Having heard “Flooding” every night on the last tour (I kept opening with it, inexplicably, ’cause I didn’t know it yet), Billy wanted to hear it again, but he wanted to hear it the way it was bouncing around inside his head. I did too, ’cause I’d only heard the version that bounced around inside my head.
So I gave Billy the wheel and he steered “Flooding” in an impressionistic, watery direction. It swims, doesn’t even try to walk. Swiminess is effective when emotional timing is called for, but to play a song with no discernible meter is hard, to make it sound okay, even harder. Piano?? Seriously?? But I trust music that bounces inside heads, so I let the man with the plan boss me around until “Flooding” became a sad water creature.
And it is sad, I should warn you. The heaviness of the vocals was not put on, it’s real. But such a beautiful treatment; I’m honored to have played a part in its painting.
Love,
Kristin
Find this song and all my recent work, in multiple formats – including lossless, free for download on my CASH Music pages. Information on how you can support the creation and distribution of this music by becoming a subscriber is here.
50FOOTWAVE
books
Kristin Hersh
Paradoxical Undressing
Throwing Muses
Me and (i’m certain) many others have been waiting for “Flooding” to be the track of the month since it appeared on this year’s setlists. I said it in a couple of posts before: one of the best songs of your catalogue, Kristin.
Thank you
I don’t know why I hurried and wrote a comment while it was downloading -in fact I do: pure enthusiasm. But having listened to it I must say that played on the piano and with that dark ambience in the background, the song reaches a whole new level. I would have been happy hearing it just as we knew it, only vocals and that watery electric guitar, but this was completely unexpected and, therefore, will make it more addictive to me!
Pingback: Jason Riedy (jasonriedy) 's status on Friday, 23-Oct-09 14:12:49 UTC - Identi.ca
May I quote little Bo on this one? My hair hurts & I have a (beautiful) sad headache now…
Dear Kristin, I can only repeat what I said about this song in an email earlier this year. Somehow it takes me with it to a time centuries ago. It did that in the guitar version – the guitar sounding like a viola da gamba. It does that in the piano version – the piano playing, maybe, the part of a harpsichord. In other words: it’s wonderful, timeless music.
The CASH Music tracks just keep getting better and better. I agree with Silverfrown – this is possibly one of your finest songs, and is especially beautiful for its loose arrangement. I’m really thankful that you choose to share your music with us all as you do.
Thank you
Gavin
Haunting. That’s a *good* thing, BTW…
it aches, so, so beautifully.
thank you. both.
it’s a beast creeping in soft shoes. wonderful.
(yet again!)
This is gorgeous. Thank you, Kris. I will definitely be fooling around with it in a remix, though I just love the sonics of this one as is.
Wow. Right down to the middle of my back.
Astounding song, It’s so 3d, I can almost reach my hand down into it’s pool of water, and then my head and see thing weird and warped, it reminds me of when I see things with tears in my eyes and my throat feels waterlogged.