Rufus Wainwright – Cigarettes And Chocolate Milk

Song

"Cigarettes and Chocolate Milk" is a song written and performed by the Canadian-American singer-songwriter Rufus Wainwright. It appears as the opening track on his second studio album, Poses (2001). The song addresses decadence and desire, and has been called an "ode to subtle addictions and the way our compulsions rule our lives".

A reprise version of the song appears as the last track on the album.

Music video

The music video for the track, directed by Giles Dunning and released by DreamWorks in 2001, features Wainwright performing the song at a piano inside a warehouse, and scenes of him walking around New York City. The audio track of the video is actually the reprise version, with the added percussion backing.

Reception

In his review for Allmusic, Matthew Greenwald wrote that the song "combines classic Gershwin/Brian Wilson pop feels along with a strong sense of French cabaret show tunes", and called the shifts in modulation coupled with dissonant chords "intoxicating".

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Album

Poses is the second studio album by the American-Canadian singer-songwriter Rufus Wainwright, released through DreamWorks Records in June 2001. The album was produced, recorded, and mixed by Pierre Marchand, with select tracks produced by Propellerheads' Alex Gifford ("Shadows"), Ethan Johns ("California"), Damian LeGassick ("The Tower of Learning"), and Greg Wells ("Across the Universe").

Poses contains ornate, piano-driven arrangements that cite a wide variety of musical sources, from "indie pop to Gershwin to trip-hop and back again." The album took a year and a half to record, with most of it written during Wainwright's six-month stay at the Chelsea Hotel.

While Poses continues the enveloping sound established by Wainwright's debut album, collaborations between Wainwright and various producers and guest musicians pushed it in different directions, resulting in drum loops, "gritty beats in unexpected places", and a "fuller, live" sound.

Using fewer operatic elements than the previous album, in an attempt to create a more radio-friendly pop record, Poses addresses debauchery and love in less esoteric means. Guests on the album include Wainwright's sister, Martha Wainwright, fellow singer-songwriter Teddy Thompson, and rock musician Melissa Auf der Maur.

All tracks were written by Wainwright except for "Shadows", which was co-written by Alex Gifford, and "One Man Guy", a song written and originally performed by Wainwright's father, Loudon Wainwright III. The bonus track "Across the Universe" is a Lennon–McCartney song that Wainwright recorded initially for the 2001 film I Am Sam, and later re-recorded with producer Greg Wells for Poses.

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Poses, pubblicato nel 2001 dalla DreamWorks, è il secondo album di Rufus Wainwright.

Il disco

Concepito e scritto durante la dipendenza da crystal meth, Poses non vuole essere un album intimo e personale, nasce infatti con l'intento di raccontare "gli altri". Successivamente però lo stesso Rufus Wainwright ammetterà di aver usato le vite degli altri per raccontare la sua.

Le allusioni alla dipendenza sono il filo rosso che percorre l'album. Da quella per i più piccoli piaceri quotidiani Cigarettes and Chocolate Milk, a quelle per le droghe, il sesso, ma anche per l'amore. Poses è la canzone che più rappresenta lo stato d'animo di Rufus in questo periodo della sua vita.

Nell'album è presente anche la cover di One Man Guy uno dei maggiori successi del padre Loudon Wainwright III, nella quale si possono ascoltare anche le voci della sorella Martha e dell'amico Teddy Thompson.

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Artist

Rufus McGarrigle Wainwright (born July 22, 1973) is an American-Canadian singer, songwriter, and composer. He has recorded seven albums of original music and numerous tracks on compilations and film soundtracks. He has also written a classical opera and set Shakespeare sonnets to music for a theater piece by Robert Wilson.

Wainwright's self-titled debut album was released through DreamWorks Records in May 1998. His second album, Poses, was released in June 2001. Wainwright's third and fourth studio albums, Want One (2003) and Want Two (2004), were repackaged as the double album Want in 2005.

In 2007, Wainwright released his fifth studio album Release the Stars and his first live album Rufus Does Judy at Carnegie Hall. His second live album Milwaukee at Last!!! was released in 2009, followed by the studio albums All Days Are Nights: Songs for Lulu (2010) and Out of the Game (2012).

The double album Prima Donna (2015), was a recording of his opera of the same name. His ninth studio album Take All My Loves: 9 Shakespeare Sonnets (2016), featured nine adaptions of Shakespeare's sonnets.

Wainwright is the son of musicians Loudon Wainwright III and Kate McGarrigle, and the older brother of singer Martha Wainwright.

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Rufus Wainwright (New York, 22 luglio 1973) è un cantautore statunitense naturalizzato canadese.