The former first lady of the Philippines, Imelda Marcos, is perhaps best known for her shoes. 3,000 pairs, paid for on the public dime, were found by the angry mob who rushed her palatial residence after she fled the country in 1986. But forget the Swiss bank accounts, the marriage to a dictator, the political oppression, and her order of exile given to The Beatles at the peak of their career, when they refused to play a private concert for the “Steel Butterfly.”
Marcos launched the "Imelda Collection" of jewelry late in her life. Photo Credit: Pierce Mattie / The Imelda Collection
This juicy stuff isn’t the story David Byrne wanted to tell when he became obsessed with a former beauty queen who had tossed her luggage over to New York City only to become a frequent guest at Studio 54. He saw her as the perfect subject for his vision of a story that could be told through disco.
“Could one, as if by osmosis,” David Byrne wondered aloud, “Absorb an emotional story, a narrative even, in the course of a night out dancing?” The “emotional story” of Marcos’ life that most interested him was the relationship between Marcos and Estrella Cumpas, the woman who raised her, a long-suffering, doting nanny / maid / personal caregiver. And through that relationship, Byrne sought to investigate “what drives a powerful person—what makes them tick?” he wrote. “I thought to myself, wouldn’t it be great if—as this piece would be principally composed of clubby dance music—one could experience it in a club setting? Could one bring a ‘story’ and a kind of theater to the disco? Was that possible? If so, wouldn’t that be amazing!”
The project, originally conceived as a staged opera (and partially staged in Australia in 2005 and New York in 2006), is now going to be released on February 23rd as — get this — a 2-disc boxed set, including a 100-page book and 6 videos. Titled Here Lies Love — the phrase Marcos wanted to be chiseled on her tombstone — it was produced in partnership with those masters of beats, Fatboy Slim, and features a different singer on each of its 22 tracks — including Santigold, Florence Welch (of Florence and the Machine), Byrne himself, and a slew of others. (The full tracklist is below).
Why different singers? There seemed no single lady who could project each side of the ravishing “Steel Butterfly” — as Marcos was called — and so “Each singer more or less epitomizes the emotion and approach to the song,” Byrne wrote.
Pre-order it as a deluxe boxed set or cheaper digital downloads here.
And hear the free mp3 from the album, ft. Philadelphia’s Santigold:
Here’s David Byrne’s video from his site about why he took on the project:
David Byrne and Fatboy Slim: “Here Lies Love” [ft. Florence Welch, of Florence and the Machine]:
Track List
DISC 1
1. HERE LIES LOVE
Vocal by Florence Welch (Florence + The Machine)
2. EVERY DROP OF RAIN
Vocals by Candie Payne & St. Vincent
3. YOU’LL BE TAKEN CARE OF
Vocal by Tori Amos
4. THE ROSE OF TACLOBAN
Vocal by Martha Wainwright
5. HOW ARE YOU?
Vocal by Nellie McKay
6. A PERFECT HAND
Vocal by Steve Earle
7. ELEVEN DAYS
Vocal by Cyndi Lauper
8. WHEN SHE PASSED BY
Vocal by Allison Moorer
9. WALK LIKE A WOMAN
Vocal by Charmaine Clamor
10. DON’T YOU AGREE?
Vocal by Róisín Murphy
11. PRETTY FACE
Vocal by Camille
12. LADIES IN BLUE
Vocal by Theresa Andersson
DISC 2
1. DANCING TOGETHER
Vocal by Sharon Jones
2. MEN WILL DO ANYTHING
Vocal by Alice Russell
3. THE WHOLE MAN
Vocal by Kate Pierson
4. NEVER SO BIG
Vocal by Sia
5. PLEASE DON’T
Vocal by Santigold
6. AMERICAN TROGLODYTE
Vocal by David Byrne
7. SOLANO AVENUE
Vocal by Nicole Atkins
8. ORDER 1081
Vocal by Natalie Merchant
9. SEVEN YEARS
Vocals by David Byrne & Shara Worden (My Brightest Diamond)
10. WHY DON’T YOU LOVE ME?
Vocals by Cyndi Lauper & Tori Amos
Topspin