Interpretation

I had a fantastic time tonight at the Barbican to hear the host of songs penned by Beck. At the end of last year, he released an album purely on sheet music. Song Reader is a beautiful book, with each song as a separate songsheet adorned with artwork reminiscent of Victorian illustration. Each "reader" can play his or her interpretation of the song and upload it on to the website. No one knows, until this evening for a couple of the songs, what the songs sound like in Beck's head.

This evening, there were a host of poets and singers interpreting the work, including Beck himself. A guy beside me knew all the words and commented to his friend throughout with such comments as "That's exactly as I'd done it." or "Oh, I didn't think of that."

Eyes That Say I Love You - Joan Wasser (Joan As Policewoman)
Leave Your Razors At The Door - Franz Ferdinand
We All Wear Cloaks - The Mighty Boosh (this had me in stitches!)
Now That Your Dollar Bills Have Sprouted Wings - The Staves
Do We, We Do - Beck, Joan Wasser, Conor J O'Brien
Please Leave The Lights On When You Go - Beth Orton and Sam Amidon
Why Did You Make Me Care? - Jarvis Cocker
Sorry - Michael Kiwanuka
Don't Act Like Your Heart Isn't Hard - Beck
Rough on Rats - everyone [finale]

The blip shows the event before the main concert where amateur artists played their interpretations of Beck's songs on a small stage.