Scott Walker

Not a “recluse” after all, it would seem. Just “low key.” Such is the self-examination performed by Scott Walker during the TV feature embedded below (from the modestly titled “The Culture Show”) (update–apparently YouTube’s down at the moment–grab the clip from WFMU) and also available for download here at WFMU. 4AD’s getting ready to release The Drift, Walker’s first long player since 1995’s breath-removing Tilt, and as befits a return to daylight, there are the accompanying “this is why he’s great” talking-head testimonials from Eno, Goldfrapp and Cocker (Jarvis, not Joe, which makes me wonder why he’s not featured here). Walker comes across as blindingly normal in the piece, which brings back down to earth the human who’d, over the past two decades, passed into a state of veneration bordering on apotheosis among crits and geeks. The 10 minute segment progresses through his one-of-a-kind career from bonafide post-fab-four teen idol to Gregorian-chant learner to Brel-adoring reclusive cult icon through 1984’s Climate of the Hunter to well, now. They for some reason skip the Walker Brothers 1978 “reunion” record Nite Flights, which I devoted some time to here. And yes, I’ve developed quite a thing for Youtube of late. Some might call it a problem.

Here’s a Walker primer:
From Scott (sometimes known as 1): “Mathilde” (mp3).
From 2: “Next” (mp3) (orig. Jacques Brel).
From 4: “Old Man’s Back Again (Dedicated to the Neo-Stalinist Regime)” (mp3), my personal favorite.
On the same leftist tip, “The Electrician” (mp3), from Nite Flights.
Finally, from Tilt, the catchy little ditty “Bolivia” (mp3), which features what I’ve always assumed to be a Ricky Ricardo imitation par excellence around the 3:50 mark.