Ladies & gentlemen, El Solitario is proud to present the 4th take on ESMC’s <<REWIND, a new series of interviews with the people that rock our Moto-World®, centered around the music that shaped their lives. Music is a moral law. It gives soul to the universe, wings to the mind, flight to the imagination, and charm and gaiety to life and to everything.
For the 4th <<REWIND, we’ve decided to ask Paul d’Orleans, (AKA: The Vintagent), about those ten records he would take to a deserted island. Paul is a man of various talents, among which we can recall the fabulous writer, the hobo painter, the mad tint type photographer, the good drinker, the gnarly rider, the eternal Peter Pan and probably the most knowledgable motorcycle historian alive! But despise all of this he is a super cool dude and we love him. We first met Paul in Toulouse at the Southsiders MC anniversary party in 2010 and immediately felt the connection which still rocks our universe nowadays.
Voila!@#
Alright bitch, you’ve thrown down the gauntlet…
“I was raised in a sea of sound; my father was an audiophile, with whole walls of LPs, 78s, reel-to-reel tapes…98% was classical. With enormous walnut speaker cabinets and all Mackintosh tube equipment, my father yelled at my brothers and I when we played rock on it – it ‘ruined’ his stereo! I woke up to Mahler every day, and still listen to classical music in the morning when my head is clear and I’m writing. In the afternoon, it’s electronica in headphones, to keep the pace.
Now I, too, have many thousands of albums, about 1/3 inherited classical, but I love everything – opera, disco, punk, metal, country, pop, hip-hop, electronic…if its good, I’m interested – what’s happening in music right now is absolutely remarkable. This isn’t a list of the best, just a few I can’t live without.
Nico // Chelsea Girl, 1967
Nico’s laconic, affectless and flat delivery, combined with the Velvet Underground backing and Jackson Browne/Bob Dylan lyrics; a little bit of everything awesome in the ’60s.
Osibisa // Woyaya, 1971
‘World Music’ wasn’t a category, but a pan-African band recording in London invented it. This was my second-ever album, a gift from my big sister, I was 9. My first album was Neil Young’s ‘Harvest’; this was followed by ‘The Best of Buffalo Springfield’, and Stevie Wonder’s ‘Talking Book’.
David Bowie // Station to Station, 1976
The first of his Berlin trilogy with Brian Eno; I was a massive DB fan, and wore clogs, tight grey flares, and loose flannel shirts in ’76, while constantly fag-baited and beat on, but my head was in Berlin. I already knew I was an artist, and had seen ‘The Man Who Fell To Earth’, listened to Todd Rundgren and Genesis (Peter Gabriel’s band, not that wank Phil Collins), and watched Tarkovsky films with my Dad.
The Clash // Sandinista, 1980
In college, I started writing for Maximum RockNRoll, dyed my hair blue, put on shows, and hung out with Crass pals while painting in my studio. For me, this was the most important album since the ’60s, combining politics with art beautifully, mixing dub and punk and poetry, amazing.
Grandmaster Flash // The Message, 1982
I was on the West Coast, and this, with ‘Combat Rock’, altered me to NYC art, graffiti, and attitude. We invited Futura 2000 to spray-mural the UCSC art gallery, and a riot broke out. Most of this album is mediocre R&B, but rap, and hip-hop, had arrived on my record shelves.
The Smiths // Hatful of Hollow, 1984
Morrissey and Marr, shimmering guitar and minor-key delivery, a genius combo – I saw them 5 times from ’84, and still marvel at their musical constructions. The personal as political, and vice-versa.
Tous les Matins du Monde, 1991
My only classical selection, but I listen daily to Mozart, Bach, Mahler, etc. This is special though – a movie soundtrack, but gorgeous cello music by Marin Marais and Saint-Colombe.
Lucinda Williams // Car Wheels on a Gravel Road, 1998
Country! From Hank to Neil to CSNY to Dollie, there’s awesome stuff from the hills. This is Lucinda’s magnum opus, amazingly produced, and she was sober.
Bjork // Vespertine, 2001
Draw a line from Nico through Kate Bush to Bjork to Joanna Newsom, women making amazing and unique music. This one takes me great places, and is so erotic.
Glenn Campbell // See You There, 2013
My brother produced this album; his work is deceptively simple. Glenn won 4 Grammys in ’67, and played on 117 #1 hits that year; he’s a demigod, and Dave’s production supports that beautiful voice on his last album.
