3 thoughts on “Night Music: Jens Lekman, “Black Cab”

  1. Not really my cup of tea, but the beginning harpsichord couldn’t help but remind me of The Left Banke. I had an album that was a conglomeration of every band Left Banke-related from LB through Stories (“Brother Louie”). Don’t think that exact album was ever reproduced on CD. Really liked it a lot.

    This is my fave Left Banke, even though there’s no harpsichord. Sticky sweet perfect pop:

    http://youtu.be/7ag4EV9iyS0

  2. There is a harpsichord on Walk Away Renee, the Left Banke’s first hit, which was apparently written about a woman named Renée Fladen-Kamm.

    In 1977 I went on a trip with my new girlfriend over Christmas vacation to Florida. We took a driveaway car to Sarasota, where a friend happened to be living, then bussed down to Miami to stay with some filmmaking friends of hers. At least he was filmmaker. Her name was Renee and she claimed that the song Walk Away Renee was written about her.

    I had no reason to doubt this, but when I look at a picture of Renee Fladen-Kamm I don’t have a flash of recognition. So I don’t know.

    I do know that on that trip I had my first cafe con leche and my first media a noche, which like She May Call You Up Tonight and Walk Away Rene, endure.

  3. Listening to Black Cab again, there is the harpsichord, strings and flute solo, just like Walk Away Rene! Good catch.

    And it is easy to imagine the piano part in She May Call You being a harpsichord.

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