Lunatica creatura Ann Danielewski, in arte Poe. Un giorno può presentarsi come un'adolescente turbolenta e insicura, l'altro come una donna matura e consapevole. Quando nessuno la vede si da al riciclaggio sonoro e ti chiede cos'hai sognato la sera prima. Difficile da definire una donna dal così misterioso e particolare fascino, come del resto non è semplice catalogare la sua opera seconda "Haunted": frutto di numerosissime influenze, fra cui dominano quelle della miglior tradizione del cantautorato rock femminile dei '90 e dell'elettronica più atmosferica e ambient.
Il disco è un mezzo concept album e nonostante la lettura di passi tratti dal libro "House of Leaves" del fratello della cantautrice, Mark Danielewski, si può definire autobiografico, in quanto fra i numerosi campionamenti che Poe sfrutta per arricchire i suoi pezzi vi sono proprio alcune registrazioni del padre (il direttore cinematografico Tad Danielewski) ritrovate da lei e dal fratello dopo la sua scomparsa. Leggenda vuole che si tratti di vere e proprie audio-lettere, che Ann dovette evitare di affrontare per diverso tempo prima di essere convinta di utilizzarle nella sua musica.
Non è, tuttavia, il solo elemento di cui Poe si serve per alimentare il senso di mistero che avvolge le sue canzoni: queste vengono opportunamente scisse da intro e brevi brani, ed è in questi che solitamente compare la voce registrata per dire qualcosa o avere un dialogo con un'altra voce, quella di una bambina. Questi intermezzi non contribuiscono solo ad aumentare il pathos dell'opera; fungono anche da filo conduttore per il resto dei brani, che suonerebbero dispersi senza la loro coordinazione.
Non è un caso che l'intro "Exploration B" impreziosisca ancor di più l'eterea "Haunted", title-track e primo esempio di come il sapiente utilizzo di campionamenti riesca a rendere l'idea di un viaggio nella mente travagliata di una fanciulla, scandita da quei "parapapa" che le fanno perfettamente gioco. In "Control" emerge la vena cantautoriale di Poe; il dettaglio e la cura riservati ai testi, sorprendentemente acuti e ben elaborati.
La rullante "Walk The Walk" è una sorta di dichiarazione d'indipendenza, un pezzo rock "sporco" che colpisce subito grazie all'impressione che riesce a dare di essere improvvisato. Su una simile riga si trova il rockettino immediato di "Not A Virgin": azzardata, diretta e pungente, nonché farcita di improponibili similitudini e conturbanti simbolismi. In altre parole: come avrebbe dovuto suonare Liz Phair con la venuta del nuovo millennio. "Hey Pretty" è un altro pezzo piuttosto orecchiabile, di quelli che funzionano sia nel pub fumoso e di nicchia del venerdì sera che nello spot patinato di qualche automobile, di quelli che farebbero andare a braccetto la suocera e l'amico indie-rocker. L'interpretazione calda e sensuale della voce riflette perfettamente il testo.
I maggiori picchi d'originalità si trovano nei 9 minuti di "Wild", una lenta progressione dal lato rock dell'artista a quello più elettronico, durante il quale non sono risparmiati richiami ambient o talvolta quasi dance. In "5 & 1/2 Minute Hallway" sembra di sentire un'improbabile jam session fra Björk e i migliori Cardigans, come se i trip vocali della prima fossero rimasti intrappolati nello strato dolceamaro e malinconico dei secondi. "Amazed" è la perla del disco, con influenze che si avvicinano pericolosamente al trip-hop o anche - vagamente - alla PJ Harvey del periodo "To Bring You My Love", soprattutto nell'ottima outro dove tutto quel che ha segnato lo scorrere dell'album viene rievocato per sorprendere l'ascoltatore. Chiude l'opera la struggente "If You Were Here", un disperato tentativo di stabilire un contatto con il padre dialogando con le sue registrazioni, che si conclude con un definitivo addio.
"Haunted" è un disco dimenticato che, pur non essendo un capolavoro assoluto, merita un ascolto non solo per la sua relativa originalità (o originalità "riflessa", che dir si voglia) ma anche per la notevole ricchezza dei contenuti. Ad oggi questo piccolo gioiello non ha ancora avuto un seguito; dell'affascinante autrice si sono perse le tracce e la sua voce è rimasta intrappolata nell'inquietudine spettrale di questo disco, in attesa di esser liberata.
Elenco tracce testi e video
01 Exploration B (01:10)
Intro : call to mother
[Ring.]
[Ring.]
[Ring.]
Mother's anwering machine: HELLO. NOBODY'S HOME.
LEAVE A MESSAGE AFTER THE
BEEP, AND SOMEBODY'LL GET BACK TO YOU.
[Beep.]
I thought you should know
Daddy died today
He closed his eyes and he left here
At 12:03
He sends his love
He wanted you to know
He isn't holding a grudge
And if you are you should let go
(Speaking) Are you there? Pick up. Pick up,
please. Mom? Hello?
02 Haunted (05:20)
Ba da pa pa ba da pa pa...
Come here
Pretty please
Can you tell me where I am
You won't you say something
I need to get my bearings
I'm lost
And the shadows keep on changing
And I'm haunted
By the lives that I have loved
And actions I have hated
I'm haunted
By the lives that wove the web
Inside my haunted head
Ba da pa pa ba da pa pa...
Don't cry,
There's always a way
Here in November in this house of leaves
We'll pray
Please, I know it's hard to believe
To see a perfect forest
Through so many splintered trees
You and me
And these shadows keep on changing
And I'm haunted
By the lives that I have loved
And actions I have hated
I'm haunted
By the promises I've made
And others I have broken
I'm haunted
By the lives that wove the web
Inside my haunted head
Hallways... always
I'll always want you
I'll always need you
I'll always love you
And I will always miss you
Ba da pa pa ba da pa pa...
Come here
No I won't say please
One more look at the ghost
Before I'm gonna make it leave
Come here
I've got the pieces here
Time to gather up the splinters
Build a casket for my tears
I'm haunted
(By the lives that I have loved)
I'm haun
I'm haunted
By the hallways in this tiny room
The echos there of me and you
The voices that are carrying this tune
Ba da pa pa...
Father :
What is it Annie?
Daughter :
You think I'll cry? I won't cry!
My heart will break before I cry!
I will go mad.
03 Control (06:03)
Don't, you mess,
With a little girl's dream.
'Cause she's liable to grow up,
Mean.
Surprise you to find that I'm laughing?
You thought that you'd find me in tears.
You thought I'd be crawling,
The walls like a tiny mosquito,
And trembling in fear.
Well, you may be king for the moment,
But I am a queen understand,
And I've got your pawns and your bishops and,
Castles,
All inside the palm of my hand.
While you were looking the other way,
While you had your eyes closed.
While you were licking your lips,
'Cause I was miserable.
While you were selling your soul.
While you were tearing a hole,
In me.
I was taking control.
Now I have taken control. (control)
Now I have taken control. (control)
Now I have taken control.
Control...
This is beginning to feel good,
Watching you squirm in your shoes,
A small bead of sweat on your brow,
And a growl in your belly,
Your scared to let through.
You thought you could keep me from loving,
You thought you could feed on my soul.
But while you were busy destroying my life,
What was half in me has become whole.
While you were looking the other way.
While you had your eyes closed.
While you were licking your lips,
'Cause I was miserable.
While you were selling your soul.
While you were tearing a hole,
In me.
I was taking control
Now I have taken control. (control)
Now I have taken control. (control)
Now I have taken control.
Control...
So this is how it feels,
To breathe in the summer air.
To feel the sand between my toes,
And love inside my ear.
All those things, you taught me to fear,
I've got them in my garden now and,
You're not welcome here.
Come here.
Come a little bit closer...
Let me look at you.
I gave you the benefit, of the doubt it's true,
But keep in mind my darling,
Not every saint is a fool!
(Don't)
While you were looking the other way, (you mess)
While you had your eyes closed. (with me)
While you were licking your lips,
'Cause I was miserable.
(Don't)
While you were selling your soul (you mess)
While you were tearing a hole,
In me.
(I was taking control)
Now I have taken control. (I was taking control)
Now i have taken control. (control)
Control...
(Control)
Control...
Don't you mess with me.
This cannot be all that there is to life,
Because, in our confrontation, with,
An enormous and cold, universe.
There is something comical, to the idea
That we can really enforce our will, on humanity.
Power, corrupts.
04 Terrible Thought (04:41)
A terrible thought has moved into my mind
Like an unwanted room-mate drunk on wine
It feeds on my unhappiness, won't pay the rent
I must take proper measures to evict it
A terrible thought has moved into my mind
A giant rat that's nibbling on my pride
It's tearing away my patience and my wits
I must take proper measures to set a trap for it
What a terrible thought
I don't care what you've done
I don't care who you've won
I know in the end, you have your fun
But you can't have it here
And I won't let you steer
You know I don't want you in my mind
What a terrible thought
What a terrible, terrible thought
I must stay calm you know and I must be clear
It's gonna take a hundred thoughts to make this one disappear
A train like that can travel a soul for years
A terrible thought can have a terribly long career
What minds have you shredded
I bet they regretted
Having ever thought you up
Just look at you shine
Committing your crimes
You know I don't want you in my mind
'Cause you're breaking my stride
You poisonous vine
You're strangling me inside
You're breaking my stride
You poisonous vine
You're strangling me inside
You're breaking my stride
What a terrible thought...
(Father: What is your greatest worry because you seem to be worried all the time.)
(Daughter: Sometimes I can't hear myself think.)
(Father: You have to speak a little louder, I can't understand a word you're saying.)
(Daughter: Sometimes I can't hear myself think)
06 Terrified Heart (00:52)
Second phone call to mother
[RING.]
Mother's answering machine: HELLO. NOBODY'S
HOME. PLEASE LEAVE A MESSAGE AFTER THE BEEP, AND SOMEBODY'LL GET BACK TO YOU.
Daughter:
Mom? You there? Are you sleeping? I'm so bummed.
I'll sing a little song and maybe you'll pick up:
Sometimes, I'm terrified of my heart
Of its constant hunger
For whatever it is it wants
(speaking) The way it stops...
[The line below is actually at the beginning of Track 7, "Wild".]
...and starts.
07 Wild (09:00)
Wild, wild
I go wild, 'cause you break me open
Wild 'cause you left me here
I go wild 'cause your promises are broken
Wild because the chips are down
Wild because there isn't anybody else around
Wild when the waves start to break
And God knows they're breaking in me now
I go wild because it doesn't make sense
For me to cry out in my own defense
And wild because I would do anything
To tear you off your precious fence
So this is what it's like living in limbo
First I'm high, then I'm so low
I go wild 'cause you break me open
Wild 'cause you left me here
I go wild 'cause your promises are broken
Wild when I know you're near
I go wild
I go wild...
Tell me what you've come here for
Moving like a hunter through my back door
Leaving the perfume of all you adore
To die nameless on my floor
Yeah, well we both know that you don't play fair
I guess you really think that you'd get me there
Let's be honest, perhaps it's alright
It's too much for even you to bear
You've got some nerve to come back here
You're not the only one who can smell fear
I go wild 'cause you break me open
Wild 'cause you left me here
I go wild 'cause your promises are broken
Wild, don't you get it dear
You're not the only one who runs on instincts
No, I got instincts of my own
You've got a lot of nerve to come back
Plan your attack and I am still waiting
Did you want something?
You wrote the rules to try and contain me
You broke them now, you'll haven't tamed me
And I'm wild
I go wild
Tell me what you've come here for
What is it you adore, won't you tell me?
What would you cry for?
Swallow your pride for?
What would you, oh, go wild for?
You've got a lot of nerve to come back here
Speak up now, darling, I have been waiting
I go wild 'cause you break me open
Wild 'cause you left me here
I go wild 'cause your promises are broken
Wild, don't you get it dear?
You're not the only one who runs on instincts
No, I got instincts of my own
You got a lot of nerve to come back
Plan your attack, and I am still waiting
Did you want something?
You wrote the rules to try and contain me
You broke them now, you haven't tamed me
And I'm wild...
Oh, oh, oh...
Wild...
Tell me what you've come for...
I go wild...
Like a hunter...
Tell me what you've come for...
(come back here)
La da da da da da
Like a hunter...
Communication is not just words.
Communication is architecture.
Because of course it is quite obvious
That a house which would be built without the sense,
Without that desire for communication
Would not look the way your house looks today.
08 5&½ Minute Hallway (03:33)
I live at the end of a 5 and 1/2 minute hallway
But as far as I can see you are still miles from me
In your doorway
And oh by the way
When the landlord came today
He measured everything
I knew he'd get it wrong
But I just played along
'Cause I was hoping that would solve it all
But there's only so far I can go
When you're living in a hallway that keeps growing
I think to myself
5 more minutes and I'll be there
Inside your door
But there's more to this story
Than I have exposed
There are words made of letters
Unwritten
And yes I forgive you
For leading me on
You can think of it like this
When you can't resist
I'm in your hallway standing on a cliff
And just when I think I've found the trick
I'm tumbling
Like an echo
'Cause there's only so far I can go
When you're living in a hallway that keeps growing
I think to myself
30 seconds and I'll be there
Daughter:
You never listen to me
Father:
We cannot really experiment with love as freely as we wish
It is really a much more complicated topic
09 Not a Virgin (03:42)
I'm not a virgin anymore
I just thought you should know
Darlin', I been around
Yeah, I've been up and down your block
In fact, I have been all over town
Down by the lake
And underneath the table in my living room
Outside by the blue, blue moon
You can call me what you will
Call me a slut, call me a jaded pill
Darlin', I've got your number now
I'm not a virgin anymore
I've been taken
I've been hung up, I get down
And start it over again
I've been opened
I've been closed like a book
And burned out like a written sin
I just thought you should know, my darlin', before we begin
I'm not a virgin anymore
Just thought you should know
Before you let another lie get through your crooked little teeth
I don't think you wanna start that shit with me
Much better yet, tell me something dangerous and true
Oh yeah, that looks much sexier on you
Careful what it is you say
'Cause I can see right through you on a cloudy day
And darlin', I think you wanna play
I'm not a virgin anymore
I've been taken
I've been hung up, I get down
And start it over again
I've been opened
I've been closed like a book
And burned out like a written sin
So if you wanna play dirty, my darlin', I'm gonna win
I'm not a virgin anymore
Uh-uh, uh-uh, uh-uh
Been there, done that, say what?
Get the hang of it
Guess who got screwed?
You
I had a whole lot of fun with it
I've had enough now
So you better take a bow
It's gonna be a new experience
If you wanna play with me
Daisy chains and Mary Janes
Fairy tales cannot fool me now
I just thought you should know
"Shut up, I tell you"
Yeah, right
Whatever, dude
Oh, I've been taken
I've been hung up, I get down
And start it over again
I've been opened
I've been closed like a book
And burned out like a written sin
Hell, I've been divided
Out of my mind and reinvented again
I've been ignited and then uninvited
So honey, you break it up, I'm gonna put it back together again
I just thought you should know, my darlin', before we begin
I'm not a virgin anymore
Oh, sir, I'm sorry
I'm sorry
Do you get the gist of the song now?
10 Hey Pretty (03:45)
Well it's 3 am I'm out here riding again
Through the wicked, winding streets of my world
I make a wrong turn, break it
Now i'm too far gone
I've got a siren on my tail
And that ain't the fine I'm lookin for
I see a stairway so I follow it down
Into the belly of a whale where my secrets echo all around
You know me now, but to do better than that
You got to follow me
Boy I'm trying to show you where I'm at
Hey pretty, don't you wanna take a ride with me
Through my world
Hey pretty, don't you wanna kick and slide
Through my world
Well I got a mind full of wicked designs
I got a non-stop hole in my head-imagination
I'm in a building that has 2000 floors
And when they all fall down
I think you know it's you they're fallin for
I can't forget I am my sole architect
I built the shadows here
I built the growlin voice I fear
You add it up, but to do better than that
You got to follow me
Boy I'm trying to show you where i'm at
Hey pretty, don't you wanna take a ride with me
Through my world
Hey pretty, don't you wanna kick and slide
Through my world
Hey pretty, my pretty baby
Rock it through my world
Hey pretty, my pretty baby
Rock it through my world
Hey now can't you feel me longing
(do you get the gist of this song now)
Hey now can't you feel me
Feel me
Hey pretty, hey pretty, hey pretty baby
Don't you wanna take a ride with me
Don't you wanna take a ride with me
My baby
Don't you wanna take a ride with me
My pretty baby
My baby
Don't you wanna
Rock it through my world
Don't you wanna take a ride with me
My baby
Don't you wanna
My baby
Don't you wanna take a ride with me
12 Could've Gone Mad (05:21)
I'm so glad that you decided to come
Go ahead make yourself comfortable darlin'
I've got a proposition for you
There's a room available inside of my heart
And I hope it will be taken by you
You can bring whatever you wanna bring baby
Each and everyone of your friends
And if you want a dog or a big bullfrog
Hell I've even got room for them
I'm so glad you decided to come
Another day and I could've gone mad
Another day and it might've gotten bad
Another day and I might have betrayed
Every scruple I have
You cause in me an impossible craving
That cannot be denied
If I decided to make you my religion
I think God would be kind
So I made a wish on a million of her stars
And registered your name on a few
That way if you forget who you are
You can look up and see a picture of you
I'm so glad you decided to come
Another day and I could've gone mad
Another day and it might've gotten bad
Another day and I might have betrayed
Every scruple I have I'm so glad you decided to come
Another day and I could've gone mad
Another day and it might've gotten bad
Another day and I might have betrayed
Every scruple
I have to keep a hold of myself
Is that really you or is it someone else
I swear it looks just like him
I wonder can he see what a state I'm in
Like a broken bridge
I gotta swing on him like a jungle gym
Father: I've been inside her house
I've experienced her madness
And I rejected the entire experience
Another day and I could've gone mad
Another day and it might've gotten bad
Another day and I might have betrayed
Every scruple I have I'm so glad you decided to come
Another day and I could've gone mad
Another day and it might've gotten bad
Another day and I might have betrayed
Every scruple
13 Lemon Meringue (03:22)
(man talking)
I call this song Lemon Meringue.
Hah, that was a bad joke, eh?
But this, this will be a good song.
Hold on, you gotta wait just a minute
See the cookie jar with my hand caught in it
Just let me try to explain
You know I've been a good girl but I've hit a limit
I know there's not a lot of logic in it
But my life's feeling to me
(like lemon)
Sometimes it tastes so bitter (lemon)
I gotta make it sweeter
Stop right there before I get bitter (bitter)
There's got to be a better way
There's got to be a way to make it sweeter (sweeter)
Little more like lemon meringue
So, the other day would of found me a lover
Had a little hussle down under the covers
It was delicious to me
Can't you see me there daydreaming of a future?
Oh my God, I painted such a pretty picture
My prince, he never got back to me
(like lemon)
Sometimes it tastes so bitter (lemon)
I gotta make it sweeter
Stop right there before I get bitter (bitter)
There's got to be a better way
There's got to be a way to make it sweeter (sweeter)
Little more like lemon meringue (like lemon)
Like lemon
Stop right there before I get bitter (bitter)
There's got to be a better way
There's got to be a way to make it sweeter (sweeter)
Little more like lemon meringue
Bitter, sweeter, like lemon
Sweeter, bitter, like lemon
There's got to be a way to make it sweeter (sweeter)
Little more like lemon meringue
14 Spanish Doll (04:52)
This place feels so unfamiliar
And yet I know it well
I think I used to belong here
But the only way I can tell
Is that I miss you still
And I cannot find you here
You left me tattered and torn
Just like that sweet Spanish doll
(Sweet Spanish sweet Spanish... doll)
I went down to the alley way
(Sierra la Bonita )
And found that you were gone
(si nunca te fueras [if you never left])
You left no word no message
I still don't know exactly what went wrong
(lagrima [tear])
But now no matter where I go
I always seem to return
(buscame [look for me])
To where you left me tattered and torn
(estoy rompida mi muñeca [I am broken my sweet doll])
Just like that sweet Spanish doll
(Sweet spanish sweet spanish...doll)
A memory gilded in red and gold
(de oro [of gold])
Beauty guarded and never sold
(cuidame [protect me])
I keep it with me wherever I go
And I love you still
(recuerdame [remember me])
No matter how a story will unfold
You know I always will
(esta conmigo [it is with me])
Have part of you here
In this souvenir - Spanish doll
A stranger in this world without you
Is all that I can ever be
All I know that's pure and clear
You left it with me here
In this souvenir
Spanish, Spanish, Spanish, Spanish
Doll
Father:
We hear of a lovely daughter, shot down in her mistaken flight, unaware yet of how her life will be affected by this experience.
Daughter:
How come it's a house of leaves?
15 House of Leaves (01:48)
Spanish schoolteacher: WELL, NOW AFTER ALL THAT
THINKING, WOULDN'T IT BE FINE IF
WE COULD TAKE A LITTLE TRIP? WE WILL DO IT. I
KNOW A GAME WE ALL LIKE TO PLAY
INSIDE LA CASA--THE HOUSE. WE WILL PLAY HIDE AND
SEEK.
Daughter:
I can hear myself; I'm somewhere in there....What's
happening? DADDY?
Mother:
Nobody's home...NOBODY'S HOME....
Father:
I thought he was dead
Daughter:
Where are you?
Father:
Dead.
[DAUGHTER CRYING.]
{Father: (soft) I WASN'T SURE IF I'M GOING
TO SURVIVE THIS HORROR....}
Brother: NO ONE SHOULD (fading) BRAVE THE
UNDERWORLD ALONE.
French song ("DOMINIQUE"):
Mother and Father:
Dominique, nique, nique
S'en allait tout simplement
Routier pauvre et chantant
En tous chemins, en tous lieux
Il ne parle que du bon Dieu
Il ne parle que du bon Dieu
Father:
Try now to take the next step.
[RING.]
Father:
You sing very well Annie.
[RING.]
Mother:
Hello? HELLO?
Daughter:
MOM?
16 Amazed (06:23)
It's amazing to me,
I can't seem to say what I'm doing here,
My tounge is all twisted around the air,
I'm looking for words that were so well rehearsed,
But I can't find them anywhere.
With you, there's no easy answer it's true,
You change the equation I add up to,
And all of the things that I thought I knew,
You turn it around...
I'm amazed,
When push comes to shove what I'd give to you-
Everything.
I'm amazed,
The hallways I wouldn't mind crawling through,
And I'd do it for days and for days.
I'm amazed, I'm amazed,
I'm amazed, I'm amazed,
The places you're taking me to.
Wait, I thought I had this down.
I built all my cages and my hideout.
And I, I covered all my bases,
I locked the door,
I shut all my windows,
But you, you're creeping like a whisper it's true,
I try not to listen, yeah, but I hear you.
I'm not really sure just what it is you do,
But do it again...
I'm amazed,
When push comes to shove what I'd give to you-
Everything.
I'm amazed,
The walls that I wouldn't mind crashing through,
And I'd do it for days and for days.
I'm amazed, I'm amazed,
I'm amazed, I'm amazed.
And all of the things I know you have done,
This time I think that we've really won.
The tables have turned,
Now I'm taking my hat off to you.
Said we'll see...
Darling it's all clear to me.
I'm amazed...
And here in the foyer the hallway is small
I don't really think it's a hallway at all
It's a maze
Johnny your suitcase was finally received
She's packed up her things and she's ready to leave
It's amazing
All of the ink that was bled from your hands
Has painted a picture that she understands
It's amazing
And here by the ocean the sky's full of leaves
And what they can tell you depends on what you believe
The ash is a tree and the voices were three
And all that is gone is here sweeping through me
It's amazing
It's a maze
The voice of my father still loud as before
It used to scare me but not anymore
It's a maze
Father :
What is it Annie
Daughter:
I miss you
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