this story would be about a downtrodden rancher, but that turns out to not be the case at all. Szabo owns and runs “the property” as a not-very-lucrative side business. He grows racehorse-quality alfalfa hay for a handful of grateful buyers (he sells in small amounts which most dealers won’t). It’s true he barely breaks even, but he loves it. He loves everything about the property–the planting, the reaping and especially the John Deere, which he treats like a baby.
Then one day the baby bites back. While climbing on the tractor, Szabo slips and dislocates his shoulder. He calls on his secretary and she assists him to the hospital. His secretary, Melinda, is from his “real” job, and she is a saintly woman. I was delighted that the story went into so much detail about his “other” life and this woman who helps him. Szabo’s main career is as a kind of middle man for parts. He used to manufacture them, but he learned where the money was and took advantage of it Now he sits in an office (and “the property” is his release). But Melinda is his saving grace. She knows everything about him and what he wants and their history together is wonderfully explained.
Melinda arranges for a “ranch hand” to come help with the season’s crop. He settles on a man named Barney. Barney is not an excitable man, and he doesn’t even really seem that confident in his work. But he takes orders well and he works quickly. In fact, he works so quickly that he starts doing other things around the property, like stacking wood (in a beautiful formation) and riding Szabo’s horse.
Szabo is going a little stir crazy not being able to work, but he decides to pay a call to his son, David, who is in prison in Denver. And here the story changes tone quite a lot. We learn about the trouble that David got into and the trouble that Szabo and his wife faced both before and after their son’s imprisonment. Szabo is always a little freaked out when he sees his son in prison–he’s bigger and tougher, and it doesn’t jibe with what Szabo knows his son was like. This whole story, which seems incidental to the plot, really drives the story, and it is sad but well constructed.
When Szabo returns home, he find that Barney has done a lot of work around the property and he has also been hanging around with Szabo’s mother–an older woman who would probably be in a retirement community if she could give up smoking. Barney sits with her and talks to her and takes her to lunch. All of which freaks out Szabo more than a little.
As we’re reading it from Szabo’s point of view, we are suspicious of Barney, but we’re not entirely sure why (he came well-recommended, although the recommendation was odd). And although we know that Szabo is a more than a little antsy to get back on the tractor, we still grow suspicious of Barney.
And as the story ends we learn whether or not we should be suspicious of him and if he has ulterior motives. It’s a dark story, as I said, but it’s really satisfying.
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