Date:    Sun, 23 Nov 1997 16:41:26 +0000
From:    David Thorpe <djt@ROBOTS.OX.AC.UK>
Subject: Mary Margaret O'Hara, September Songs, Kurt Weill

I realise what I am about to say is not particularly on-topic for this
list so I'll do a SHORT and a LONG version of this message:

1. SHORT VERSION

Someone recently asked if Mary Margaret O'Hara has done anything other
than <<Miss America>> and I've recently had a soundtrack album called
"September Songs" where she covers a Kurt Weill song "Furchte Dich Nicht"
rather quirkily, but not incredibly interestingly. It's on Sony Classical
[sic] cat no: SK 63046.

Someone also asked whether the Third Eye Foundation single was also on CD
and I can say YES - Domino Records cat no: RUG59CD

2. LONG VERSION

The "September Songs" soundtrack was recently released over here which
bills itself as a "tribute to Kurt Weill". I've got several "pop artists
do a tribute to Kurt Weill" albums, so it seems Mr Weill is a proper name
to drop (along with VU, the Raincoats and Laura Nyro) to show how serious
you are.

In fact, this isn't a bad album (although "Young Gods play Kurt Weill" is
still my favourite amongst the tributes) and includes some older more
established Weill-ites such as Lotte Lenya and Teresa Stratas amongst the
popular artists such as Nick Cave, PJ Harvey, Lou Reed, Mary Margaret
O'Hara and Elvis Costello.

German-born Weill for many years worked with Bertolt Brecht [of DCD's "How
fortunate the man with none" fame] in the 1920's and 1930's, producing a
number of very influencial operas such as "Threepenny Opera" and "Seven
Deadly Sins" as well as writing cabaret tunes which were more popular
amongst Berlin society. But everything he and Brecht did struck out at the
decadence of what they saw around them, and as war broke out he left
Germany for America, where he wrote Broadway musicals.

This album includes some reasonably good versions of "Ballad of the
soldier's wife" (PJ Harvey) "Lost in the stars" (Elvis Costello & Brodsky
Quartet) "Speak Low" (Charlie Haden) and "September Song" (Lou Reed) as
well as a few posthumous treasures, such as "Mack the Knife" sung by
Bertolt Brecht and "What keeps mankind alive?" spoken by William
Burroughs.

It is, I read from the decent liner notes, the soundtrack to a film by
Larry Weinstein which includes said artists performing the songs.
Weinstein was also responsible for the excellent "32 Short Films about
Glenn Gould" so I look forward to seeing this film when it (possibly)
reaches these shores. Has anyone seen it?

Perhaps if you're interested we could continue this conversation on a
different mailing list! I think there's a great deal of information
provided by the Weill Foundation at http://www.kwf.org/

Yours sincerely,

David Thorpe
djt@robots.ox.ac.uk