Pitchfork Forkcast: Video: St. Vincent: "Paris Is Burning" (live)

Video: St. Vincent: "Paris Is Burning" (live)

On the eve of the release of Marry Me, the debut full-length from St. Vincent, some enterprising souls at the Beggars Group snatched the guitar virtuoso (née Annie Clark) away from her tour with John Vanderslice for an afternoon. Two cameras capture her wonderful, spur-of-the-moment performance of "Paris is Burning", with the Manhattan Bridge Overpass visible in the background, which is spliced with footage shot at Brooklyn's Union Hall. Despite this version's lack of the itinerant electronic décor that marks Marry, Clark-- also known for axe-work with the Polyphonic Spree and Sufjan Stevens' band-- uses her digital dexterity to evoke disquiet dans la Ville-Lumière. As she transforms her guitar into a harpsichord and back again, Clark relates hope for a dispatch from the discordance: "We are waiting on a telegram to give us news of the fall/ I am sorry to report dear Paris is burning after all." Yet although the specifics might seem passé, the closing sentiment could equally suggest more recent class-based clamor: "Dance poor people dance and drown/ Dance fair Paris to the ground."

[Original from Marry Me; due July 10 on Beggars Banquet]

Thu: 05-15-08: 04:15 PM CDT
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