Thursday, November 15, 2012

Max Raabe

The wife and I were digging on David Letterman last night. Julianna Margulies was on the show looking quite fetching and talking about her husband's love of Max Raabe.

I never heard of the guy so I YouTubed him. Christ I love living in the 21st century. Trouble is I wish I could live in the 23rd century too but, sadly, this is the last century I shall see. Unless...............

But I digress.

Max Raabe is a fifty year old German singer whose roots go back to German dance and film music of the 1920's and 1930's. He is the founder and leader of the Palast Orchester, the guys who play behind him, very formally dressed in tuxes and standing behind those cool music stands or boxes or podiums that harken back to big band days.

These guys cover vintage music, Rabe also writes original songs and music AND they cover pop songs. Like Oops I Did It Again, and We Will Rock You. I'm not kidding. All done with that old German beer house feel.

What got my interest was that as Dave was grilling Julianna about the music, trying to figure out who this guy was, he asked her about Kurt Weill. She had no clue but I did. Because of The Doors.

The Doors first album includes a song called Alabama Song (Whiskey Bar). It's a cover of a German opera song written in 1929 by Kurt Weill and Bertolt Brecht. I love this song. I figured if this was a hint about the kind of music Raabe performs, then I would love it.

I was right.

By the way, Letterman is a very learned guy. Pay attention over time to the off hand comments he tosses off, like Kurt Weill, and you will understand just how much he knows. And if you don't like David Letterman, don't ever talk to me again.

Max Raabe has a sense of humor.
I listened to one song that had a title entirely in German. It kept transposing a picture of a beautiful babe with that of a dog. I tried to translate the title on line and got several bastardized versions but they were all consistent about one thing. Every translation included the words my dog and my girlfriend's leg.

The covers of Britney and Queen are humorous in a wink wink way, great stuff. There are American classics covered as well as the old German stuff and originals too.

Check him out. Try on something new today. Have a stein of beer close at hand to add to the ambiance.

7 comments:

  1. Great summary. Letterman repeated tonight Jan 1 2013. I was floored Julianna didn't know Kurt Weill. Mack The Knife, folks? Lotte Lenya? Then she mentioned Fred Astaire by comparison. Wouldn't Rudy Vallée be more appropriate? And she said the 40's (and 30s as afterthought, prompted by Dave.) The era most akin was the 20s/30s. Like you referenced - we have the internet - and even if you're a busy TV star with no consciousness of theatre history, if you can travel to Germany for a concert, you can do the minimum contextual research. Still, I'm sure Max appreciates the plug and overlooks gladly the gaffes. Glad I found you and had someone to gripe to that would get it. I enjoyed reading your blog far more than anyone would this comment.

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    1. You are dead on. She knew nothing about the guy - you would think she would have checked him out. I'm glad I discovered him - pretty cool stuff.
      And thanks for reading the blog.

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  2. I agree, great summary of the interview and excellent context. I also Googled the interview and found out more about Max Raabe. Superb musician, orchestra, and very clever productions. I started here and surfed to other musical numbers on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IlUPqR3Cy5c

    Thanks very much!

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    1. Yeah it is always cool to stumble upon music you know nothing about. Makes me wonder how much other stuff I am missing.
      So much music, so little time.

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  3. Julianna was so excited about Max Raabe, I couldn't resist looking for him on line. I agree with the comments above and saw the reference to Kurt Weill and Lotte Lenya, etc. I went a step further and found out Max Raabe and his Palast Orch. have a one night concert in LA in April, and I bought two tickets. Their flavor is a little bit like Joel Gray in Cabaret but brought up to a symphony hall level. Max Raabe's style is sophisticated and refined. I like the music of the 20's and 30's. It's another example of everything old is new again -- with a twist. It reminded me a little of the recent movie, The Artist. Glad I caught it on Letterman.

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    1. Let me know how the concert goes - I would love a "live" review. If he is ever around here and I have the dough I'll check him out. Would be a cool night out.

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  4. Hi folks, if somebody is interested in the next concerts ... Max Raabe & Palast Orchester will come across tto you guys next march:
    http://www.palast-orchester.de/de/termine?start=40
    Bye from Germany

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