3. Bertel Haugen - Tytyros
Heard this on 6music (Cerys) and was instantly taken with it. Here's the potted biog from Bertel's bandcamp page because I'm feeling extremely lazy today...
"Bertel Haugen was born on a small farm in rural Wales to a Dutch mother and a Norwegian father. He now lives in London where he records quirky folk songs. Bertel uses all sorts of household implements, from pencils to whisks, to create his drum sounds and plays all the instruments himself."
If I describe the background to this particular song, it may sound a tad pretentious. Bertel is obviously fond of Greek writer Nikos Kazantzakis (the man who wrote Zorba The Greek & The Last Temptation of Christ). Having read Kazantzakis's 1954 novel Freedom Or Death, he decided to reinterpret it in this song. Stop! Don't click on yet! I promise you this isn't as stuffy as it sounds! There's a lightness and gentle humour here I really like. Plus it contains my favourite lyric of the week, so please give it a go...
She says I spend too much time with my booksPaul Simon would be more than happy with that, I reckon.
I don't care enough about my looks
She calls me a coward to my face
She says I am just a disgrace...
And so I quit.
