“Still listening to the Paris, Texas Soundtrack and Thinking About Wanting To Die” is a very demanding title but never as much as watching a Wim Wenders movie. I personally have not seen them all. For sure “Palermo Shooting”, “Beyond The Clouds” and “The Million Dollar Hotel”. All, by heart, characterized by excellent soundtracks.
The movies were great too, although I couldn’t help myself falling asleep during “Until The End Of The World”.
And this forces me to open a brief parenthesis on the movies that made me fall asleep in the cinema. Milestones, masterpieces of world cinematography but also films of little importance. “Gone With The Wind”, “Tre Uomini E Una Gamba”, “The Tulse Luper Suitcases” and “Russian Ark”. I’d be willing to give these last two a chance but “Gone With The Wind” has already had countless opportunities.
“Paris, Texas” is a Wim Wenders movie that I haven’t seen and the soundtrack, by Ry Cooder, is one that I have never listened to.
This album by Lovers Turn To Monsters is full of movie references and quotes.
Do you remember Ned? Ned, who? Ned Ryerson! I had to google to find out who Ned Ryerson was. In “Groundhog Day”, Ned is the insurance agent at the corner of the street that keeps recognizing Phil (Bill Murray). Italians have the bad habit of dubbing films and often changing their title. “Groundhog Day” has become “Ricomincio da capo” instead of “Il Giorno della Marmotta”. Much nice the original title than “I start all over again”. “Ned…? Ned Ryerson?” is the opening track and the stylistic figures of the author are already clear: lo-fi folk pop that smells of Scotland.
Lovers Turn To Monsters from Glasgow is one of my heroes. He definitely won my heart with the corona bundle project but he had already stolen a piece of it the first time he wrote me to send me some of his songs and a cover of “Honest Glamour” by Franklin Bruno. Lovers Turn To Monsters is really talented, and his discography is vast. “Still Listening to the Paris, Texas Soundtrack and Thinking About Wanting To Die” is from 2019, he has appeared numerous times on Almost Halloween Time Records, with a cassette, with compilation tracks and with the parallel project They Ran Out Of Blue (Kyle + Caleb Fraid).
James Earl Jones, who gives the title to the second song, is an American actor. He played a part in “Dr. Strangelove”, a film that comes to mind for the second time today. I was in fact looking for info on Slim Pickens, a song by The Debts and an actor that recites in the same film. Weird, because a few months ago I asked Kyle to cover a song by The Debts and if fate will, one day the two might even find themselves collaborating together on a song. The lyrics of “James Earl Jones” are very personal and not knowing the life of the American actor, I’m trying to find links, a possible interpretation. The general feeling, listening to this record, is that Lovers Turn To Monsters is speaking in first person, about himself and his life. “James Earl Jones” should have been part of a split with Ramon Speed which has remained a dream in Kyle’s and mine drawers.
Sparklehorse’s “Vivadixiesubmarinetransmissionplot” comes to mind. An important comparison and not just for the length of the album title.
Favorite song on the album, maybe “Nitski’s daughter” but I don’t know how to choose
Listen to the album here.
