Review Party Recommends: The Life Aquatic Studio Sessions
It’s probably been a while since you’ve seen The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou, hasn’t it? You’re searching your mind, wondering if you caught a bit of it in your grandma’s basement over Thanksgiving break, sophomore year of high school, but you can’t exactly place it. It was a different sort of movie and you weren’t sure you were supposed to like it, or even see it. But it stuck with you.
And not all of it, sure, but bits and pieces. The costuming, a few iconic shots. And if your memory is sharp enough, the music. And part of that music was Seu Jorge.
Jorge plays Pelé dos Santos, the safety expert on board the Belafonte. But he also plays guitar, and he plays it well, singing David Bowie songs in his native tongue of Portuguese.
So What?
So what?! So he recorded a full album of covers that would enhance the quality of your life if you took the time to listen to them.
You know how the bits you remember of The Life Aquatic are the setting sun reflecting off the water? The crew storming a remote island villa? That otherworldly, enticing sense of adventure that doesn’t bubble up to the surface, but gently gurgles for the most part?
That’s what these songs can do for you.
Stripped down to just guitar and Jorge’s voice, the songs are at their most basic, but also most immediately absorbable. Chances are, if you’re reading this, you don’t speak Portuguese, so you won’t know that the lyrics are slightly modified. But what’s more important is how the words are sung. Pleading and mournful at times, but calming.
If you were walking through the streets of Brazil, moon hanging overhead, warm breeze teasing your hair, you just might hear similar sounds. So transport yourself away and listen to this album. It’s less than an hour, it will expand your worldview, and further your appreciation for the differences and similarities present among we people of Earth.
We all like music, and you should like this. I mean, yes, you could go through the rest of your life never hearing Life on Mars? in Portuguese, but I’d argue you’d be richer for having heard it, for having supped from that cup.
And for what it’s worth, Mr. Bowie himself praised the covers, in a very Bowie-esque way, saying:
Had Seu Jorge not recorded my songs in Portuguese I would never have heard this new level of beauty which he has imbued them with.
Here is the track listing. Just pick a song and find a porch swing to take a nap on. You deserve some downtime.
"Rebel Rebel" – 2:46"Life on Mars?" – 3:29"Astronauta de Mármore (Starman)" – 3:16 "Ziggy Stardust" – 3:41"Lady Stardust" – 3:31"Changes" – 3:40"Oh! You Pretty Things" – 3:32"Rock N' Roll Suicide" – 3:10"Suffragette City" – 3:10"Five Years" – 3:59"Queen Bitch" – 3:42"When I Live My Dream" – 2:55"Quicksand" – 4:35"Team Zissou" – 2:32 (composed by Seu Jorge)"Space Oddity" – 5:40 (iTunes Bonus Track)