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May 09, 2005
just don't pull on the red rope
Oneida - the Eiger
There is something so distinctly Proustian about this song- maybe the overwhelming thickness of the strings (courtesy of the Fireworks Ensemble), or the references to 'running through the garden fair', or dying 'trapped among the snow and ice' without a 'flask of wine and conversation fine'. Alluding to an earlier period when certain sporting activities still contained some elements of formality and etiquette and were reserved for only the priveleged (not that there aren't sports like that now). 'The Eiger' is also terribly romantic- the narrator talks about the mountain itself being all-consuming, first as 'a whole wide world', and then 'my only world', but then contrasts that passion with the aforementioned scenario in which he dies and never becomes acquainted with the 'pretty little German girl' featured in the first line (the phrase 'pretty little German girl', by the way, is enunciated in such a sweetly rhythmic way- it locks into the systolic movement of the strings heartbreakingly well).
There is also something distinctly Clint Eastwood in this song. Not many people know about "The Eiger Sanction", the 1975 thriller in which Clint plays Dr. Jonathan Hemlock, art teacher/collector who finances his monstrous art addiction by performing small assassinations and by also climbing huge and dangerous mountains. But how can you discuss 'the Eiger' without also mentioning this cinema classic? Impossible. George Kennedy (Cool Hand Luke, Naked Gun) turns in the performance of a lifetime as Ben Bowman, the old (and possibly treacherous???) friend of Clint's character who betrays himself in the end (I'm giving it away here) via a bum leg that acts up in cold weather/high altitudes. I can and will recommend this movie wholeheartedly to you, but I can't help but think it might have been 100x better if Clint had somehow managed to work Oneida's 'the Eiger' into the movie (perhaps by singing it?), despite the fact that the song was released a full 30 years after the movie was shot.
Anyway, enough of my flu-prose. "The Wedding" was released last week, and it is a FANTASTIC album. It is full of embellishments, thick, twisting vines of drama, and very, very good music. Do not miss out. Check the cool backstory on this album here, and then, maybe, go buy it here.
Posted by Kevin at May 9, 2005 11:13 PM
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