Friday, October 12, 2007

Straight out of Ohio*

A friend, noticing comments in an earlier post, asked me "who is Scott Walker?" Noel Scott Engel was born in 1943 in Ohio, started out as a teen crooner, eventually adopting the stage name Scott Walker. He moved to the U.K. in the mid-60s, where he still enjoys his greatest fame. After morphing through several musical styles and increasingly eccentric personas, Walker became a near-recluse, producing only three albums since 1980. His last album, The Drift, has been lauded by some critics as brilliant and avant garde, and by others as nearly unlistenable. Despite his having many high-profile fans (David Bowie and Sting, among others), he is largely unknown in the states. Perhaps that explains the tardy U.S. release of the documentary Scott Walker: 30 Century Man, which includes a far-out studio session where Walker samples the sound of a man punching a side of meat.




UK Trailer Scott Walker: 30 Century Man
Included in TimeOut London's 50 Greatest Music Films Ever

*like me!

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

"Perhaps that explains the tardy U.S. release of the documentary Scott Walker: 30 Century Man, which includes a far-out studio session where Walker samples the sound of a man punching a side of meat."

This film also documents Scott's musical career from the early years until present time and is well worth watching. Stephen Kijak who produced the film did well to gain Scott's permission to make this film and indeed interview the man himself. Scott's explanation of some of the track's on "The Drift" helps one to understand where he's coming from with said album. A DVD of the film has now been released. I've almost worn my copy out..... already!

The Fifty Foot Blogger said...

I'll probably always be partial to Scott's interpretations of Jacques Brel, but I am more than willing to give The Drift a chance.

Anonymous said...

I've heard the USA will get a release of the film in cinemas starting around the beginning of 2008! I have seen it in cinemas (at Tribeca Film Fest) and on DVD - must say, it is quite brilliantly overwhelming on the big big screen. Look out for it if you can!!