Tindersticks II Revisited

At my desk Sunday afternoon struggling to come up with something to post for Monday morning, drinking cold coffee and listening to the urgent barking of the neurotic dog, when I remembered that I've been sitting on a rather interesting post for a few weeks now.  So here it is: a track-by-track reconsideration of a favorite album inspired by similar posts by Tito, Ed, and Levi.

Tindersticks II by Tindersticks

Background:  I bought this album in the Autumn of 1996 days after my first marriage came to its unofficial end.  The Tindersticks' "Tiny Tears" had been featured on a CMJ compilation and I loved the song. Finding the album in Baton Rouge wasn't easy but I finally managed after a few weeks of searching, though it took a trip to New Orleans and a special order from Tower.  I'll never forget the first time I listened to it straight through.  Late night in a house that had been mostly emptied by the separation, I didn't have much happiness in my life, didn't want much more than a vodka bottle and some music.  I put this CD on, turned out the lights and eased back in my LayZBoy, a glass of warm Russian rotgut in reach.  It turned out to be one of those musical experiences, one I wish I could bottle and share with everyone I know.  And when I listen to this album these days, I go back to that night with all of its pain and loneliness and I remember that utter sense of despair.  You would think that would ruin this album forever, being taken back to such a fucked up time in my life, but it doesn't. I have no idea why not.

The tracks:

1. El Diablo En El Ojo (lyrics)

I've always contended but never confirmed that this is a concept album of sorts.  There's a story here and the album must be listened to from start to finish to truly get what Staples & co. are doing with this record.  Song one gets us to that point.  A prelude.  Right away, if Stuart Staples is to be believed, you know you could be in for something.  Haunting music, dark baritone a la Nick Cave.  Strings.  A plea:

I wouldn't turn the sound down yet
Don't even touch the dials, not yet
`Cos there's things you've gotta hear here
There's things you've gotta believe of me

2. A Night In (lyrics)

"I know you're hurting/and I can't be there for you".  Thinking about it now, I'm surprised I made it through this song that night. Stuart Staples' voice evokes a sadness better than any other singer I know, including Cave, and this song is proof of that.   

3.  My Sister (lyrics)

A spoken word bit with musical accompanyment.  A brother describes the life of his sister, a girl who went blind by age five, who burned down the family house at age ten causing the death of the mother and a cat, and who fell in a well a few years later causing paralysis.  It gets worse from there until finally: 

We buried her when she was 32. Me and my Aunt, the vicar, and the man who dug
the hole. She said she didn't want to be cremated and wanted a cheap coffin so
the worms could get to her quickly. She said she liked the idea of it, though I
thought it was because of what happened to the cat, and our mum.

Musically, there's little match to the lyrical content.  At times, the strings and horn seem jovial and the song ends with a crescendo of drums and a flourish from the french horn, a saw, and a piano, perhaps a celebration of the chaotic and doomed life.  In the grand scheme of this album as concept, perhaps we have a reason for the narrators own despair, an excuse for his lack of attention to a doomed relationship.

4. Tiny Tears  (lyrics)

We keep going down depression mountain and Staples is narrating our every step.  Again, how the hell did I make it past this song?

You've been lying in bed for a week now
Wondering how long it'll take
You haven't spoken or looked at her in all that time
It's the easiest line you could break

At this point, I think you get the idea that this album could be a downer like no other.  But you have to keep going.  You have to let the band have their say, let Staples' voice wash over you.  At this point, you can't turn back.  Remember, you've been warned.

5. Snowy In F# Minor (lyrics)

A change of tempo.  The music picks up and suddenly we have hope and at this point the despair of the first four songs has given way to possibility. 

See if we're worth it anyway
And we're on different sides of the line
And we look at each other
There's trains approaching from either side
Going to jump over those tracks for you
Go anywhere you're going to
I'm going with you

6. Seaweed (lyrics)

Still some hope.  More questions than answers at this point.  The other person is leaving and the narrator is trying to figure out why, what it will take to keep her(?). 

My mind is something I don't know
The truth, why should I lie?
Just kind of go
Go with you

7. Vertrauen II

Correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe that vertrauen is German for confidence. So it's a little ironic considering where we've been so far that this song has no lyrics.  It's a roaring musical number that comes just before the halfway point of the album.  Maybe there's been a breakthrough.  The darkness of the first half of the album has been tough, but now we may be going somewhere else.

8. Talk to Me (lyrics)

See what I mean?

So talk to me darling
Before you throw it away
Look into these eyes now
Look into these eyes
If it's too far to fall
If it still makes you cry
You can't kill this love,
No you can't kill this love

There's almost a Hitchcock soundtrack element to this song with all of its screeching violins and the up and down nature of the tempo. 

9.  No More Affairs (lyrics)

The despair in Staples' voice has returned.  And perhaps we've finally gotten the reason for it.  Both lovers have been cheating on the other with "previous lovers."  But it's possible that the affairs were more mental than physical, that the act itself was never consummated, but the very possibility has led to questions and this was what may have been causing the problems in this relationship.

10. Singing

A song called Singing, but there's no singing.  An organ.  Something between a funeral dirge and a baseball at-bat song. Shortest song on the album.  Strange but fitting.

11.  Travelling Light (lyrics) (YouTube video)

By itself, this is one of my favorite Tindersticks song.  As part of the album, it is even more powerful.  For the first time, we get a voice to the other party.  Staples is joined by the Walkabouts Carla Torgerson for a duet, a back and forth about the impending separation.

Her:  Do you remember, how much you loved me?
You say you have no room in that thick old head
Him: Well it comes with the hurt and the guilt, and the memories
If I had to take them with me I would never get from my bed
Her: There's a crack in the roof where the rain pours through
That's the place you always decide to sit
Both: Yeah I know (I'm) (You're) there for hours, the water running down (my) (your)face
Her: Do you really think you keep it all that well hid?

12. Cherry Blossoms (lyrics)

A simple song with a quiet piano and a violin.  Spoken word poem combined with Staples' singing in the background.  The despair has returned.  Something has gone wrong or perhaps the hope in the earlier songs has given way to reality.  It just isn't going to work out, is it?

13.  She's Gone (lyrics)

The song starts with the ring of an alarm clock.  Then Staples sings "She's gone."  But I think the she in this song refers to the sister in "My Sister." 

Says she can walk now
Says she can walk now
Thinks she can walk
Seen her walking
She totters and falls
And when I'm not looking
Leans onto the wall
And she'll hold on to me only when she wants
And she'll fall and be up again
It's part of the fun
But she's gone

14. Mistakes (lyrics)

Be nice if I knew French so that I could get what was being said in the first part of this song.  Anyway, here we have a very morose narrator, a man who has lost his love, whose had his "strings cut." Nothing specific as to what the mistakes have been but if you've been paying attention, you probably have an idea.

15.  Vertrauen III

I've always wondered what happened to Vertrauen I since only II and III made it on this album.  Like II, this is a musical number with many of the same components of the first (or second).  We're coming to the end and need to be reminded of where we've been.

16.  Sleepy Song  (lyrics)

After what we've heard, it's no wonder that trying to find any solace in another would be difficult for the narrator.  It ends with him still looking for anything that will soothe his pain.  And not finding it.

Turn over
Turn out the light
I'm going home tonight
Not staying here
If you let me sleep
I would wake up
I haven't closed my eyes for days
Sleep
I would wake up

And that's it.  Lights come back on but the world has been changed.  Maybe there's a tiny tear in the corner of one of my eyes, but it needs to there.  Hurt never felt so good.

***
Wouldn't you know that blog imitates life sometimes?  Tooling around the internet looking for other people's comments about this album, I discovered that the Tindersticks performed Tindersticks II in its entirety as part of the Don't Look Back festival in London.  Man, if only...

Comments

[TJ]

Great stuff; cueing up "Mistakes" right now. I love this album, despite (because of) its weight. I'd discovered it because of the use of "Tiny Tears" in an episode of The Sopranos. One of the best uses of exterior music in a television show, imo. Check it out if you haven't seen it: "Isabella" is the name of the episode near the end of Season 1.

[mapsadaisical]

What a freakish coincidence. You missed out on a great gig. So many grown men crying.

Review and fuzzy pics here...

http://mapsadaisical.wordpress.com

I note that, like me, you made the mistake of thinking Stuart Staples sings the first track...