Alongside DJ Rolando's Knights Of The Jaguar, Beau mot plage remains one of 1999's most seminal Eps. The tune catches the listener's attention from start to finish with its immediate and yet mysterious sound. Undecipherable melodies and catchy bass lines collude in this cross-over techno anthem. As an idea of how good Beau mot plage is, the last record to cast such a spell on listeners the world over was probably Motorbass' 1996 debut Pansoul. A must have. Comes with a rather clumsy but efficient Dj Q remix.... Tigersushi Review
the name beau mot plage is derivative of the composer's memory of a beach he visited in his childhood. i like this piece of music and i also like the idea of revisiting a slightly strange but wonderful memory.
with this idea and some artistic license in mind, i thought i would revisit the one of the first freakshows i visited at the state fairs when i was younger. i have gone to many over the years, but the most memorable for me was the wisconsin state fair in the 1970's. it was probably the most colorful memory of state fairs that i have.
the whole setup seemed so paltry. there wasn't any real showmanship or atmosphere involved. conversely, it seemed an afterthought. the first exhibit was a dingy tent and inside were many jars with cow, snake, sheep, and goat fetuses and skulls, some floating in muddy formaldahide. a 2-hooved goat, a cow with five legs, a snake with 2 heads, etc...
it was not creepy at all, except its lacklustre cheap vibe. that was the smarmiest thing about it. and beyond this first tent, there was another, where there was spider woman. it was a box with a mirror on one end on a table in the middle of the space. the mirror was reflecting a tinier version of some woman's head while it was superimposed onto a spider body. it was so fake it was laughable. and it was so laughable it was heartbreaking. yet, there she was, pretending to have a snake body, and hurling insults to the people waking by.
but the piece-de-resistance to this show of freaks, was the lobster boy. he waa about 25 or so i think, had splotchy ruddy skin, was slightly swollen and overweight, and each hand had the thumb and forefinger connected (by nature) and they looked like a lobster claws. he would hold them up one at a time while he opened and closed them like a pair of tongs, all the while, he discussesd his plight, explaining that it was hereditary, as his mother had the same thing, and talked about the difficulties of growing up with claws. i don't thing i'll ever forget the image of him holding up his malformed digits and speaking frankly, but for dramtic purpose, while i was not sure how to feel.
i know i felt sad, and i felt like laughing, and i felt creeped out. it cemented my love for oddities, freakshows, and diane arbus. it's a memory i will never forget.
today's sound choice is isolee with "beau mot plage"
