Anyone here like the guy? I personally think he's one of the freshest guys to exist. Good stuff. Really, cabaret like at times.
Right-right... he can definately be cool
Bringing a dead topic back to life i'm afraid...but just had to boost Rufus support here - wonderful music. Particularly love rebel prince, barcelona, california and his cover of one man guy.
xxxxxx
He's great, although his cover of "Across the Universe" isn't as great as Fiona's. I do enjoy the "April Fools" video, though.
Amazing. Great pop/show tune piano. Does not get much better.
I've been listening to his stuff pretty regularly since I discovered 'Want One' lat Christmas, and I just this morning thought -- hey, I don't think there's a thread on him, so I should start one. My grand plans for this thread were subsequently shattered when I did a search and found this thread here.
Anyway, Want One is an endlessly gorgeous musical accomplishment. The first song, Oh What A World, builds to such stunning heights of orchestration that, the first time I heard it, I had to listen to it again before I continued with the rest of the album.
I also have Poses, which is quite lovely in its own right, although without the grand exposition of Want One. One Man Guy is, as mentioned above, particularly great. Very stripped down and tired.
"Cigarettes and chocolate milk..."
Love him!
my thread is back! my lord!
Want One is excellent, but not quite as good as his self-titled album.
the mediocre to bad-ness of his covers kinda turned me off and i never got in to him. but a friend of mine has urged me to give him a listen, what should i start with???
Quote from: xerxesthe mediocre to bad-ness of his covers kinda turned me off and i never got in to him. but a friend of mine has urged me to give him a listen, what should i start with???
Rufus Wainwright or
Poses
I don't have the self-titled album, but I like Want One quite a bit more than Poses.
Thus, take both my advice and Pedro's to heart and do the best thing: BUY EVERYTHING!!!
On June 20th I'm seeing Rufus Wainwright, Guster and Ben Folds! (In that order)
Shit, I'm excited.
I'm ashamed to say that the man was kind of "boohed" here in Portugal last year in a music film festival. The organization sucked, since they placed Rufus performing on the same day of some hard-rock bands... The result: the hard rock fans didn't quite long listening to Rufus Wainwright and some booohing was heard. But well, it could have been worse, since two years ago (if I remember correctly), Nickelback were boohed of the stage by insults and flying bottles of beer and whatnot.
:roll:
i saw him yesterday, and he was quite good. although i had to work during some of his set. i plan to watch the whole thing tonight though. i've been listening to him a little lately, mostly by borrowing other people's cds. but i believe i'll actually buy one tonight.
Yeah I think he's absolutely terrific.
Video CNN Interview:
http://boss.streamos.com/real/dreamworks/rufuswainwright/wantone/video/misc/cnn_300k.ram
Rufus will possibly be contributing original music to John Cameron Mitchell's upcoming film, "SHORTBUS," aka, "The Sex Film Project."
Big fan of his. I don't really get to hear much of him, since his records aren't played on the air around here. I sort of have to keep an ear open for new stuff from him, or I'll miss out.
I liked his self-titled debut album, but thought "Poses" was to poppy in places. His newest effort, brings back a lot of the sound I fell in love with from the start, but it too tampers off.
Nonetheless, he's one of hell of a talent.
I own Poses and like it a lot. I'll buy his others eventually. I remember when Kate Winslet was on Letterman promoting Eternal Sunshine she said she listened to Rufus Wainwright while giving birth to one of her children and then started singing "Cigarettes and Chocolate Milk." How cute.
Someone else was on a talk show recently that said they enjoyed listening to Wainwright. I want to say it was Kirsten Dunst on Leno, but I'm really not sure.
Quote from: BethieI want to say it was Kirsten Dunst on Leno, but I'm really not sure.
go on, say it..
I got Want Two today and I'm not even through listening to it yet, but I just wanted to come here and say that Art Teacher is an absolutely heartbreaking song.
I have pretty much all this guy's music including solo albums, b-sides, etc...and I think he's one of the very best singer-songwriters around. In fact Elton John called him THE best singer-songwriter we have. Of course they're both really gay so maybe that has something to do with that. I love his Want albums, particularly Want One. The concert on the second disc of Want Two is great as well.
Oh wow I didn't know he had a thread. Yes, I have to say he is best singer/songwriter out right now. "Poses" is an absolutely amazing album.
anyone see him perform on conan the other night?
Yes.
He was good.
I like Hallelujah.
Quote from: ono mo cuishleYes.
He was good.
I like Hallelujah.
his version kinda sucks
You all should check out his sister Martha. She's got a song called Bloody Mother Fucking Asshole (also the name of her EP) that's just great.
Quote from: Cinephileanyone see him perform on conan the other night?
Definetly. He was outstanding.
Breath of fresh air if you ask me..
haaaaaaaaaack.
I also loved him on Letterman doing My Funny Valentine. His b-sides Do You Love An Apple?, Leaving You and Leaving for Paris are really great too.
Quote from: Pedro the AlpacaQuote from: ono mo cuishleYes.
He was good.
I like Hallelujah.
his version kinda sucks
hallelujah is actually one of the only covers that he's done that i like, and i like it a lot
Quote from: Pedro the AlpacaQuote from: ono mo cuishleYes.
He was good.
I like Hallelujah.
his version kinda sucks
I think his version is pretty good, but Jeff Buckely has the best version of it.
What a talented, talented man.
anyone heard Bob Dylan's live version of it?
Quote from: GhostboyYou all should check out his sister Martha. She's got a song called Bloody Mother Fucking Asshole (also the name of her EP) that's just great.
I have New York, New York, New York downloaded. It's the only song I've heard from her.
I was so mad that I missed Rufus' performance on Conan the other night. I kept hearing how cool it was, too. grr
QuoteI think his version is pretty good, but Jeff Buckely has the best version of it.
oh, god yes.
anyone seeing him with ben folds this summer?
Quote from: xerxesanyone seeing him with ben folds this summer?
Plan on it.
Rufus had a fucking awesome set last time I saw him, but the crowd wasn't really paying much attention, getting up, walking around, talking loudly... really made me unhappy.
His new single "Going to a Town" is the best thing I've heard on the radio for ages. The video for the song is really striking and worth a look....although some of the shots are a bit..."ascension".
I don't own any of his albums but I'm looking forward to his new one now. I guess the general consensus in this thread is that "Want One" is the best place to start.
I've got the new album, and I love the first track, but I haven't give the rest of it a fair shake yet. But yeah, Want One is a great way to start...that's what got me hooked, and it's still probably my favorite of everything he's done (although Want Two is also really amazing, and his early records are pretty great pop albums in their own right).