scott walker

listening to kosmik radiation radio this morning, i got my first taste of scott walker, a singer namechecked by jon teague whom i remember reading about (as a member of the walker brothers of "make it easy on yourself"/"the sun ain't gonna shine anymore" fame) in my bible from snotnose/proto-music nerd daze, nik cohn's rock from the beginning. hearing scott's doomy baritone let me know in an instant where bryan ferry, eno-period david bowie, and iggy's bowie-inspahrd "opera voice" were coming from. an ohio-born jacques brel obsessive who made his way to california and thence to swinging london with his "brothers" -- either to pass for brits and "re-invade" their homeland or dodge the draft, depending -- his 2006 album the drift includes a song, "jesse," in which elvis confronts his stillborn twin ("i'm the only one left alive!") as some kind of metaphor for 9/11. of course, there's a biopic. his latest release is the music for a dance piece for "able-bodied and disabled dancers." fascinating stuff, and clearly an influence on the great tyrant, who record the end of next month.