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March 16, 2006

Drag Karaoke

When Giant Drag's debut album, Hearts and Unicorns, snuck into the final spot in my Best of 2005 list, I referred to them as a guilty pleasure. I'm not sure why liking the stew of 90's alt rock that Drag queen Annie Hardy conjures up makes me feel that way, but even after living with the album for an extended stretch and diving into non-album tracks it's still my default reaction.

Maybe it's the fact that I realize that I would have been SO into this stuff as a teenager, and feel sad for the complicated art albums that can't reach me in the same place as Annie's burnout tomboy schtick. So, while these covers may not scale any grand new pinnacle in innovation they're still, you know, rad.

Giant Drag - God Only Knows
(Beach Boys cover, demo)

This is hallowed ground for any California girl, so it's understandable that it starts out a little too reverential. Exact down to its sleighbells and warm keys, the only initial draw is hearing Annie's drowsy voice take on a well tread classic. Which is to say, nice, but not entirely neccessary. Thankfully, as it progresses, our girl takes the spirit of Brian Wilson to heart and breaks out a more complex arrangement. As her half assed cascade of doo's and ah's build on and interrupt each other, the rendition approaches something close to grace. But if Wilson's obsessive goal was to record "Teenage Symphonies to God," AH's casual demeanor brings it down a peg. More like a stoned teenagers symphony to her friend Todd.

Giant Drag - Wicked Game
(Chris Isaak cover, UK bonus track to Hearts and Unicorns)

Talk about a guilty pleasure. Any young buck coming of age in the 90's has this tune burned into their frontal lobe thanks to the shirtless antics of Helena Christiansen in the constantly played video. Assuming the sound was on, many probably found themselves humming against their will days later. It is a strong melody after all, but Mr. Isaak's Roy Orbison aping cheeseball-ocity made sure that despite rising to public consciousness because of its inclusion in a David Lynch movie it was certainly not cool.

This is where the So Cal slacker persona really pays its dividends. Softly intoning over a choppier (but recognizable) guitar line, Annie deflates the pomp of Isaak's version. Then, when the chorus comes in and adds a wall of noise the guilt lifts away and it's all pleasure. Not content to simply reframe, the band swings for the fences at the 2:15 mark with a ferocious freakout almost veering into Sonic Youth country. Making the subsequent return to mumbled coos all the more adorable.

I didn't want to fall in love...

Tags: Giant Drag, Beach Boys, Chris Isaak

Posted by Jeff Klingman at March 16, 2006 12:14 PM

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