In the Lonely Hour

Not much has been able to pull me out of the semi blog-tirement I've been experiencing.  However...

Sam Smith.

He's 22 and British.  And talented.  Like crazy talented.  He's being hailed as the next Adele, which is not a generous heaping of praise.  In my book, he's more than earned it.

A few months ago he was on SNL, and he blew me away.  He sang the gospel-tinged Stay With Me for one of his turns onstage and later posted a duet of this song with the incomparable Mary J. Blige.  It was several antsy weeks for me until his album In the Lonely Hour "dropped" last Tuesday.  I bought it.  And it is good.

His songs showcase an enviable vocal range, and although my favorites are the more stripped-down ballads (duh), his pop songs are fun without going Gaga.  

Late last week he up and covered Whitney Houston's How Will I Know, slow-jam style.  And he nailed it.  So now it's official that I'm obsessed.  He has the chops and still seems very down-to-earth.  Oh, and he's coming to the Ryman in October!  Tickets: purchased.  Show: quickly sold out.  Tommy: elated.

I hope you're well!

Five Things

Inspired by Meredith's post over on It's Like This, I thought I'd share five tidbits about myself that you may not know.

1. I am rather skilled at cracking eggs.  It's one of my hidden talents.  Nary a speck of shell escapes my watchful eyes or nimble fingers.  Egg whites only?  No problem.  Bring it.

2. If I find a song to be funny, then it gets added to this internal list of go-to, pick-me-up tunes.  In fact, it's my main criterion for non-ballad songs.  Favorites include "Potential New Boyfriend" by Dolly Parton, "Private Dancer" by Tina Turner, and "Stay With Me" by Rod Stewart.  Oh, and "Barracuda" by Heart.  The more dramatic, the better.

3. I hate Lucite furniture.  Hate.  I get it.  It's "modern" (sarcastic quotes) and doesn't take up visual space.  But it seems like such a dust and fingerprint magnet.  People tend to throw a damn Phillipe Starck Ghost Chair in a room and call it done.  My initial reaction is always this thought: Oh.  How clever!  I can't help it.  Then I think: You just spent $300 on a piece of molded plastic that's ugly as homemade sin.  Congrats!

4. I have a twin brother.  And in the ways that we're different, we're so different.  But I'm coming to realize that the older we get, the more we have in common.  Friends who have known us for many years now swear up and down that we have the same sense of humor.  That's hard for me to see, but sometimes it takes a third party to point out these things.

5. It's a rare day that I don't quote Home Alone, Clueless, or something from The Golden Girls.  Rare.  Like I often follow a food order with I'm not drivin', a la Kevin McCallister.   These are fine examples of entertainment media that I can count on to make me laugh, regardless how many times I've seen them or how accurately I can quote them.

The Big Three...Oh.

In honor/anticipation/fear of a milestone birthday, I have gone to three excellent concerts in the last few weeks.  They were basically childhood fantasies come true.  Please bear with me this post.

First up was Boyz II Men at the Schermerhorn, which is just beautiful.  For those outside of Music City, let me explain.  It's where the Nashville Symphony performs.  Balconies.  Tuxedos.  Fountains.  And the Boyz turned it out.

The remaining members played all of their hits with one glaring exception.  (But "Motownphilly" is really not meant for symphonic accompaniment.  Only Stephanie Tanner's dance troupe.)  They even covered Journey's "Open Arms" with soulful aplomb.  I remember being in junior high and singing along with their album called II.  It was epic then, and it's epic now.  "Water Runs Dry" was the high point for me.

Next up was a bucket list item.  Rufus Wainwright at The Ryman.  (I need to take a minute.)

I have been enchanted by his very unique and crazy-gifted ability since the 1998 holiday season, when he hit the scene in a Gap commercial.  Remember this?  Hooked was I.

From Rufus Wainwright to Poses to the Want albums to Release The Stars, Rufus has been in constant rotation in my life.  Out of the Game, his latest release, is not too shabby, either.  His songs run the gamut from campy, addictive pop to heartfelt, chill-inducing ballads.  But they're always smart, and sometimes his harmonies and epic moments are almost too much for my nervous system to handle.  I can't say much else except that his show will hold a special place in my memory.  Thanks for going, Hol.

(Unforeseen bonus: Opener Ingrid Michaelson.  Especially her haunting cover of REM's "Nightswimming.")

And in a bit of a happy accident, I was able to see Alanis Morrissette the other night, again at The Ryman.

I really loved Jagged Little Pill back in the mid-90s.  My brother bought it first (for his Discman, of course), but I totally borrowed it whenever I wanted.  It was so unusual to hear such anger and conviction on the radio--especially coming from such a young woman.  But it was time. 

And then I was on board with thanking India, too.  I appreciate that Alanis has stayed true to her vision, and I have to say that she was the most gracious performer I've ever seen.  She kept thanking us for being there and seemed very sincere.  Her "Uninvited/You Oughta Know" combo blew me away.

Today I turn 30.  And I guess I've hemmed and hawed a bit the last few weeks.  But it's just another day.  I move into another decade of life.  And it's a pretty great one.  I'm healthy, and I'm happy.  And I'm always working on improving. 

Thanks for keeping me and my blog in mind.

Somebody That You Used to Know...

Remember me?

July doesn't.  It was crazy.  Much like certain farmers, I'm currently experiencing my professional busy season.  Over the weekend, I did manage to pick up a new CD.  It's Making Mirrors by Gotye. 

Yeah, yeah.  I'm late to this party.  What else is new?  Not this album; it was released almost a year ago.  I saw him on SNL a few months ago and thought that his songs were catchy, but yesterday I was shopping with my niece, and we heard his song Somebody That I Used to Know.  It stuck in my head.  Bad. 

Now I own it.  So far I've listened to most of the songs, but I keep going back to the two I had heard before.  (The other song is Eyes Wide Open.)  His music is hard to pin down--part pop, part synth-experiment, and part Stevie Wonder at times.  That may sound like an odd combination, but it works.

Usually I am not up on the latest in music, partly because I get stuck on CDs.  Yes, CDs.  It still seems like such a treat that I can listen to them in my car, even though I've had this ability for about 12 years now.  *shrug*  I have thought about doing a little blog series on some of my top favorite albums.

How have you been?  What are you listening to these days?

Whitney Houston: 1963-2012

The news of her death came as a major shock to me over the weekend, and it's stayed with me, unlike other recent celebrity passings.  She had a much longer career than did Amy Winehouse, and she didn't give me the creepy vibe that Michael Jackson did. 

They are all icons, though.  And I'm loathe to throw that word around.  Katy Perry is not an icon.  That's just one example.  But I digress. 

Whitney Houston was the real deal.  Her songs helped form the soundtrack of some of my earliest memories.  I remember seeing her on awards shows in the late 80s and thinking that she was absolutely gorgeous and talented, and it seemed to me (even then) that the world was her oyster.  As un-PC as it sounds, I thought of her like a live, black Barbie doll.  And this was at a time when music (pop music especially) was dominated by the Tiffanys and Debbie Gibsons of the world. 

She didn't need autotune or flashy costumes or intricate dance routines.  She simply sang her heart out with the natural talent that made her so uniquely gifted and paved the way for many to follow.  It's sad beyond belief that some of her decisions led her down the tragic path taken by so many before her. 

I just watched The Grammys, where several moving tributes were made to Whitney, but what got me the most was that this was just not supposed to be happening.  People around my age should be seeing Whitney and Michael Jackson on stage in their golden years, much as my mother probably watched Tony Bennett or Diana Ross tonight.  We should have had her for another thirty or forty years, but it was not to be.  It's not right, but it's not okay, either. 

She will be missed, and my thoughts are with her family.

I Swam Dirty Water, But You Pushed Me In...

This album is amazing.  And people throw that word around quite a bit these days.  But it's true.  Stellar.  I don't know why I did not jump on the Adele train sooner.  I bought this and 19, her first album (coincidentally, also her respective ages when each album 'dropped') a few weeks ago and have not looked back.  You may remember "Chasing Pavements" as her first big single from a couple of years back.

21 has been in constant rotation.  Every song is a keeper.  The first two are "Rolling in the Deep" and "Rumour Has It," and it took me about fourteen days to get past them because I kept hitting repeat.  Thank goodness that I did because that soul is evident in the rest of the CD.  She oozes talent.  The link above is to Amazon, where you can preview.  Except for the awesome cover of The Cure's "Lovesong," the tracks are all originals. 

Give it a whirl; you won't be sorry.  Oh, and she's British.  It doesn't get much better.

Pop Chart!

I saw this link today on Daily Candy, and I got quite a kick out of it.  It's a poster called Grand Taxonomy of Rap Names from the company Pop Chart Lab.

It includes such jewels as Doodlebug, Lateef the Truthspeaker, and Krust.  If you click the link, you can roll over the image for a magnified view.  Be sure to look for categories like Familial, Virtues, and Audacious Misspelling.  I know some of my fellow children of the 90s will appreciate this as well. 

At 20 bones, I'd say it's a flippin' steeeeel, yo.  Yeah.  I took it there.  What?

iLike Byrd & Belle

Although I don't remember where I first saw a mention of these cool products (probably a blog), I'm glad I bookmarked the Etsy site for Byrd & Belle. 

Angie, the super efficient shop owner, makes really awesome tech-friendly cases out of felt and leather for pretty much iAnything, even laptops.  She has a couple of shades of gray felt and then brown or black leather, along with a gray or green lining.

Last week I bought a case just like the ones in the pictures* for my iPod, and I love it!  If you're looking for this type of product for yourself or as a gift for someone else (lucky them), consider this shop, won't you?

*from Etsy site, used with permission

Epic Concert Goodness

Last night I had the extreme pleasure of seeing Ray LaMontagne and David Gray in concert here in Nashville.  My anti-blog* friend Emily took me as a special treat/early birthday present. 

I really don't know what to say about the show.  It was the best concert I've ever seen.  Both performers gave it their all, although Ray is more still overall, and David sort of flails about.  Ray did a few songs from his new album (which I will be picking up shortly) along with favorites like Trouble, Jolene, and You Are The Best Thing.  David sang literally every song that I know of his, including Babylon, Be Mine, and This Year's Love.  It was just epic.  He only did a few of his new songs, but they were also stellar.

And the final encore when they both came out and played together?  Shut.  It.  Down.

The show was originally scheduled for The Grand Ole Opry, but after the flooding that happened here earlier this year, they moved the venue to the Bridgestone Arena.  They also donated 20% of proceeds to the Nashville Area Habitat for Humanity.  That was just one more reason to eat it up.

*Emily says that she would rather have the real thing.  I guess she has a point.

Ray, Ray, Don't Go Away

I had made reference to Ray LaMontagne in a comment on my endorsement of Patty Griffin, but this time it's his turn for a full-on thumbs up.

It's hard to put into words the style of Ray LaMontagne. It's definitely folk with a blues tinge. He has a raspy voice and sings with tons of heart. With so many of his songs being about loss and heartbreak, it's easy to get the sense that somebody "done him wrong." Plus, he's decidedly anti-celebrity. Until just a few years ago he was a carpenter in Maine. (Oh, and as if being a carpenter were not enough, in the picture to left, he is a dead-ringer for Jesus.)

In the last few months or so, Ray has appeared on several TV and talk shows, most notably Saturday Night Live, but I don't know that lots of people are very familiar just yet. Many of his songs have been in soundtracks to TV and movies, but he has a very distinct and very gravel-y voice.

Several years ago my pal Jennifer tried for months to get me to listen to his music, and I'm so glad that I finally did. I have seen him in concert twice, and much like my brief time in front of Patty, it was practically a religious experience. Try out Shelter (one of my top favorite songs) and You Are The Best Thing, which is a bit peppier.

You may even recognize a newer Ray connection in the form of this commercial from Travelers Insurance. It's a pretty crappy job of cutting the vocals from such a wonderful song, but it made me smile--not unlike the guy on his shirt here.

Thanks again, Jen!

Oh, Patty

It's been a while since I've done an endorsement, but I find myself, headphones on and heart pumping, just needing to spread the gospel of Patty Griffin.

Ok, so she's not a religious artist, but she may as well be. What she writes and sings, she believes, and you can tell. She's been around the music business for many years, but she sort of flies under many people's radar. (Thanks again, Amy J., for introducing me to her!)

Patty has a range like you rarely hear these days, moving easily from heart-wrenching folk-y songs to all-out rock. Plus, she writes (almost?) all of her own music, and she has tons of more famous fans. The Dixie Chicks have covered several of her songs, including Let Him Fly and Top of the World.

A few years ago I picked up her first album from amazon, and I have never been sorry. In fact, it's in my top five albums of all time. (Mind you, I don't have a completed or ordered list and probably never will.) I have since bought everything else she's put out, and they're all masterpieces to me. It's only $8.99, and I fully support the decision to make a purchase. When I saw her perform live a few years ago, it brought chills and smiles and respect.

This song and this one are two of my absolute favorites. Enjoy.

I Only Wanna Share It With You...

Confession: I have never been a huge 80s music fan. Several of my friends are quite appalled by this fact, but I stand by it. I am all 90s, all the way. However, there are definitely some jewels in the 80s crown, and Heart has to be right in the middle.

On Saturday I had the pleasure of accompanying my friend Holly to see Heart at the Memphis Botanic Garden, and wow--what a show! Sisters Nancy and Ann Wilson are pushing 60, but they turned it out like I have not seen before. They played every song, including rock gems, classic ballads, and excellent covers of the likes of Led Zeppelin, with gusto and...well...what else? heart!

Songs included most of their hits, like "These Dreams," "Magic Man," and "Barracuda." Did you know that their hit "Crazy On You" is featured on Guitar Hero?! Holly was right; they totally ripped off Nancy's signature kick move.

But my favorite tune of the night was "What About Love." It's one of those seminal 80s songs that is just epic. When I think of music from that time, this is one of the songs that sticks in my mind. It's undoubtedly on every Time Life compilation from that decade. Don't let it slip away, people. Don't. Click that link and let me share it with you.

Purdy Ducks

I saw this commercial the other day and freaked out just a little. Not only is it flippin' baby ducks, but it's also a very good song by Joe Purdy. If you're not familiar with his low-key, simple but moving music, then you should change that on the double.

He's had music on soundtracks, most notably Grey's Anatomy and LOST, and a Kia commercial ("Just Can't Seem To Get It Right Today"), but I recommend getting familiar by the time you finish reading this post. You can play all of his music for free right here. And I'm not talking 30 second samples. It's full songs, full CDs. This seems rare for musicians today, especially independent ones.

When I worked on campus, I would pull that page up in a different window and just listen for hours at a time at a very reasonable volume. I hope you enjoy.

A Porch Concert...What Could Be Better?

Last night I was so lucky to have been invited to a house concert, hosted by the lovely and talented Deanna. It was held on the porch of her mom's house in the country, about two hours away from where I live. That's not to say that where I live is not the country. We do have a Wal-Mart, though. Look out.

Lauren Zettler and her accompanist Cam opened the evening with an excellent rendition of "Man in the Mirror," and continued with several originals that were just too good. She commented on how pretty the landscape is and how different it is from New York, her stomping grounds. She's so talented and charming.

Next up were The Stellas, most famous for their time on CMT's "Can You Duet?". Marylynne and Brad are a married couple from Canada who just bought a house near Nashville and have been singing for 14 years. They sang many songs, both originals and covers (including a chill-inducing version of "Love Hurts"), and had lots of funny moments of banter. They even said aboot for about. Plus, Marylynne counts Patty Griffin among her favorites. That sealed the deal.

We had a wonderful and low-key time, especially after the sun (and mercury) went down. I probably should've taken up Ann Marie's offer of bug spray, but I skipped it. And today my feet are red and irritated. It was worth it, though. The most.