Jens Lekman - When I Said I Wanted to Be Your Dog
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Category: Music CD
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CD Details
Artist: Jens LekmanEdition: Music CD
Audio: English (Original Language)
CD Release Date: 2004-09-07
Music Label: Secretly Canadian
Soundtracks:
- Tram #7 To Heaven
- Happy Birthday, Dear Friend Lisa
- Do You Remember The Riots?
- You Are The Light (By Which I Travel Into This And That)
- If You Ever Need A Stranger (To Sing At Your Wedding)
- Silvia
- The Cold Swedish Winter
- Julie
- Psychogirl
- When I Said I Wanted To Be Your Dog
- Higher Power
Music reviews of When I Said I Wanted to Be Your Dog
Music Review: One of the Best Folk Albums Released This Decade
Rating: 5 Stars
Providence, Rhode Island. There are many who remember where they were at when a notable event occurred. For instance, the majority of baby boomers recall specific details about their lives when President Kennedy was assassinated or when Neil Armstrong walked on the moon. For me, a twenty-seven year old, I generally recall where I'm at when I discover an artist or film that astonishes me. It was in Providence that I first heard "If You Ever Need A Stranger (To Sing At Your Wedding)" by Jens Lekman.
I might add that memories escape me rather easily, so it's not often I recall the specific track that served as my inception into the conscripts of a particular artists fanbase. But this is a notable exception - there were the initial piano strains that softly whispered in my ears, the closing beauty of his female accompaniment wordlessly singing, and between it all was Lekman's ocean deep voice resonating with the dual qualities of both youthful masculinity and elderly wisdom.
The melody sounded familiar even upon first listen (a quality I've found that the best songs share) and brought to mind an early morning stroll through a garden. I was struck with a sense of immediate peace (again, an essential quality for a truly great song), as if for the four minute duration of the song the world made a bit more sense. The lyrics engaged me on an almost philosophical level and I found myself curiously wondering how Lekman's wedding singer fill-in would handle a "power ballad" such as "Sweet Child O' Mine" by Guns N' Roses (a personal choice).
That track alone is worth the purchase price, so it's grand discovery to realize the strength of the record as a whole. Many of these songs sound as if they were culled from a dream, their beauty and charm seem too pure to have been conceived in reality. "The Cold Swedish Winter" and "A Higher Power" have some of the most ingenious lyrics I've heard in years. "Silvia" and "Psychogirl" ring true to anyone who has ever had a relationship that resembled a fractured fairytale.
"Tram #7 to Heaven" and "Happy Birthday, Dear Friend Lisa" are both so gloriously upbeat and beautifully constructed that hitting the repeat button is nearly involuntary. "Do You Remember the Riots" is an acapella track, which is quite satisfying, but make certain to check out the orchestral version which is readily available on the artist's personal website (along with quite a few other gems culled from various EPs, all of which are worth checking out).
Lekman's subsequent work is essential material as well, particularly Oh You're So Silent Jens and Night Falls Over Kortedala.
Description of When I Said I Wanted to Be Your Dog
Call it a curse: Jens Lekman?s world is populated by an endless stream of women. There he is, his hair mussed and glasses off-kilter, sitting in the corner of the cafe with his journal once again ? and he?s being torn in two. Moments ago he fell in love with the redheaded barista who nailed his order ? when she scooted that cappuccino across the counter, it was clear that there was a connection. And now, his eye catches the picture of divinity in the shape of the most finely featured brunette he?s ever seen...and she?s looking his way. But which way to go? It?s tragic having to make such choices. Like Fellini?s The Man Who Loved Women, Jens Lekman is a man forever at a crossroads between competing inspirations.At only 23, Lekman has deservedly been the center of much hype in Scandinavia. Having made a name for himself performing under the name Rocky Dennis, he recently hit #2 on the Swedish National Pop Charts. Most everyone who?s heard him believes him to be the next great pop star emerging from the streets of the DIY underground. With an angelic voice and golden ears he seems to be drinking from the same hard waters as The Carpenters, Harry Nilsson, The Magnetic Fields, Runt-era Todd Rundgren, Bill Callahan?s Smog, The Modern Lovers, Rufus Wainwright and Belle & Sebastian.
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