Blue skies, the Dutch over Brazil in World Cup soccer, and Edward Sharpe & the Magnetic Zeros tonight at the Lobero Theater in Santa Barbara.  Life can’t get much better.

Ah, but it can.  Tomorrow begins the Tour de France, what many consider the Greatest Show on Earth.   We concur, though the World Cup is making a strong play for that title.  This year Lance Armstrong goes for his last turn of the French countryside against his arch-nemesis and former teammate, Alberto Contador of Spain, the Brothers Schleck from Luxembourg, Bradley Wiggins of England, and countless other contenders (including a host of “Eastern Bloc” athletes that have spent good amounts of money and risked their lives to get the good stuff coursing through their veins).  It’s going to be great.  Perhaps in homage of the anticipated Dutch performance in the World Cup, the Tour will begin tomorrow with a Prologue in Rotterdam, Netherlands.  You can find coverage on the Versus Channel and all over the inter-web.

Le Tour has always captured the attention of artists throughout the world, including musicians.  And so we give you two songs that pay homage to the Tour de France, the first only tangentially and the second wholly.

The first is Camera Talk from the loquacious Local Natives.  In the lyrics below, the band points their camera briefly on the Tour before moving on to examine the merits of travel, with its sensory-overload.  Local Natives deliver a driving, harmony-laden song, with a stellar time-change chorus.  Coming to SoHo in Santa Barbara on September 20th.  Highly recommended, along with their critically acclaimed debut record, “Gorilla Manor.”

Local Natives–Camera Talk (emphasis added)

“We’re running through the aisles
of the churches still in style
does this city have a curfew?
don’t you know it’s good to see you too

The riders on the Champs-Elysees
we are the tourists in the cafes
we drank our wine along the river
not believing where we were at all

It’s alright, the camera is talking
and even though i can’t be sure
memory tells me that these times are worth working for

The buffalo in Catalina
the colored stones and troop leaders
the voices of the canopy singers
ensured that we wouldn’t sleep for long

I knew this would be the part
my plane’s arrival catches me off guard
we’ll all be leaving with a broken heart
wallets empty and we’re back at start

It’s alright, the camera is talking
and even though i can’t be sure
memory tells me that these times are worth working for

The cistern is not even full
the sister is naughty
the cistern in not even”

Local Natives–Camera Talk

[audio:https://www.thelefortreport.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/02-Camera-Talk1.mp3|titles=02 Camera Talk]

Next up is a more explicit homage from the seminal German techno-band, Kraftwerk.  We give you their Tour de France single, first released in 1983.  The song includes sampled voices and sounds of cycling to mesh with a melody allegedly borrowed from the opening theme of Paul Hindemith’s “Sonata for Flute and Piano.”  The melodic song was a departure from the techno tone of Kraftwerk’s prior work and was meant to be a celebration of cycling.   The record cover design depicted the band in a paceline against an angled replica of the French flag.

Kraftwerk–Tour de France

[audio:https://www.thelefortreport.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/12-Tour-de-France.mp3|titles=12 Tour de France]