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The Handsome Family — Far From Any Road
Album: Singing Bones
Avg rating:
7.7

Your rating:
Total ratings: 2745









Released: 2003
Length: 2:44
Plays (last 30 days): 2
From the dusty mesa, her looming shadow grows
Hidden in the branches of the poison creosote.

She twines her spines up slowly towards the boiling sun,
And when I touched her skin, my fingers ran with blood.

In the hushing dusk, under a swollen silver moon,
I came walking with the wind to watch the cactus bloom.

A strange hunger haunted me; the looming shadows danced.
I fell down to the thorny brush and felt a trembling hand.

When the last light warms the rocks and the rattlesnakes unfold,
Mountain cats will come to drag away your bones.

And rise with me forever across the silent sand,
And the stars will be your eyes and the wind will be my hands.
Comments (138)add comment
 Steely_D wrote:

Man, that Season 1 of True Detective was such an amazing thing. If you haven't, go watch it immediately. A great experience.




Updating the comment on True Detective - Season 4 might (just by a whisker) be better than Season 1. Jodie Foster just KILLZ it!
 Dragonfly_Launch wrote:
Well, damn that's good.
 
Exactly what I was thinking this chilly autumn morning in the northwest...
 mandolin wrote:

...reminds me of nick cave and the bad seeds...


Reminds me of Nancy Sinatra and Lee Hazlewood   Summer Wine-i think
Hillbilly Moon Explosion - My Love Forevermore.

I realize this song reminds everyone of a different song but this is the one I hear. Realizing it came afterward of course.
Well, damn that's good.
I love the shit out of this song and band.
Love the David Lynch-esque soundtrack vibe this delivers
Delicious, lush soundtrack. Thanks for sharing RP. X
 idiot_wind wrote:

sounds like billy bragg 




I get it moves you like billy bragg. But in what sense does this remind you of bragg?
sounds like billy bragg 
 JimboLD wrote:
True Detective



Introduced the the Handsome Family through True Detective. Two artistic offerings in one.
This song reminds me so much of The Hillbilly Moon Explosion's - 'My Love For Evermore' which has a killer video btw.
 thewiseking wrote:

another hipster act riffing on Lee Hazlewood's sound. Edward Sharpe jumped on that too



and?
They are featured in the incredible and beautiful and unusual film "Searching for the Wrong Eyed Jesus," as are a number of other amazing artists. That is where I discovered them. I have seen the film several times (I own it). Might be time to revisit it again! If you can find it, watch it! One the most beautifully unique films I have ever seen.
another hipster act riffing on Lee Hazlewood's sound. Edward Sharpe jumped on that too
 igotitmade2k wrote:

Are we watching a David Lynch movie?




hope so!
3 Doll by Doll albums - Remember, Doll by Doll, Gypsy Blood.  Played w/ U2 early on.  Can hear Jackie's influence on Bono
The male singer sounds remarkably like Jackie Levin - lead singer for the 80s band Doll by Doll.  Jackie does it a bit better, but the similarity in baritone style is uncanny!
Are we watching a David Lynch movie?
Whoops! My comment went to the wrong song!

There, fixed: 

"Oh yes! Used to hear these folks on Boot Liquor Radio until RP's sound quality left them in the dust! Bravo!"
 lewisv66 wrote:

Reminds me of "Summer Wine"


I don't think it sounds like Frank Sinatra at all....... oh you said wine,,,,,, never mind,,, that's different. 
Reminds me of "Summer Wine"
ok 3 depressing songs in a row, all we need next is Hurt sung by Johnny Cash. Careful with that axe, Eugene 😬
Nicely macabre :o)
 DippingSauce wrote:
I actually saw these two + their band in Rotterdam a few years ago. It was very very very obvious that by now they really didn't like to play this song anymore but that they kind of hád to. There was some talk about selling their soul to HBO as well haha...

Great song nonetheless!
 
Look after the king of R n R please 
Really annoying güira.
I actually saw these two + their band in Rotterdam a few years ago. It was very very very obvious that by now they really didn't like to play this song anymore but that they kind of hád to. There was some talk about selling their soul to HBO as well haha...

Great song nonetheless!
 Steely_D wrote:
Man, that Season 1 of True Detective was such an amazing thing. If you haven't, go watch it immediately. A great experience.
 
Absolutely 
 jayhamiljr wrote:
Would love to hear more from this band in the rotation.  They have a mesmerizing sound. 
 

Oh god yes , this station has turned me onto so much wonderful music 
Would love to hear more from this band in the rotation.  They have a mesmerizing sound. 
 mandolin wrote:
...reminds me of nick cave and the bad seeds...
 
With a gypsy twist?
“I don’t sleep. I just dream.”
Time is a flat circle .
 Steely_D wrote:
Man, that Season 1 of True Detective was such an amazing thing. If you haven't, go watch it immediately. A great experience.
 
Right up until they found the killer - that part seemed like a  cop-out. Creepy, but a cop-out.
Today too tired to sing? A day off would have been been a netter choice..
Man, that Season 1 of True Detective was such an amazing thing. If you haven't, go watch it immediately. A great experience.
 Deni123 wrote:
no one hears Cave's Summer wine?
 
Yes definitely. But that would be Lee Hazelwood and Nancy Sinatra's Summerwine I guess.
no one hears Cave's Summer wine?
Very under-rated band. 
True Detective
This male singer sounds exactly like Jackie Leven on the Doll by Doll albums!  It's uncanny!  When Doll by Doll was pretty much disintegrated, Jackie Leven released "their" last album - Grand Passion.  Jackie Leven had brought a pretty young female singer into the mix to do a lot of duet type stuff (never a good sign - just call her Yoko) - but there were no singer credits on the album cover except Jackie and the producer (another bad sign). David Gilmour from Pink Floyd actually played on this album. It's got some decent music on it and then some really weird and ill-conceived stuff too.  But this band - The Handsome Family - reminds me so much of Jackie Leven and this song has a lot of the same type of interplay between male and female singers like the Grand Passion album did.  For those not familiar with Doll by Doll, check them out.  They are contemporaries of early U2 and did some shows with them before U2 hit the big time.  "Main Traveled Roads" is one of my favorite songs by them, but their first three albums are the best, with their first, "Remember" being the most raw ("Butcher Boy" is the standout tune on this record).  Worth the journey through the first three albums - The album named "Doll by Doll" is my favorite.  Skip Grand Passion (at least don't pay for it) and their live album is rough (a couple of cuts from it available on itunes) but this live album is not a good representation of their genius - obviously scraped together post mortem.  It's a shame that their three studio albums are not available on itunes.  I found Gypsy Blood on CD, but the others are probably vinyl only.  Quite a few of their songs on YouTube

Be prepared for some bizarre 80s content here.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doll_by_Doll

https://www.trakmarx.com/2007_02/09_doll.html

Sometimes I look back and look at what I write on this site. I chuckle, wonder , and then say man, that was a while ago. Seemed like yesterday. 

 

Posted: Jun 26, 2014 - 14:05

 < Reply | Edit | Delete >

 TampaPurple wrote:


So some pop culture is ok, as long as you can feel smug and hipsterish about those elements you choose not to consume?
 
Awesome,,,,,,,,,I watched TV once and my eyes fell out.
This song was playing in the background though and it was great 
Kinda fun in a Tex Mex way. Edward Sharpe style. Ambient. 
 On_The_Beach wrote:
https://media2.giphy.com/media/vaG6cg6OhyY7u/200_s.gif

 
I did introduce him to my kitchen chair; they were an item for awhile. The  chair complained Clint talked too much.
First heard this from True Detective - an awesome mini series and fabulous song.
Fresh Air interview : https://www.npr.org/2016/09/19/494551824/for-the-handsome-family-music-is-a-safe-place-to-express-terrifying-things
I like the Lera Lynn cover of this song better than the original. 
 hanssachs wrote:
Somehow this loses a little more charm with every hearing ... meh.

 
Well this is my first listen and I'd say it's got a whole hell of a lot of charm to lose.  
Somehow this loses a little more charm with every hearing ... meh.
take my money!
Bill, where do you find this stuff? You are a master!!!
 
Oh, I love this song. 
It set the mood for true detective perfectly.

And while I am the biggest Leonard Cohen fan there is - for season 2 Lera Lynn did a much better job. Still don't understand why Bill does not include her epic "the only thing worth fighting for"....

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t4DGErlBrI4

 msymmes wrote:
Did T Bone produce this?  

 
No it was self produced back in 2003 by the band.
T bone would have picked it for the show though..
 msymmes wrote:
Did T Bone produce this?  

 
No it was self produced back in 2003 by the band.
T bone would have picked it for the show though.. 
Love this song, first heard at True Detective S.1.
This is really growing on me
 
 BBoyes wrote:
OK, here's the soundtrack. Where's the movie?

 
True Detective season 1.
Did T Bone produce this?  
OK, here's the soundtrack. Where's the movie?
Tex-mex Gothic? Certainly not Spaghetti Western as it's got lyrics. Never having watched True Detective (wossat?) this is the first time I've heard this number, and it's rather fun.
The vocal sounds like Iggy Pop. Sounds good to me.
Radio Paradise is reading my mind...been watching True Detective S1, and this tune has been going around in my head all morning...Great song, great series, great title sequence!
ya , love this one   ,, didn't finish second season
 On_The_Beach wrote:
https://media2.giphy.com/media/vaG6cg6OhyY7u/200_s.gif

 
... wrong family ... he is part of the Ugly family
https://media2.giphy.com/media/vaG6cg6OhyY7u/200_s.gif
I wanted to embed this video but can't pull it off.  Anyway, is the True Detective credits version of Star Wars - it's worth the click.

https://youtu.be/NJyUhoLx-qE
The Handsome Family, my town's best kept music secret. Love 'em. I once read a description of their music as the June Carter Cash family meets the Addams Family.
 secretsauce wrote:

I agree.  And I'm enjoying this season as well.   (Although this season's theme song doesn't grab me like this one.)

 
I enjoyed First season music more as well as the show.

 Gatak wrote:

I don't agree : this show was awesome !
 
I agree.  And I'm enjoying this season as well.   (Although this season's theme song doesn't grab me like this one.)
 leonardoferri wrote:
Very good song! The best part of True Detective (season 1), for sure ;)

 
I don't agree : this show was awesome !
 hayduke2 wrote:
kick-ass music, like a sarcastic spaghetti western theme played in an Indiana junk yard by wayward Nick Cave imitators; 8+

 
said that last year? still fits
 blotto wrote:

  helgigermany wrote:
What kind of music is this?
 
drinking moonshine and driving towards the sunset with the top down music.
  and eclectic - I just turned it up & noticed the mariachi trumpets - never heard that before despite listening on many previous occasions.
Love this & the Nice Cave song preceding it.
Very good song! The best part of True Detective (season 1), for sure ;)
Interesting and pleasant
 Proclivities wrote: 
That's hilarious!  {#Roflol}
This is unbelievable:

https://www.artofthetitle.com/title/true-detective/

  helgigermany wrote:
What kind of music is this?

 
drinking moonshine and driving towards the sunset with the top down music.
Me likey like, very much
Saw them the other day in a small venue, pretty damn good!
{#Cowboy}{#Dance} 
  first time for my ears....love it!  ..rattlesnakes, gold, tex mex rhythms...classy country duet vocals...mmmm nice one!  {#Cowboy} {#Cowboy}
 helgigermany wrote:
What kind of music is this?

  Swamp garage band? They featured it on True Detective. Amazing music!


 helgigermany wrote:
What kind of music is this?

  Spaghetti Western, only really really good.


...reminds me of nick cave and the bad seeds...
 helgigermany wrote:
What kind of music is this?

 
The good, the bad and the ugly kind, I would say. The clint eastwood kind.  Two gun slingers squaring off while a secretly devastated saloon girl watches.  Spare, independent, coolly suggestive.  
 helgigermany wrote:
What kind of music is this?

 
The good kind? But seriously, I'm not sure, but I might classify it as Alternative Country, Alternative Folk or Americana. I like that it can't be easily pigeon-holed.
 helgigermany wrote:
What kind of music is this?

 
um... "bad"?  Yes, it is the "bad" kind of music.
What kind of music is this?
 Proclivities wrote: 
BWAHAHAHAHHAahaha...trump card played.
Again so soon? Ah, never mind, I love this song.
I like the '60's retro feel of this song...
 dickthespic wrote:
Fortunatly I've been listening to this for years ,didn't need an American tv series to intoduce me to the Handsome Family.
Great song and a couple who have kept me company all these televisionless years.

 
Area Man Constantly Mentioning He Doesn't Own A Television

Cool tune.

 Egrey wrote:

This song is great.  It matched the tone and feel of True Detective perfectly.  For what it's worth, this song contributed to what I think is the best opening credits of any TV show or Movie that I have seen.  You saw that opening, heard that song and realized that HBO and Co. were about to show you something quite special.

Thanks for playing it RP. 

 Well there's some stiff competition for that title. Think True Blood, Treme, The Wire, Sopranos and The Bridge (original). All top notch tunes.

 Thanks for the upload eyeball! Great sultry, melancholic tune from an incredible, if extremely dark, dramatic series (True Dectective on HBO.)

eyeball wrote:
The best upload I've ever contributed to the RP Universe.

Couldn't believe it wasn't already in the stream...

Love this show!

 


Haunting tune given the association - what great drama.

I need more of the smallest cowbell


eyeball wrote:
Rust Cohle: I think human consciousness, is a tragic misstep in evolution. We became too self-aware, nature created an aspect of nature separate from itself, we are creatures that should not exist by natural law. We are things that labor under the illusion of having a self; an accretion of sensory, experience and feeling, programmed with total assurance that we are each somebody, when in fact everybody is nobody. Maybe the honorable thing for our species to do is deny our programming, stop reproducing, walk hand in hand into extinction, one last midnight, brothers and sisters opting out of a raw deal.

 
Enjoyed this show for the great writing , lines like the one above ,,, and characters ,, how does the show end? Something about "darkness is winning ,,, and Rusty? says ,,,,  look at it this way ,, before there was no light''
This song is great.  It matched the tone and feel of True Detective perfectly.  For what it's worth, this song contributed to what I think is the best opening credits of any TV show or Movie that I have seen.  You saw that opening, heard that song and realized that HBO and Co. were about to show you something quite special.

Thanks for playing it RP. 
Family Circus of death
 birdiestobehad wrote:

I sense that someone feels superior....................................



 
Probably just compensation
 Kaisersosay wrote:

Awesome,,,,,,,,,I watched TV once and my eyes fell out.
This song was playing in the background though and it was great 

 
+ 1
I don't watch cable because of the commercials and the crap content. I watch only shows that I want to watch, commercial free… just like my beloved RP! Whether it be Netflix or watching online, I think this is the way of the future... But I could be wrong. That said, HBO's True Detective is an amazing show, for both its writing and production… not to mention incredible performances and characterizations!

And the theme song is so stirring and powerful!
I'm quite happy that it's now being played here... 

Thank you Bill & Rebecca and Radio Paradise! 
 TampaPurple wrote:

So some pop culture is ok, as long as you can feel smug and hipsterish about those elements you choose not to consume?
 
Awesome,,,,,,,,,I watched TV once and my eyes fell out.
This song was playing in the background though and it was great 
 dickthespic wrote:
Fortunatly I've been listening to this for years ,didn't need an American tv series to intoduce me to the Handsome Family.
Great song and a couple who have kept me company all these televisionless years.

 
So some pop culture is ok, as long as you can feel smug and hipsterish about those elements you choose not to consume?
 birdiestobehad wrote:

I sense that someone feels superior....................................



 
Seconded. 
I miss Rusty Cole
 dickthespic wrote:
Fortunatly I've been listening to this for years ,didn't need an American tv series to intoduce me to the Handsome Family.
Great song and a couple who have kept me company all these televisionless years.

 

I sense that someone feels superior....................................


Not my cup of tea. Maybe I should be drinking something else?  {#Drunk}
Love this song, and love True Detective {#Crown}
 Stave wrote:


 
{#Roflol}{#Clap}

I had a boss who loved Family Circus. She'd been raised in a Catholic household and had entirely bought into its company line. If someone in authority--her boss, the President, the Church--had a position on something, Lisa would parrot it. (How she handled all the pedophilia scandals of the Church and coverups by Church fathers, I'll never know).

Family Circus was not only enjoyable for her, it was prescriptive in its depiction of a wholesome way of life. Her brain would have melted if she'd ever seen your version of Family Circus. I hope someone dropped some LSD into Lisa's coffee one day, just to shake her out of her thumb-sucking blinkered outlook. 


 CCinSB wrote:
True Detective! Great show and song.

  
Just may have to check the show out. I've watched some episodes of "Justified" and it's good but not great so far. 



Fortunatly I've been listening to this for years ,didn't need an American tv series to intoduce me to the Handsome Family.
Great song and a couple who have kept me company all these televisionless years.

Rust Cohle: I think human consciousness, is a tragic misstep in evolution. We became too self-aware, nature created an aspect of nature separate from itself, we are creatures that should not exist by natural law. We are things that labor under the illusion of having a self; an accretion of sensory, experience and feeling, programmed with total assurance that we are each somebody, when in fact everybody is nobody. Maybe the honorable thing for our species to do is deny our programming, stop reproducing, walk hand in hand into extinction, one last midnight, brothers and sisters opting out of a raw deal.
If the only thing keeping a person decent is the expectation of divine reward then, brother, that person is a piece of sh*t. And I’d like to get as many of them out in the open as possible. You gotta get together and tell yourself stories that violate every law of the universe just to get through the goddamn day? What’s that say about your reality?


  
my baby likes this tune and "True detective", and I love my baby <3
 n4ku wrote:
Reminds me a bit of Nancy Sinatra and Lee Hazlewood.

That's a good thing.

 
+1

Good call.
love that t bone
amazing show, fantastic music
We didn't get the female vocal portion on True Detective - she's ok but not as interesting as the male vocalist(s) - I'm thinking there must be more than one.
for a second there, i thought i left True Detective on. theme song. kickass series, kickass music.