Questions
Answers
It is mostly a well-known fact that Rufus has a deep fondness for classical music -- including opera. He professes a particular love for the operatic work of Giuseppe Verdi (1813-1901). He has also expressed interest in composing his own opera piece soon or sometime in the future (and perhaps already is in the midst of doing so).
* "Tommy Tricker and the Stamp Traveller" soundtrack (1988) -- various artists; Rufus contributes I'm A-Runnin' (R. Wainwright).
* "The Myth of Fingerprints" soundtrack (1997, Velvet) -- various artists; Rufus contributes Banks of the Wabash (performed by Paul Dresser; 1997, Velvet Records) and Le Roy D'Ys (Laio (sp?); arranged and performed by Rufus Wainwright; 1997, Velvet Records).
* "Live on KCRW" -- Six song promotional EP given only to press and radio (1998). Live performances of Foolish Love and In My Arms, two interview clips, and the LP version of April Fools.
* "Rufus Wainwright" (1998, DreamWorks) -- Rufus Wainwright; produced by Jon Brion; 12 tracks:
Foolish Love, Danny Boy, April Fools, In My Arms, Millbrook, Baby, Beauty Mark, Barcelona, Matinee Idol, Damned Ladies, Sally Ann, Imaginary Love
There was also a Limited Edition release with a cardboard sleeve.
* "Rufus Wainwright" (1999, DreamWorks); Release in France; includes bonus CD "4 chansons inèdites": A Bit of You (R. Wainwright; 1998, SKG Music ), Moulin Rouge a.k.a La Complainte de la Butte (Jean Renior; 1999, SKG Music), Banks of the Wabash (performed by Paul Dresser; 1997, Velvet Records), Le Roy D'Ys (Laio (sp?); arranged and performed by Rufus Wainwright; 1997, Velvet Records)
* "Big Daddy" soundtrack (1999, American/C2) -- various artists; Rufus contributes Instant Pleasure (Seth Swirsky; DreamWorks.)
* "Moulin Rouge" soundtrack (2001) -- various artists; Rufus contributes La Complainte de la Butte (Jean Renior).
* "Shrek" soundtrack (2001, DreamWorks) -- various artists; Rufus contributes Hallelujah (Leonard Cohen).
* "Poses" (2001, DreamWorks); 12 tracks: Cigarettes and Chocolate Milk, Greek Song, Poses, Shadows, California, The Tower of Learning, Grey Gardens, Rebel Prince, The Consort, One Man Guy, Evil Angel, In A Graveyard
You can listen to the samples of the tracks on his site.
* "Zoolander" soundtrack (2001, Hollywood) -- various artists; Rufus contributes a cover of the Hollies' hit He Ain't Heavy, He's My Brother.
* "I Am Sam" soundtrack (2002, BMG/V2) -- various artists; Rufus covers the Beatles' Across the Universe.
* "Poses" (2002, DreamWorks) -- A re-release of Poses with a bonus track: Across The Universe (Remix)
* "When Love Speaks" (2002, EMI?) -- various artists; a benefit CD of Shakespeare sonnets sung/read by musicians and actors. Rufus performs When, in disgrace with fortune and men's eyes (29). For more info: When Love Speaks Website (flash).
The McGarrigle Sisters (His mother and aunt):
* "Love Over and Over" -- The McGarrigle Sisters (1984, Polydor); Rufus contributes vocals.
* "Heartbeats Accelerating" -- The McGarrigle Sisters (1990, Private Music); Rufus contributes vocals.
* "Songs of the Civil War" -- Various Artists (1991, Columbia/SONY); helps provide vocals on track performed by the McGarrigle Sisters.
* "The McGarrigle Hour" (1998, Hannibal/Ryko) -- The McGarrigle Sisters; Rufus contributes vocals and performs on this family album.
Schooldays, What'll I Do, Heartburn, Goodnight Sweetheart
* "Whoever" (1998, Teenage USA) -- Cecil Seaskull; Rufus contributes recorded background vocals on La Song (C. Seaskull), singing an excerpt from 'La Vie En Rose'.
* "Teddy Thompson" (2000, EMD/Virgin) -- Debut album from artist Teddy Thompson; performs background vocals on Missing Children (Teddy Thompson, Rufus Wainwright) and on So Easy.
* "Madame Xavier" (2001, ?) -- Jordi Rosen; Rufus produces Lilypad Land and Mistletoe, and sings on Three Angels and Mistletoe.
* "Songs From The West Coast" (2001, Universal) -- Elton John; Rufus sings back-up on American Triangle, a song about Matthew Shephard.
* "Restless Night" (2002, 3CrowsMusic) -- Julianna Raye; Rufus co-writes and performs on More Wine. A quote from Betsy: "Rufus wrote the music (which has a Greek Song feel to it) and he and Julianna co-wrote the lyrics. It's a "real" duet - he has solos, they sing together (beautifully, I might add) - and it is a great song. Love the lyrics, love the vibe." (Thanks, Betsy!). More info at the 3CrowsMusic page about Julianna's album (where you can purchase it too.)
You can buy some of these online at: CDNOW, Amazon, or HMV.
* Jon Brion (solo; formerly of the Grays and the Bats) on the album "Rufus Wainwright" (1998). He produced the entire album and performed on every song except In My Arms, Millbrook and Baby.
* Van Dyke Parks (legendary composer/arranger/performer) does some production work on "Rufus Wainwright" (1998); with string arrangement on Foolish Love, Millbrook and Baby.
* Alex Gifford (of Propellerheads) co-wrote and performed on Shadows from "Poses" (2001)
* Jason Falkner (solo; formerly of Jellyfish and the Grays) did session work on "Poses" (2001), according to this site -- however, wasn't creditted!
Some of the songs you might find from an mp3 trading source or elsewhere online, which cannot be found on an album or release, are:
Pre-s/t album: Demo versions of Beauty Mark and Danny Boy and of unreleased songs That Night, The Money Song and Ashes - where Rufus' voice is about an octave higher! He sounds gorgeous. I'm A Runnin' was redone for a later sequel for the film 'Tommy Tricker...'.
Bootlegs of songs (all live): Liberty Cabbage, Nuits De Miami, Little Sister, What Are You Doing New Years Eve (also in GAP 1998 holiday season television advert), Quand Vous Mourez de nos Amours, Two Gold Rings, I'm A-Runnin', Do You Love An Apple?, Gay Messiah, Ups and Downs*, Last Cup of Coffee*, A Rose That Needs Some Water*, London*, Leaving For Paris*, Somewhere Over The Rainbow*, Across The Universe (w. Moby & Sean Lennon for Lennon tribute concert), This Boy (w. Rooney's Robert Schwartzman & Sean Lennon for Lennon tribute concert), Rainbow Crossing**, Shut Down The World**, Angus Dei***, 11:11***, Compliante De La Butte***, Tranquil Rest#, Get Outta Town#, Keep Cool Fool#, In Heaven#
* = Specifically live @ The Knitting Factory (2000).
** = Specifically live @ Park West
*** = Specifically live @ Englewood, NJ. USA.
# = Specifically live @ Sarajevo
(Thanks to Jenny (aka 'cherryjupiter') for help with the live bootlegs, and to Robyn Lee!)
Note: There are also live versions of the latest album's songs but I won't list them as they will have been 'released' - just like the first album's tracks.
* Schooldays (Loudon Wainwright III), What'll I Do (Irving Berlin), Goodnight Sweetheart (Campbell, Connelly, Noble), all w. family members; "McGarrigle Hour" album
* La Complainte de la Butte (Jean Renior); titled Moulin Rouge for s/t bonus album, also for "Moulin Rouge" OST
* What Are You Doing New Year's Eve? (The Carpenters); live, 1998/1999 GAP winter ad.)
* Somewhere Over The Rainbow (E.Y. Harburg and Harold Arlen; performed by Judy Garland); live
* Hallelujah (Leonard Cohen); with Jeff Buckley version lyrics for "Shrek" OST
* One Man Guy (Loudon Wainwright III); "Poses" album
* He Ain't Heavy, He's My Brother (The Hollies); "Zoolander" OST
* Across The Universe (Beatles); live, with Sean Lennon and Moby; and by himself on the "Poses" re-release (remix version) and "I Am Sam" OST.
* This Boy (Beatles); live, with Sean Lennon and Robert Schwartzman
OST = original soundtrack.
Many, many sites. A recommended site (includes unreleased/live/cover songs) is Adrienne's Our Matinee Idol.
Rufus does not have a sheet music book published. However, a fan named Deej (who is in a band called Millbrook) has tabbed many of Rufus' songs in guitar, which you can find here.
'April Fools' (1998) -- directed by Sophie Mueller and filmed in New York. (3:55)
'McGarrigle Hour' video cassette (1999) -- McGarrigle Sisters & Family/Friends perform live @ Montreal's Le Monument National. Rufus performs Hearburn, What'll I Do, Schooldays and Goodnight Sweetheart.
'California' (2001) -- Rufus had injured his knee a few days prior to the filming, hence the shot of him limping with a cane at the end. Martha Wainwright also makes an appearance in the vid.
'Cigarettes & Chocolate Milk' (2001) -- Loveliness. Shots of Rufus at a black grand piano as well as strolling cold, bleak city streets lookin' content and cozy with his huge arse headphones :-)
'Across The Universe' (2002) -- Featuring the child actress from the movie 'I Am Sam' (song is for the soundtrack) and her red balloon. Rufus with his shaggy locks and some weird effects involving a bunch of paintings.
You can view April Fools and California online at Launch.
You can view Cigarettes & Chocolate Milk online with RealPlayer at this link on Rufus' official site.
You can view Across The Universe online at Launch or this link here at UBL.com.
Past
Rufus also briefly appears (at the approximate age of eight) in footage on the '81 video cassette I found in the video archives of my local library, called 'A Portrait of Kate & Anna McGarrigle'. It is directed by Canadian animator Caroline Leaf, a biographical film under the Film Board of Canada. He can be found in scenes with Martha, playing in the backyard of his grandmother Gaby McGarrigle's place in Quebec, crossing the street with his mother and sister, and just hanging out while the family wrote and made music around home. Precious moments include providing frequent little kisses on his mother's cheek.
Another appearance includes "Tommy Tricker and the Stamp Traveller" (1988) where Rufus plays the brief, recurring role of a young singer and performs the song he wrote for the soundtrack (I'm A-Runnin) in the movie.
His songs are mostly autobiographical. A summary by him on his own album songs can be found at: http://www.dreamworksrec.com/rufus/index.html.
As both the McGarrigle and Wainwright clans share the common tradition of penning songs in reference to different family members, it is not surprising to find Rufus the topic of a few songs (and vice versa.)
Some songs about Rufus: (click on song for lyrics)
Rufus is a Tit Man ("Unrequited",1975; Loudon Wainwright III)
First Born ("Dancer With Bruised Knees", 1977; McGarrigle Sisters)
Father/Daughter Dialogue ("Grown Man", 1995; Loudon Wainwright III): Rufus is mentioned.
Laurel & Hardy ("Martha Wainwright" EP, 1999; Martha Wainwright)
I'm Losing You ("Heartbeats Accelerating", 1990; McGarrigle Sisters)
The songs above are specifically for Rufus, as opposed to several songs Loudon has written that chronicle life as a father.
Non-family composed: Take Good Care of the Poor Boy ("Between the Bridges", 1999; Canadian rock combo Sloan)
Songs Rufus has written about family: (click on song for lyrics)
Beauty Mark ("Rufus Wainwright", 1998; Rufus Wainwright): paying homage to his mother Kate.
Two Gold Rings (live song): based on father Loudon III.
Little Sister (live song): dedicated to his sister Martha.
Yes. Millbrook is a private prep high school in upstate New York that Rufus attended.
JoJo Savard is a psychic from Montreal, Quebec who formed her own psychic alliance during the mid-'90s and became notorious for her somewhat cheesy late night informercials across Canada. A couple of years ago she fell to bankruptcy and apparently had gotten thrown into jail for a little while (unsure why exactly.) She still continues to perform psychic work in psychic fairs and the such.
"Rufus Wainwright" (Dreamworks, 1998): You can spot old cut-out photographs of himself and Martha Wainwright when they were very young, and of his parents Loudon Wainwright III and Kate McGarrigle. The colour one at the very back is of himself (he had grown out his hair and facial hair while recording) and I think Jon Brion and Van Dyke Parks.
"Poses" (Dreamworks, 2001): Front of the booklet is Rufus and his mother Kate, and her in the same costume in the CD tray (as I think, 'Edie' from the documentary Grey Gardens?); and him and Jordi Rosen (right) on the back page of the booklet. I'm uncertain of the second woman though! Please tell me if you know!
"Rufus Wainwright" (Dreamworks, 1998):
'Sally Ann' is a slang term for the Salvation Army. 'Schubert' in Imaginary Love refers to Franz Schubert (1797-1828), a classical composer from Vienna who wrote Lieder, symphonies, chamber music, and much more. Matinee Idol is based on late actor River Phoenix who Rufus claimed to have adored: "I identified with his character in Stand By Me and then from there on, it was a big love affair." (Calgary Sun, October 23, 1998). Damned Ladies is based on some of Rufus' favourite ill-fated opera heroines.
Several of the locations (Park, etc.) named in songs are places Rufus in Montreal and New York.
'Robson' (a typo?) in the song Beauty Mark is likely supposed to be Paul Robeson. Corinne Bowmaker (from Raising the Rufus online mailing list) discusses this: "Many people know Paul Robeson as the man who sings "Old Man River" in the original "Showboat" musical. He also sang "Deep River" which is an old spiritual. (Two different songs). I think he was blackballed in
the McCarthy era for a trip he made to Russia to sing and he stated that he'd been treated very well there (perhaps as opposed to the racism present in the States). He lived as an expatriate in Europe."
"Poses" (Dreamworks, 2001):
Sings "Now I'm drunk and wearing flip-flops on fifth avenue..." in 'Poses', is a reference of life while living at the Chelsea Hotel in NYC while writing the album in 1999.
'Evil Angel' was written of a journalist Rufus fell for but was jilted by:
‘Evil Angel’ is an interesting song. It’s actually to do with a journalist who, uh... I was in France at the time and quite delicate... and this guy basically seduced me in Strasbourg... he gave me a tour of the town and it was very romantic, and we did actually make out in the middle of this town square... and then I went and did the show and I never heard from him again. And I just felt incredibly used. I think a lot of it has to do with, once you get into this business, you do have to become some kind of a machine. You do have to be heartless at times and be able to plough through certain situations. I don’t want to totally become that person, but it’s good that I’m thinking about it.*
The basis of 'Grey Gardens' is (yes, the quote at the beginning of the song is from the movie):
‘Grey Gardens’ is presumably based on the famous Maysles brothers documentary [about a mother and daughter living in a dilapidated Long Island mansion]?Well, it’s based on that, but it’s also based on Death In Venice a little bit: it’s like Tatsuo [in Death In Venice] is in Grey Gardens, and I’m kind of Edie [the daughter]. At the time, I think I was on acid or something like that, and it was a very psychedelic time in Montreal in the winter. *
* both quotes/excerpts from Rock's Back Pages.