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| From | Rub Wrongways <rub@rubwrongways.com> |
| Subject | Henning Goes To The Movies |
| Date | Wed, 24 Aug 2011 11:42:15 -0400 |
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Hello,
Thought you might be interested in this new release from Henning Ohlenbusch
(School for the Dead, The Gay Potatoes, Mark Mulcahy Band etc).
"Henning Goes To The Movies" is nine songs about nine movies. Here's the
track listing: Joe Vs. The Volcano, The Straight Story, Poltergeist, The
Year My Voice Broke, Planes Trains and Automobiles, Logan's Run, Superbad,
Amélie, and Meatballs.
It was officially released yesterday and you can hear it, order it, download
it, and learn more about it at http://www.henningo.com.
Thanks,
Rub Wrongways
-------------------------------------------------------------
If you are interested in reading more right now, here you go:
It's 2011, is it still okay to release a concept album? Celebrated New
England songwriter Henning Ohlenbusch thinks so. "Henning Goes To The
Movies" consists of nine songs about nine movies. Ohlenbusch describes the
album this way: "Like everything in life, movies are experienced differently
by each viewer. On this record, I tried to express in music how these nine
films impacted me personally. At the outset, I established one rule: I was
not allowed to revisit a film until I composed and recorded the song that it
inspired me to write. In this way, I hope that each piece genuinely conveys
the ways in which each movie has stuck with me throughout the years."
The nine songs on the album are: Joe Vs. The Volcano, The Straight Story,
Poltergeist, The Year My Voice Broke, Planes Trains and Automobiles, Logan's
Run, Superbad, Amélie, and Meatballs. Though many of these films are widely
considered to be comedies, the songs here are mostly gentle and melancholy,
touching on the moving aspects of the films, whether they be sympathetic
characters or defining moments. It's a relaxed, friendly record. The songs
don't try to push the listener, but rather invite them to settle down for
the journey. As the chorus of The Straight Story explains, "I don't care
how long it takes. I don't mind how slow it seems. I'll get there."
Ohlenbusch sings all the parts and plays all of the instruments (with the
exception of the drums on Amélie by Brian Marchese). The album was
recorded, during a particularly harsh New England winter, entirely by
Ohlenbusch in his small basement studio, buried under the snow, with just
him and his instruments. Some songs feature just Ohlenbusch’s voice and his
trusted dark red Guild acoustic guitar while others have full arrangements.
Listen for melodicas, glockenspiel, warm synthesizers, electric guitars and
basses, pianos, organs, and various little percussion instruments. The
production, like the rest of the album is personal and intimate with
Ohlenbusch's simple and natural voice conversationally riding on top of the
carefully selected instruments.
Most noteworthy, perhaps, is how Ohlenbusch's well-crafted lyricism manages
to cut to the heart of each film. Poltergeist: "Nobody's acting like they
should in the blue-eyed houses of my neighborhood." Amelie: "My apartment
might seem real tragic. I’m sitting here scheming secretly, part of me
dreaming this magic might find its way back to me." or Superbad, who's song
takes place during one escalator ride (a nod to Nicholsson Baker's novel
"The Mezzanine"?): "It’s a thought that’s as jarring as the homeroom bells.
The next time you see me, I might be someone else."
Though each song is about a movie, the listener need not be familiar with
the films to enjoy the album. Ohlenbusch explains, "It was important to me
that each of these songs stands on its own merit. For most of them, the
listener might have never even known what the inspiration was had the songs
not been titled the way that they are." For those that are familiar with
the films, Ohlenbusch hopes to "convey the mood and spirit of the films how
I experienced and remember them over time." This explains how a movie as
goofy seeming as 1979's Meatballs starring Bill Murray could yield a chorus
like "To casually and gracefully interact with others, to naturally and
easily articulate my thoughts, this seemingly instinctual trait of human
nature, confoundingly has evaded me for the better part of my life. Just to
have a conversation, what would that be like?"
Henning Ohlenbusch is an award winning
singer/songwriter/multi-instrumentalist/producer living in Northampton, MA.
He fronts the band School for the Dead and is a member of The Fawns, The
Gay Potatoes, The Aloha Steamtrain, The Rub Wrongways Caravan of Stars, and
Sitting Next To Brian. Henning has been a touring musician with Winterpills
and Spouse, performed with Mark Mulcahy and Ben Katchor in The Rosenbach
Company, and recorded and performed with Fountains of Wayne's Chris
Collingwood.
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