song

“The Rake’s Song” by The Decemberists (2009)

Video | | Paul Greer

“The Decemberists have been a crescendo since their first album, a snowball of sound and fury. This song is the savage crab at their current high water mark. It is LOUD. Listen to it LOUDER. Verily, this is folk rock.”

— 3liza

 

“A stunning animated video for The Rake’s Song by The Decemberists, The Rake’s Song has been made by St.Martins College Of Art students. It was created and directed in Moscow, by Alex Dashino and Varvara Volodina. Alex and Varvara are second year students studying Moving Image at Central Saint Martins College of Art & Design, London. “Any video referencing Baba Yaga, that lovable Russian folktale mainstay, is A+ in my book” Colin Meloy”

“Deutscher Girls” by Adam & The Ants

Video | | Paul Greer

“Deutscher Girls” was inspired by the controversial art film Portiere Di Notte (The Night Porter) by director Liliana Cavani, and starring Dirk Bogarde (after whom Adam and the Ants’ 1979 debut album Dirk Wears White Sox is named) and Charlotte Rampling. The 1974 Italian film featured elements of Nazisploitation; Bogarde plays a former Nazi, and Rampling a former concentration camp inmate. In the song, the roles are reversed.

Lyrics were changed from the original Jubilee version when it was released as a single three years later. The line “So, why did you have to be so Nazi” was changed to “So, why did you have to be so nasty”, and “Camp 49 way down on the Rhine” was changed to “A lover of mine from down on the Rhine”. Adam Ant told Sounds:

“ It’s not about concentration camps. It’s about a guy who falls in love with a girl – a member of the Nazi Youth Organisation. “