Child's Play

Young Rapture Choir - Magnetized (Laura Veirs) [mp3]

Laura Veirs - Magnetized [mp3]

Remember the Langley Schools Music Project? I doubt you pull Innocence and Despair out much anymore, but for a time it held a very real fascination. Sixty backwoods Canadian kids doing AM Gold in 1976, as endearing and slightly creepy as it sounds, highlighted (for me) by a small voice singing "Desperado." If it wasn't clear before, that song gave the album's title its significance, hearing such weariness from a perfect little person is certainly offsetting.

Listening to a chorus of French children sing Laura Veirs' "Magnetized," then, I couldn't help but compare to the Langley ensemble. Soon, though, it became clear that such analogizing wouldn't work. The Canadian kids were fascinating from a much more archaeological standpoint, representing a crossroads between pop culture, art, and history - something as otherworldly as it was relatable. The French kids, though, or rather the Young Rapture Choir, are more akin to the local elementary school's Spring Sing, albeit one featuring obscure and intensely personal songs in a foreign language. "Magnetized" is quintessential Veirs, all sparse picking and metaphors alluding to the geology of her dream world. It's a truly interesting, captivating take on the tried-and-true singer-songwriter gig, with Veirs' charmingly nuanced flights-of-fancy grounded in an abstract, scientific truth. Most pop songs deemed fit for kids' pipes are anthemic, overgeneralized pap, stuff sure not to offend bleachers of proud parents.

In this case, however, our Young Rapturers sing of being slain, lying in piles, hoping to be cast into eternal furnaces. And I wonder, do they have any idea what they're saying? Not just in the sense that English isn't their main language, but in the sense that perhaps only Veirs can interpret a song this idiosyncratic. It's precisely this unknown that makes for an interesting listen, lending a peculiar weight to these tiny, breathy voices. Maybe i'm investing too much importance in what's meant to be no more than a sing-along, but I'd like to think I've touched on something real, as we all did with the Langley Schools Project, if not to the same extent. But even if it's not what I've made it out to be, it's still cute to hear little French girls sing a favorite song.

Bonus:

Young Rapture Choir - Cannon Fodder (Laura Veirs) [mp3]

J Samson (Weakerthans) and the Winnipeg Mennonite Children's Choir - On a Beautiful Day [mp3]

Visit Laura Veirs online, buy her magnificent Year Of Meteors here.