Polly Jean and Darius, On A Worldwide Tour Together -- Imagine The Incredible Possibilities!
One of my favorite recording artists, for quite some time now, has been Polly Jean Harvey. I can't say enough about what a superb and exquisite talent she possesses. There is something about her music that not only "speaks to me" on a number of different levels, but that also makes me "feel" the way that cutting edge music is supposed to make a person feel. And, trust me, there is very little real "cutting edge" music in the world today, even though we seem to be in the middle of a major up-swing in the overall quality of popular recorded music.
If there were a great deal of truly cutting edge music being currently made, I'm pretty sure we would all be "feeling" the effects of that phenomenon. For, as Tuli Kupferberg, that modern day prophet, and member of the seriously cutting edge group, "The Fugs," reminded us, Plato once very wisely stated: "When the mode of the music changes, the walls of the city shake!"
In a different way than Polly Jean Harvey, the music of Frank Zappa was extremely cutting edge. And, in another sort of different way, the music by both The Clash and The Sex Pistols was very cutting edge. But Polly Jean is still making her "cutting edge" contribution to the world; and thank Heaven she is! If only there were more like her, then perhaps we could shake the walls of this nasty city down! [And, by this, I certainly am not refering to New Orleans or to any of the other beautiful cities damaged by the recent hurricane. I am referring to the "city" that Emperor George II built out of a house of invisible cards and a pack of intentional lies.]
http://www.pjharvey.net/
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There is a relatively new artist in whose work I have taken an interest lately. His musical output is harldy what anyone would call "cutting edge." He is a Scottish pop star-- much more popular in the U.K. than in America-- who, nevertheless, lives in America, now. His music, at its best, is catchy pop/rock stuff, occasionally leaning heavily toward the sentimental or "tender" ballads. His style and the sound of some of his better recordings reminds me of the earlier days of The Beatles, but without the high level of singing ability, and with a much lower songwriting ability; but, still, his studio-recorded music is very consistently "catchy" and/or well-produced, especially in the more up-tempo numbers. That said, some of his bigger "hits" and more successful efforts have been his softer and slower ballads.
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Darius Danesh
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
Darius Danesh, contestant on UK reality television show Popstars and later Pop Idol finalist.
Darius Danesh (born August 19, 1980), British singer, is best known for being a finalist on the British version of Pop Idol, coming in third behind Will Young and Gareth Gates. His first single, "Colourblind," entered the UK charts at number one.
Darius was born in Bearsden, Glasgow and educated at Glasgow Academy (not to be confused with the live music venue of a similar name). He then went on to study English and Philosophy at Edinburgh University, although he did not complete this degree due to his success with Pop Idol. Both of his parents are doctors, and he has two brothers, Aria and Cyrus. All three have names rooted in their Persian heritage.
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Basic Facts
Name - Darius Danesh
Date of Birth - 19th August 1980 in Glasgow, Scotland
Birth Sign - Leo
Height - 6 foot 5 inches tall
Family - Father: Booth (Persian and a Gastroenterologist)
Mother: Avril (Scottish, a GP, maiden name Campbell)
Two brothers: Aria, 3 years younger and Cyrus, 14 years younger
Favourite Food - Chinese
Favourite Drink - Cranberry Juice
Favourite Song - More Than Words, Extreme
Favourite Film - Leon
Favourite Animal - Lion
His Pop Idol - Madonna
First single bought - Dirty Diana, Michael Jackson
Favourite Book - The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald
Likes - Reading, sports and cinema
Dislikes - Paperwork, office jobs and shallowness
Musical Instruments - He plays guitar, piano, saxophone and violin
Darius Home 1: http://www.dariusmusic.com/site.php
Darius Home 2: http://www.dariusmusic.net/modules/news/
Music clips: http://www.dariusmusic.net/modules/tinycontent0/index.php?id=2
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My thinking here, in including both Polly Jean Harvey and Darius Danesh in the same post, is that perhaps there is something about the two of them that might allow them to go on a highly successful combined tour of Europe, Asia, America, and the rest of the world. What do you think? Is the potential for a really GREAT tour here, or what?
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--Spencer
posted by Kate & Spencer @ 9/13/2005 12:36:00 AM
3 comments
3 Comments:
Okay, I should really wait to comment until after I've had a chance to check out PJ Harvey... but I can't. I have never heard of her and my curiosity is up... but get this, Spencer. I HAVE HEARD OF DARIUS. I am familiar with his work. I think two years ago my friend Emma brought a CD over from the UK and we listened to it all summer. You can't imagine what this does for me... I am giddy with the realization that I have knowledge of a group before you... this never happens. Of course, I don't happen to "love" Darius or anything, but that's not the point. Forgive me my childish glee. I will have to revist him too in light of your recent "appreciation." (She also pointed me toward Il Divo--but again, it didn't take...)
Somehow, I am not especially surprised that you've been familiar with music by Darius for over two years, while I have only just recently heard his stuff (and I make that comment in the most "neutral" way possible). After all, you have a great resource for all things British there in you pal Emma. It is a cliché, by now, to make the observation that there've been numerous wildly popular musical artists in the U.K. who, for one reason or another, are/were virtually unknown in the U.S.A. during the same periods when they were topping the charts in Britain. A perfect example is that very first album by Peter Green's Fleetwood Mac (the 1968 LP, simply called, "Fleetwood Mac") which rode high in the Top 30 chart for album sales in the U.K. for 13 months while selling almost not at all in America during the same period.
However, I am just a little bit surprised that you don't know much about P.J. Harvey. She is Welsh, and grew up in Wales on a sheep farm, I think is what she claimed, where she actually did lots of "hands on" work with the sheep as a kid (such as castrating some of the rams). Unlike certain less fortunate British musical artists, P.J. Harvey became extremely popular in the U.S.A. by the time her second CD, called "Rid Of Me" had come out in 1993. She made the rounds of the TV talk shows in America back then to promote that second CD. I can remember seeing her on one of the shows in 1993, although I don't recall now who the host was (maybe Letterman?). She was unusually "different" back then in terms of conversation; and her music, which she performed on the show, was loud and shocking, and simply stunning! I bought her "Rid Of Me" CD that very week. It is still one of my favorite CDs. In 1995, she had a totally huge, worldwide hit with her much more "toned down" CD, called "To Bring You My Love," which featured the quiet but scary song, "Down By The Water." That song has been getting radio airplay ever since.
Her CDs from 1998, 2000, and 2004 are all marvelous (assuming you can get into her style of music); and, of course her very first CD from 1992, called "Dry," is one of the all-time GREAT classics of modern music-- talk about "cutting edge," that one was it! I'd be stunned if there are not quite a few of your friends and associates who know about P.J. Harvey.
That period in the early 1990s when PJ Harvey was extremely popular may have coincided with my short-lived venture into country music... so it's quite likely I would have missed her completely... she doesn't sing country, does she? :) (remember I'd never heard of L7 until you pointed them out to me...)
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