Dan Bejar & Marcy Emery Cover Mark Szabo
Our love for Destroyer drew us to this interesting project out of Vancouver B.C. known as Heartbreak Scene. Conceived by singer Marcy Emery (The Choir Practice, Capozzi Park), the project's stated mission is to cover songs by Mark Szabo, a songwriter about whom Mountain man John Darnielle has said "In a world crowded with songwriters clamoring for 'unheralded master' status, Mark Szabo is the real thing." Or, take the Fayettenam label at its word:
Imagine an autodidact songwriter as attuned to down-and-out humanity as Springsteen, only far subtler than the Boss and steeped in art pop from the ESP-DISK label through Slapp Happy all the way to Drag City, with songs that are off-handed in execution but very, very deliberate in composition, and you're getting the right idea about Mark Szabo.Not sure whether we should be ashamed to confess our ignorance of Szabo or not, but there it is: we're ignorant of Szabo's apparently impressive songcraft. But based on the one and only example of his writing we have on hand, this cover by Marcy with Dan Bejar, we'll likely school ourselves soon. Fully aware that what we're hearing of "Love Outside Movies"' sparse intimacy is colored by Bejar's indelible, inimitable touch, but the source material more than satisfies its end of the bargain. A must for Dan fans:
Heartbreak Scene (Feat. Dan Bejar) - "Love Outside Movies" (MP3)
The Szabo Songbook is out now on Fayettenam Records.
Posted at 6:41 PM in MP3
Tags: Destroyer | Heartbreak Scene
I didnt recognize a single name outside of the Boss in that entire post. Suppose its time to give back my hipster card, or what I thought was my hipster card.
Posted by: John at October 15, 2007 8:24 PM | ReplyScore = 0
John, you have never heard of Dan Bejar? You need to get Destroyer's Rubies and school yourself son.
Posted by: Jonathan Nehmetallah at October 15, 2007 8:43 PM | ReplyScore = 0
what a nice song.
Posted by: josh at October 15, 2007 8:50 PM | ReplyScore = 0
I heard this song a few months ago on Heartbreak Scene's myspace. Solid
Posted by: Kaleem at October 15, 2007 9:07 PM | ReplyScore = 0
I think SGum's advocacy of both Dan Bejar and Pearl Jam keep me reading despite other complaints. I love the former, but still have a soft spot for the latter, and it's nice to see someone affirm such a weird coupling.
Posted by: Josh at October 15, 2007 11:49 PM | ReplyScore = 0
Destroyer's Rubies might actually be a must-own for any decent-sized collection.
Posted by: jim at October 16, 2007 12:53 AM | ReplyScore = 0
i did some quick searching about szabo and found zilch, not even on allmusic. is this a hoax or is this guy seriously underrated? either way, great song.
Posted by: john s at October 16, 2007 1:27 AM | ReplyScore = 0
Szabo is some kind of phantom.
Posted by: mr.B at October 16, 2007 2:40 AM | ReplyScore = 0
Szabo's not a hoax, but his stuff's hard to track down. Check the Catsup Plate label (his CD's called "Chocolate Covered Bad Things") or CD's by his old band Good Horsey.
Here's a video of Carl Newman and John Darnielle talking about Szabo: http://youtube.com/watch?v=n5kMweiP-JI
Posted by: Scott J. at October 16, 2007 10:06 AM | ReplyScore = 0
@ John...
I was like, "who" and "who" and "who"? Although I do beat you by knowing who Darnielle is...
Posted by: mrs at October 16, 2007 10:51 AM | ReplyScore = 0
Szabo's not really well known at all, even here in Vancouver, but a lot of the slightly older musicians around town cite him as important/influential. One of the guys who used to work at the most popular indie record store told me that he was "one of the biggest influences on Bejar. Even he'll tell you that." Having never spoken to Dan Bejar, I just took his word for it, but I guess this project is proof.
Posted by: Quinn at October 16, 2007 12:27 PM | ReplyScore = 0
More info on Rob Szabo, as well as a sampling of his songs... the song Beautiful is a fave.
http://radio3.cbc.ca/bands/Rob-Szabo/
Posted by: Julie at October 16, 2007 6:41 PM | ReplyScore = 0
Umm, it's Mark Szabo. I'm sure of that, quite. Despite the fact that there are other musical Szabos in the world. And the old guy at the record store must certainly be Steven Balogh- he might look shifty but he can never tell a lie.
Posted by: M at October 17, 2007 12:28 AM | ReplyScore = 0
"Good Horsey," and "Capozzi Park," all lead to a handful of tracks and only more questions. I'm doing my best net detective work and I've got no leads to the mysterious Szabo.
Posted by: ope at October 17, 2007 1:26 AM | ReplyScore = 0
Here's an interview with Mark: http://www.discorder.ca/oldsite/features/02marchmarkszabo.html
Posted by: Scott J. at October 17, 2007 9:52 AM | ReplyScore = 0