12:05 AM

So I'm officially obssessed with the song "Brazil". My friends and I got hooked after hearing the Arcade Fire do a cover, 18 months ago. Two days later and I had downloaded Geoff Muldaur's version that's used in Terry Gilliam's great film of the same name. I was familiar with the track, but had never really realized the magnitude of its awesomeness. The sky-sailing guitar track, the whistling, the muted latin drums... it's like a summer breeze, a multicoloured kite. Muldaur's vocals are overdramatic and silly, plump as a pompadour. The rolled r's are tropical birds, the guy who jumps in with "thrills" (?) is like a flying-fish that pops out of the ocean. The off-key, tuba-farting finale seals the deal, demands another listen.

See that? It's so amazing awesome that I'm comparing rolled r's to toucans.

Cornelius did a nice, chill version on Point - sort of a laptop interpretation - and I've also grabbed James Last's bland electric guitar version. Last's cover is instrumental, which was disappointing to me at the time... this past week, I finally scored a recording of the Xavier Cugat original, from which all other "Brazil"s followed. It's surprisingly mediocre - basically big band samba, but the groovy, ghostly choir definitely hints at the direction Muldaur takes it in. To my astonishment, though, it too is instrumental - I had always assumed the vocals had been passed down from the original, not that they were Muldaur innovations. Did he really make them up? Or did somebody in between add lyrics?

The newest addition to the "Brazil" collection is a Benny Goodman recording, with Django Reinhardt and Charlie Christian (I think). The clarinet lead carries the melody really well, and the soloing's absolutely solid. Sooner or later, I'll be able to make a "Brazil" mix CD, and I will be able to commit seppuku a happy man.