A heads-up that, somewhat bizarrely, the Hollywood heartthrob is presenting a documentary about the haunting singer Nick Drake today 9pm BST (4pm EST) on BBC Radio 2. It will be streamed on RealAudio from the BBC website. I have no idea how good it’s going to be, but it could be quite interesting.
Nick Drake was a young English singer/songwriter who recorded three albums then topped himself in 1974. He never achieved success during his lifetime, though he had several champions (for example, Solid Air by John Martyn was written for Nick after he died). However, his influence on subsequent musicians has been immense.
His songs go from kitsch-but-good (mainly down to the occasionally trite arrangements), to astonishingly beautiful. There’s something otherworldly and special about his songwriting, playing and performing that’s difficult to explain, but once his music gets into your brain, it won’t go away.
If you don’t know Nick Drake’s music yet, this would probably be a good introduction; if you do know his music, then you will already know why I’m so intrigued.
Actually, Jjimm, most Americans know at least one song of Drake’s, “Pink Moon” from a Volkswagen commercial, although I’m sure they don’t know the name of the guy who sang it.
I have that CD, and yeah, it’s great.
To my fellow Septics:
It’s the song used in the VW commerical where a bunch of people in a VW are driving to a party and then they decide to keep driving and looking at the stars. The song in the background is just a vocal and an acoustic guitar, and the lyrics start with
I have all of Nick Drake’s stuff and was introduced to him years ago by a documentary I saw on SBS - I believe it was made in Europe. Recently I bought the Virgin Encyclopedia of 60s Music. On getting it home the first person I looked up was Nick Drake - ther was no entry even though far more obscure acts were mentioned.
I think it’s a testament to the power of his music that a 30-second clip on a commercial can make people go out and buy the album. Brad’s apparently a great fan. I can just imagine him and Jen chilling by the pool with a huge doobie, listening to Five Leaves Left. Jen’s wearing a tiny little bikini… Mmm. Sorry, what was I talking about?
I first heard “Pink Moon” in that Volkswagen commercial and fell in love with it. After that, I sought out some more Nick Drake, but I still only know a few songs by him.
By the way, a few years ago my brother made a pilgrimage to Tanworth-in-Arden, walked past Fair Leys, Nick’s parents’ house, and found his grave in the local churchyard. Scratched on the back of his headstone were the words: