July 2, 2011

Like Breeds Like

Sean Lennon had been on my music radar for years, even before declaring myself as an inveterate indie music lover. I bet you'll think why I hadn't mentioned him till now. Ok, about six months ago I downloaded his last stuff and tucked it into a special file cabinet for future listening. Somehow the file got misplaced and I forgot completely about it. Today I found it! Oh, I promise I'll never leave you again, Sean. 

I think what I especially admire about him is that he struggles to make the music he wants without resorting to the obvious (i.e. going the POP music route and capitalizing on his larger-than-life surname). In my opinion, Sean doesn't look for fame, as he has it in spades, he's looking for a pure art form to express himself. His career has spanned over the last 20 years, during which he has been working as musician, writer, singer-songwriter, producer, film scorer and actor. Besides, he did the cover art for all his albums (you can see some of his beautiful illustrations on his website). There is no doubt that he's an artist in his own right. He is the bees knees. He's definitely his dad's son.

If I had to pick a track as a favorite, it'd be Parachute, from his second studio album Friendly Fire. I hope you enjoy the official short film for it. But let me warn, the story has a sad ending.



Now it's time for L'éclipse, the remix version of the previous song in collaboration with the grotesque French singer-songwriter, Matthieu Chédid (please, pay special attention to the biography of this bloke). Don't be surprised to see Sean speaking French. He was educated at the finest Swiss boarding schools and this language is always present in his music. BTW, lyrics differ from the English version, so that means they rewrote them almost completely. I rather like this rendering (it's faster and catchier). Ahh, the video has a kind of offbeat humor Sean's father was known for! What are you waiting for to watch it?




Want to learn more about The Beatles offspring? This is Dhani Harrison, George's son. Wouldn't it be great if Sean and Dhani could team up sometime and work on music together?


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