Perversiones y digresiones V

Aprovechando que el Pisuerga pasa por Valladolid y que Florence + The Machine sacaron su tercer disco hace apenas unos días se me ha ocurrido que ella podría bien ser la versionada o la versionadora pero me he acordado de que hace unos meses ví un disco tributo que la discográfica especializada en metal alternativo y hardcore Sumerian Records a cargo de varios de sus grupos. Lo que me llamó la atención de la portada era que el título Florence + The Sphinx aparecía impreso en grandes letras. Otro detalle curioso es que salvo "Dog Days Are Over" todos los temas versionados son del Ceremonials (y no me extraña porque ese es una auténtica joya).

And I had a dream
About my old school
And she was there all pink and gold and glittering
I threw my arms around her legs
Came to weeping
(Came to Weeping)

And I heard your voice
As clear as day
And you told me I should concentrate
It was all so strange
And so surreal
That a ghost should be so practical

Only if for a night
And the only solution was to stand and fight
And my body was bruised and I was set alight
But she came over me like some holy rite
And although I was burning, you're the only light
Only if for a night

And the grass was so green against my new clothes
And I did cartwheels in your honour
Dancing on tiptoes
My own secret ceremonial
Before the service began
In the graveyard doing handstands

And I heard your voice
As clear as day
And you told me I should concentrate
It was all so strange
And so surreal
That a ghost should be so practical

Only if for a night
And the only solution was to stand and fight
And my body was bruised and I was set alight
But she came over me like some holy rite
And although I was burning, you're the only light
Only if for a night

My doll, my dear, my darling
Tell me what all this sighings about
Tell me what all this sighings about

And I heard your voice
As clear as day
And you told me I should concentrate
It was all so strange
And so surreal
That a ghost should be so practical
Only if for a night

Only if for a night

Como sois muy listos los primeros versionadores de hoy son estos chicos de nombre tan geométrico y polirrítmico sonido que vienen de Maryland y se formaron en 2005. Tengo que reconocer que aunque conocía su nombre porque el cantante de un grupo que me gusta había cantado con ellos anteriormente no hasta hace apenas unos meses cuando me decidí a escucharlos y aunque no he profundizado demasiado en su carrera lo que les he escuchado me ha gustado mucho.

It's always better on the other side of it
Wanting what you'll never have
And it's a goddamn broken state of mind
Yeah, the one that we've been living in

It's never greener inside the mess we're in
Wanting what you'll never have
The less we are content the more we throw away
What little time we have left to grow
Separate mind from me
But still I have no adamant will to leave what little time we have

Stop bleeding on the inside, we are alive
And it's more than enough to paint the walls that are white
Can we show the ones who are blind?

It's envy eating away at the core of us
Wanting what you never have
And isn't it the point of living to breathe
Knowing this is all we need

It's never greener inside the mess we're in
Wanting what you never have
The less we are content the more we throw away
What little time we have left to grow
Separate mind from me
But still I have no adamant will to leave what little time we have

Stop bleeding on the inside, we are alive
And it's more than enough to paint the walls that are white
Can we show the ones who are blind?

Show them that we're not blind




Stop bleeding on the inside, we are alive
And it's more than enough to paint the walls that are white
Can we show the ones who are blind?

Fly past the withered trees
Ascend to holy air and breathe
Fly past the withered trees
Ascend to holy air and breathe

This want is menacing it will not leave us be
Can we purge this?
The bastard in our brain will chew until it bleeds
How did we get like this?
How did we get like this?

Step out in the rain
Feel life in our veins
Step out in the rain
Feel life in our veins

Lo que más me ha sorprendido del tributo es que a pesar de ser grupos tan diferentes a la propuesta de Florence han respetado profundamente las canciones originales aunque los resultados varian de lo inmejorable a lo regulero. Pero como dos de las versiones me han encantado y no hay manera de que me decante por una otra u otra la cosa no acaba aquí y he decidido incluir las dos versiones.

Oh, the river, oh, the river, it's running free
And all joy and all the joy it brings to me
But I know it'll have to drown me
Before it can breathe easy

And I've seen it in the flights of birds
I've seen it in you
In the entrails of the animals
The blood running through
But in order to get to the heart
I think sometimes you have to cut through

But you can (Keep it up)
You can (I know you can)
You can

Just keep following the heartlines on your hand
Just keep following the heartlines on your hand
Keep it up, I know you can
Just keep following the heartlines on your hand
'Cause I am

Odyssey, you're an odyssey and land over land
Creepin' and a crawlin' like the sea over sand
Still, I follow heartlines on your hand

This fantasy, this fallacy, this tumbling storm
Echoes of a city that's long overgrown
Your heart is the only place that I call home
How can I be returned?

You can (Keep it up)
You can (I know you can)
We can

Just keep following the heartlines on your hand
Just keep following the heartlines on your hand
Keep it up, I know you can
Just keep following the heartlines on your hand

What a thing to do, oh, whoa
What a thing to choose, but know
In some way I'm there with you
Up against the wall on a Wednesday afternoon

Just keep following the heartlines on your hand
Just keep following the heartlines on your hand
Keep it up, I know you can
Just keep following the heartlines on your hand
'Cause I am

Mike Semesky también procede de Maryland y mi primera toma de contacto fue hace poco más de dos años cuando dí con un vídeo suyo en el que cantaba Born To Die de Caracementerio Lana del Rey, por aquel entonces era el bajista de un grupo llamado Intervals (sí, los mismos que aparecian en mi top 20 del año pasado) pero en cuanto lo escucharon cantar decidieron dejar de ser un grupo instrumental y coger otro bajista para que Semesky se centrara en la voz. Pero poco después de sacar su primer disco y tras discrepancias sobre el segundo disco Semesky se va, su sello, sabiendo del potencial que se les escapaba, le ofreció un contrato para el nuevo grupo que tenía en mente y por si también queria sacar discos en solitario. Lo segundo aún tendrá que esperar pero Semesky ha sacado este mismo mes su primer disco con su nuevo grupo Rest Among Ruins, un disco en el que cuenta sus experiencias cuando era enfermero de un psiquiátrico, trabajo que dejó para poder dedicarse a la música a tiempo completo.

Dreams of distant memories
Coming now into focus
As the story of our lives meets the  big screen
Front row seats to our hollywood premiere
A lifetime dream
Captivates an audience of one
 
Finally reliving this tale for the first time 
Since I awoke to this terrible dream
 
For some reason I didn't see
The chapters lived most recently
Not that I am proud of them
I just find it odd that they're missing
Front row seats to our hollywood premiere
An audience of one
Desultory remembrance of our lives

The theater lights flash suddenly
As I open my eyes to leave
A different ending it may have been
But there is no time to waste
 
Finally reliving this tale for the first time 
Since I awoke to this terrible dream