Last week I went to the best bar in the world (The Hideout in Chicago, if you’re interested) to see the fabulous Flat Five perform. They’re a band of local musical luminaries and friends who only perform once a year at the Hideout. The Flat Five includes two incredible singers in Kelly Hogan and Nora O’Connor and Scott Ligon (of NRBQ) on guitar and keyboards.
It was a truly wonderful show and my favorite part came when they performed three songs from Harry Nilsson’s The Point! If you’re not familiar with The Point, it’s a cartoon about the adventures of Oblio and his dog Arrow in the Land of Point. The song “Me And My Arrow” was a minor hit and came from the soundtrack to that program.
I have a special love of The Point! My grade school purchased a 16mm print of it and herded the whole school down into the basement once a year (usually when they were using the gym as a polling place) and showed us the film. I guess they bought the film because of its message that we’re all the same despite our superficial differences and that we should all live together in harmony. I just loved the music and the animation.
At any rate I’ve had songs from The Point! running through my head all week so I’ve got to do something about it.
In 2009 an album came out called Songs From The Point! which featured wonderful covers of the songs from the soundtrack. In a way it’s a little disappointing since I’d dearly love to put together a cover tribute to The Point! since I had so much fun doing the Zappa tribute. Maybe I can still do that if enough artists are willing to contribute. In the meantime enjoy these songs from the 2009 tribute album.
Devotchka “Everything’s Got ‘Em” (Harry Nilsson)
One of the cool things about the soundtrack of The Point is that there’s a melodic theme that ties all the songs together. The folks in Devotchka keep a faint echo of that melody but then start layering on exotic instruments to give the song a feel somewhere between a Turkish bazaar and a Bollywood musical.
Sex Mob and Catherine Russell “Poli High” (Harry Nilsson)
Here we have the story of Oblio and his dog Arrow playing Triangle Toss (the national game of the Land of Point) against the son of the Evil Count. The Flat Five absolutely rocked on this song. They had me jumping up and down and making a fool of myself. You probably don’t want to be next to me when a band plays a song I love. This is a pretty danceable version right here.
Andrew Bird “Think About Your Troubles” (Harry Nilsson)
In true Andrew Bird fashion this song starts off very slow and quiet and then builds up a decent head of steam. I always liked this song because of the way it tells us that the ocean is salty because of all the tears that have have washed into it.
Dawn Landes “Lifeline” (Harry Nilsson)
Ms. Hogan and Ms. O’Connor broke out some heartbreakingly beautiful harmonies on this one at the Flat Five show. The pedal steel guitar is so very sad on this version it makes me want to weep.
Nathaniel Rateliff and The Wheel “Are You Sleeping” (Harry Nilsson)
This is my very favorite song from The Point! You really didn’t want to be next to me when they played this one. This version is a little low-key for my taste. To my ear it seems to emphasize the sadness and nostalgia of the song at the expense of the love, hope and commitment.