11.13.2008

"Kiss Me and Crucify..."



"... this unholy notion of the mythic power of love."

In an attempt to avoid pulling another all nighter feeding my newfound Dexter addiction (god bless Netflix instant play), I distracted myself Tuesday night by looking up Rufus Wainwright videos instead. I have a longstanding crush on Rufus, I admit it. I love his voice, many of his lyrics, and the soaring instrumentation. Turns out I might as well have fed the Dexter monkey, since it became yet another "just one more" kinda night, but here are the fruits of my labor:

The vid up top is "Go or Go Ahead," my favorite song off Want One. "Beautiful Child" is a very close second, and here Rufus is doing it again (because it's good enough for two stops). For his cover of "Across the Universe," click here, though I'm partial to Fiona Apple's go at it. Rufus sings of how "he was just a girl then" in "The Art Teacher," and tells of just a couple of his cravings in "Cigarettes and Chocolate Milk," the song that inducted me into the Wainwright hall of fans.

Although I could do without his version of L. Cohen's "Everybody Knows," the video starts with a glimpse into his meeting with the man behind the legend. I'm not sure he was totally warmed up during this performance of "Gray Gardens," but it's fun to watch Isaac Mizrahi fawn all over him. He's clearly smitten, and I don't blame Rufus for shutting his eyes throughout the performance.

For more of his showtuney sound, here's a fun performance of a Witchy Wainwright doing "Oh What a World." There's also his performance of "Somewhere Over the Rainbow," which he performs with the accompaniment of his mum on piano, but I say just stick with Dorothy.

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