After two albums of tastefully orchestrated folk-pop, albeit some of the least demonstrative and most affecting around, Drake chose a radical change for what turned out to be his final album. Not even half-an-hour long, with 11 short songs and no more -- he famously remarked at the time that he simply had no more to record -- Pink Moon more than anything else is the record that made Drake the cult figure he remains. Specifically, Pink Moon is the bleakest of them all; that the likes of Belle and Sebastian are fans of Drake may be clear enough, but it's doubtful they could ever achieve the calm, focused anguish of this album, as harrowing as it is attractive. No side musicians or outside performers help this time around -- it's simply Drake and Drake alone on vocals, acoustic guitar, and a bit of piano, recorded by regular producer Joe Boyd but otherwise untouched by anyone else. The lead-off title track was eventually used in a Volkswagen commercial nearly 30 years later, giving him another renewed burst of appreciation -- one of life's many ironies, in that such an affecting song, Drake's softly keened singing and gentle strumming, could turn up in such a strange context. The remainder of the album follows the same general path, with Drake's elegant melancholia avoiding sounding pretentious in the least thanks to his continued embrace of simple, tender vocalizing. Meanwhile, the sheer majesty of his guitar playing -- consider the opening notes of "Road" or "Parasite" -- makes for a breathless wonder to behold. If anyone needs confirmation as to why artists like Mark Eitzel, Elliot Smith, Lou Barlow, or Robert Smith hold Drake close to their hearts, it's all here, still as beautiful as the day it was released.
So while on the one hand I have a friend calling me for Web 2.0 advise, the truth is--I know as much as you, and so when my "experienced" friend advised me to create more lists, well, I came up with this: The Top 5 Car Commercial's Songs.5. Dirty Vegas: "Days Go By" for Mitsubishi Eclipse When house music was reaching mainstream audiences, no longer just a raver's delight, this Dirty Vegas' son...
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Last Tuesday, Hollywood endured a heavy blow. Overwhelming at first, the news that Heath Ledger was found dead in his apartment at the young age of 28, took everybody by surprise. Nobody saw even hints of seeing it coming. Although the latest toxicology reports suggest that he may have died from "natural causes" (a heart attack to be precise) and not via an allotment of drugs, the bizarre and c...
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listening to 'pink moon' is always a profound emotional experience for me. i can't pinpoint one or two songs that make the album great, though i do have my favorites (things behind the sun, parasite). every song is beautiful on both a superficial and deep level: through the transparent and lush beauty of every track, it is almost impossible not to feel the crushing sense of doom in drake's deli...
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I can't be hip and say I knew about the music of Nick Drake since I was in the womb or anything like that. My brother heard him on that Volkswagen Cabrio commercial however many years ago, and before I knew it I was surrounded by his ghost. "Pink Moon" is my favorite album of all time. People say it sounds sad or depressed but most of the time I just don't hear it that way. Nick was definitely a f
More >
Last Tuesday, Hollywood endured a heavy blow. Overwhelming at first, the news that Heath Ledger was found dead in his apartment at the young age of 28, took everybody by surprise. Nobody saw even hints of seeing it coming. Although the latest toxicology reports suggest that he may have died from "natural causes" (a heart attack to be precise) and not via an allotment of drugs, the bizarre and c...
More >
Nick Drake's final collection (1972,Hannibal) was recorded in two nights, with only Drake and producer in attendence. You can almost sense there was little production to be needed, though. Drake creeps through these eleven songs so casually the songs could be successive takes. Drake knew his lyrics, arrangements, intonations, and pauses throughout. He was ready.Drake's underrated guita...
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everyone's out there having lives and doing shit that doesn't involve mog or myspace or multiply and i'm fucking stuck at home with no money and no boyfriend and a sick best friend and nothing to fucking do but sit on the interweb hoping somebody will post something but no one ever does which only leaves time to think about life and my lack thereof which leads me to think about this guy that i ...
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'Tis a good month for your favorite friendly blogger/artist/entrepreneur. The tickets came in for those second row seats at Ryman Auditorium in Nashville. In less than a month, I will be a few feet away from both Conor Oberst (for the first time) and Jenny Lewis (for the third time, but it'll feel like the first anyway). Some very good stuff there, I know.I'm also excited, oddly enough, about t...
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listening to 'pink moon' is always a profound emotional experience for me. i can't pinpoint one or two songs that make the album great, though i do have my favorites (things behind the sun, parasite). every song is beautiful on both a superficial and deep level: through the transparent and lush beauty of every track, it is almost impossible not to feel the crushing sense of doom in drake's deli...
More >
So while on the one hand I have a friend calling me for Web 2.0 advise, the truth is--I know as much as you, and so when my "experienced" friend advised me to create more lists, well, I came up with this: The Top 5 Car Commercial's Songs.5. Dirty Vegas: "Days Go By" for Mitsubishi Eclipse When house music was reaching mainstream audiences, no longer just a raver's delight, this Dirty Vegas' son...
More >
I can't be hip and say I knew about the music of Nick Drake since I was in the womb or anything like that. My brother heard him on that Volkswagen Cabrio commercial however many years ago, and before I knew it I was surrounded by his ghost. "Pink Moon" is my favorite album of all time. People say it sounds sad or depressed but most of the time I just don't hear it that way. Nick was definitely a f
More >
| Title | Lyrics | Buy |
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| 1 Pink Moon |
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| 2 Place to Be |
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| 3 Road |
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| 4 Which Will |
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| 5 Horn |
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| 6 Things Behind the Sun |
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| 7 Know |
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| 8 Parasite |
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| 9 Free Ride |
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| 10 Harvest Breed |
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| 11 From the Morning |
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Click to purchase…
© 2006-2009 Mog Inc. All Rights Reserved
 "Pink Moon")
