Talk:Devendra Banhart

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Bob Stanley of Saint Etienne was raving about Vashti Bunyan when Devendra was in diapers so that should be re-rediscovered.

[edit] Image status

This image appears to be copyrighted, per the caption: © Laurent Orseau . It needs to be attributed on the image description page. I found a link to where it comes from that the uploader must have found: http://lorseau.hinah.com/gallery.php?c=pzic&s=concert&g=devendrabanhartgp&p=1&im=10 --149.169.60.160 04:51, 21 February 2006 (UTC)

from Laurent Orseau: the uploader is me, the photographer. so i allow wikipedia to use this image

[edit] Lyrics

The article says "his lyrics are often surreal and naturalistic." Perhaps one or two illustrations would be in order, especially since many people will find surrealism and naturalism to be odd companions. Also, might this not be an overly broad use of "surrealism"? Perhaps it would be better simply to say his lyrics are "obscure," "metaphorical" or "enigmatic"? I just read the lyrics for some randomly selected songs. In "Be Kind," "Gentle Soul," "Inaniel," "korean Dogwood," "Ones," "Miss Cain," "Queen Bee" I saw nothing that was surreal. "Legless Love" and "Surgery I Stole" do have lyrics that might be considered surreal.Interlingua 13:44, 27 March 2006 (UTC)

"Hose down the dead before they die, before they die Hose down the dead before they die, before they die Who do you hear a dying fire a dying fire Oh can you feel a golden soul one golden soul

Now I put the ovaries in my bath And all the dogs will die and The devil will call the cats home And he looks up to the sky

I put the ovaries in my mouth And all the dogs will die The devil will call the cats home And he looks up to the sky

Hose down the dead before they die, before they die" - Those aren't surreal?

The term surreal is not a derivative or surrealism, but rather vice versa. The term surreal is much more fitting than obscure, for example, which is a bit more vague and general than surreal. Surreal, when describing lyrics, gives the implication of obscurity with a sort of mentally destabilizing motive behind it. For instance, if i were to claim that there were eyes in the back of my hands to better see the oranges growing from my face, that would be surreal. Not simply obscure, and definitely not metaphorical. Now, whether it's unncecessary or trite or whatever, is all up to the individual to presume.69.149.82.95 02:10, 16 August 2006 (UTC)blueddha


I think the nature of the lyrics on Cripple Crow should be in this discussion. In a few songs, namely "Little Boy," there are some pedophilic and homosexual themes. Maybe I'm reading them wrong, but that's how they came across to me. Is there any mention of this anywhere? -- Mellesime 05:04, 6 September 2007 (UTC)

Ah, it has been discussed... http://www.stereogum.com/archives/devendra-banhart-not-a-pedophile.html Interesting. -- Mellesime 05:06, 6 September 2007 (UTC)

[edit] The Bridge

He performed at the bridge concert at the shoreline ampitheater in mountain view on sat oct 21, 2006 with a band. The emcee noted that an hour before the concert they didn't have a name, so the emcee recommended "The Bridge" and introduced them as such.

[edit] A Cite For Musical Comparisons

http://www.pitchforkmedia.com/article/record_review/15292/Devendra_Banhart_Oh_Me_Oh_My_

[edit] Worship!

Devendra just said in an interview with a Norwegian newspaper that he worships the Norwegian statue The Little Angry Boy(known in Norwegian as Sinnataggen), and that he spent at least 2 hours a day with a model of it he had in a room in his home. Here's the interview http://www.vg.no/pub/vgart.hbs?artid=174672 (in Norwegian, but it's "evidence" that's it is true... I'm gonna translate it into english if I get the time. Gumdropster 22:03, 10 August 2007 (UTC)

Was Devendra joking? Why does this statue have any significance in his life? —Christopher Mann McKaytalk 22:22, 10 August 2007 (UTC)
He used the words:"I'm a novice in the study of the cult you have around the statue you have here in Oslo." On the question of why he said:"Sinnataggen opens a clear understanding of what it means to be surrounded by flesh and bones, and the macro cosmic. Sinnataggen is our entrance to the microcosmic which is the spirit. The room(where they keep the model of the sculpture) is our sinnataggogue, like a synagogue." He MAY have been joking, but it seems to be VERY him... Plus the newspaper is Norway's biggest newspaper, so they wouldn't need to make up information and interviews. Gumdropster 16:16, 11 August 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Too much about band names and a need for more background info

This seems like an inordinately long section about the band name. Is this really necessary? It would be much more useful to have more personal history about Devendra instead.

Dino213aa (talk) 20:08, 2 January 2008 (UTC)