Rachael Yamagata is one of my favorite musicians, if that status can be earned with a single album (2004’s Happenstance ), and I’ve been waiting ages for a follow-up. Now, Elephants… Teeth Sinking Into Heart (a two-disc CD) comes out on October 7!
Here is the video for her first single, “Elephants”. It seems like a bit of an odd choice to kick off the new album–it’s super mellow, and not really infectious. But it is pretty, and I’m jazzed to hear the other 14 tracks.
So I’m totally late to the Jaymay party (I said to my sister, “Ooh, I heard about this new singer who is supposed to be really good” and she said, “Yeah, I’ve had that CD for a few months.”) but I listened to her CD Autumn Fallin’ four times in a row in the car today and it’s lovely. I think my favorite song is “Blue or Grey,” which you can see her performing just with her guitar here.
I know that ABBA’s music, and the musical based on it, is totally cheesy, but I don’t care. I’ve seen the stage show twice, and I just found out that there’s a movie version coming out next summer! Here’s the trailer:
Now, I know Meryl Streep is basically the best actress of all time, but I really don’t see her as Donna (the mom). Donna is super feisty and tough, and I feel like Streep looks too delicate. I think part of the problem for me is that in the stage show she is a brunette, and the long blonde hair just throws me off.
As a side note, the guy playing Sophie’s fiance has great abs.
As another side note, the two guys from ABBA also wrote a terrific and under-appreciated musical called Chess that was a hit in London but bombed on Broadway in 1988. It’s about chess and the cold war, and has a song with this mouthful as the chorus:
…
It’s very sad to see
The ancient and distinguished game that used to be
A model of decorum and tranquility
Become like any other sport
A battleground for rival ideologies
To slug it out with glee.
…
So I can see why audiences might not be all gung-ho, but it has beautiful songs.
Ignore the extremely dated hair and costumes… (this is from London):
This is from the Broadway cast recording. There’s nothing to look at, but just listen:
Last night I saw Regina Spektor at the Wiltern and she was amazing. I love her albums Begin to Hope and Maryann Meets the Gravediggers–she has one of the best voices I’ve ever heard, and a silly sense of humor. Here’s an excerpt from one of the songs she sang last night (“Music Box”):
But when I do the dishes
I run the water very, very, very hot
And then I fill the sink to the top with bubbles of soap
And then I set all the bottle caps I own afloat
And it’s the greatest voyage in the history of plastic
I was expecting her to have a band, but it was actually just her playing piano (and guitar–or at least one string of it–on a couple of songs). Even though a couple of the songs, like her biggest hit “Fidelity,” didn’t sound as good without other instruments, it was really striking to hear the songs stripped down: there’s no hiding when it’s just you and a piano. She also did a cool version of “Hotel Song” with the opening act, Only Son, beatboxing. Here’s a video of that song not from last night, but actually from a show in Sacramento earlier this year. It’s also cute because she messes up on the last chorus, and then jumps around sort of embarrassed.
In early celebration of seeing Metric in concert tomorrow (or actually today, since it’s 2 am now), here is the new video for lead singer Emily Haines’ song “Our Hell” off her 2006 solo album. Everything is a negative image–that creepy effect where skin glows white, teeth look black and noses, cheeks and fingers seem frostbitten–but the result is beautiful. I especially love how poured and splashed liquid looks like white-hot metal and people’s eyes take on a washed-out, Modigliani-type look.
Ariel, are you still reading my blog? For those of you that aren’t Ariel and didn’t already date her in high school, you should get to know her–or at least her music.
So many people say, “I want to be a musician” without really doing anything about it, but Ariel has been self-recording albums since middle school. She writes, sings and plays piano (and is also a rocking visual artist, for the record). For the album she just released, The Vigilante, she brought in a producer and some back-up musicians for a fuller sound (although I still really like some of the sparer pieces like “Embers”). She never bites her tongue, so the songs are honest and sometimes a little creepy (“If you hurt me again,/I’ll take my scissors and I’ll cut you out/ leave a hole that I can bleed out for you…”). But for every bloody moment there’s a poppier one–I love the chorus on “Brave New World.”
You can listen to clips from the website (and buy the CD, of course). And stay tuned (like way in the future, after winter break) for the music video I’m going to make with her!
I guess this feature would work better if I did it every week…But here is your introduction to Josh Rouse (thanks to Jason, the art director at Sactown, for introducing me). His songs are mellow–sort of sweeter Ryan Adams–and they take a couple of listens to sink in, but there are some great hooks. Plus, as you’ll see in the clip below of “London Bridges,” from the album Country House City House (released about two weeks ago; it’s his tenth album ) he wears glasses, so that means I’m hooked.
I love musicals. That’s the first important point. I love them when I go see them live, or listen to the albums, or watch movie musicals (except the movie of The Producers–that was awful). I was raised on The Sound of Music, Fiddler on the Roof, My Fair Lady, West Side Story, and The Music Man. I also get really sad whenever I watch a musical because my dream job is to star in a musical (on Broadway, but really community theater would be cool too), except I can’t sing, dance, or act…
Anyway, part of what I love about musicals is their over-the-topness. One of my favorite musical scenes ever is the “Roxanne” tango scene in Moulin Rouge that intercuts among multiple characters, locations, and songs. (You have to watch all the way to the end to get to the full frenzy.)
Last weekend I saw the Irish movie Once, which is the antithesis of any elaborate or expensive or complicatedly choreographed musical. Music plays a huge role, but no one bursts out into song unnaturally. The two main characters are The Guy, a street musician, and The Girl, a Czech immigrant who plays piano in a music store for an hour a day. They team up and (pardon the expression) make beautiful music together. Unfortunately, I saw the film in a theater with bad speakers, but the songs are gorgeous (and written and performed by the two stars, Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova. Hear some of them here). Anyone who just can’t buy “normal,” “cheesy” musicals should check out this low-key but affecting movie (see the trailer below. It gives away one plot point that I wish it didn’t, but trailers have the unfortunate habit of doing that).
As a side note, watching this movie I discovered that I now understand Spanish better than heavily Irish-accented English.
Ok, so by now it has actually stretched on to about a month. But check out this jazzy, sultry song, Eau de Toilette by Emily Haines (member of Metric), and you’ll understand–it’s dangerously catchy, despite not having a chorus. The song is from her self-released solo album from 1996 that is now really hard to find (wikipedia says copies on eBay go for several hundreds of dollars, although there are none listed for sale now), and apparently she asked fans who had copies of it to not distribute it on the internet. Oops. So now I feel a little bad, but it’s only one song–and it’s damn good.
Also, to make up for violating her wishes, I’ll promote her new solo album (yay!) that comes out July 24.
According to Rachael Yamagata’s website, there is a new album coming soon. It doesn’t say when, and the “album appetizer” video has a somber, distinctly-autumn feel, so I’m guessing I have to wait a few more months. Until then, I’ll be rewatching this clip from last summer’s Austin City Limits of her playing “Be Be Your Love,” my favorite song off her debut album Happenstance (2004). I’ve always pictured her playing this song in a tiny, dark, smoky club, so it’s a kick to see her rocking aviator sunglasses and performing in the middle of the day to thousands of festival-goers. Miraculously, the song still seems intimate and atmospheric.
When her album first came out, I was annoyed that she was another artist getting compared to Fiona Apple (“Dear Entertainment Weekly and SPIN: Please stop comparing every female singer-songwriter-piano player with a slightly low voice to Fiona Apple. Ms. Apple is a singular talent who defies easy categorization and is a hell of a lot more nutso than any of these lightly-troubled ladies.”) However, Happenstance is a constant presence in my 25 top played and I’m excited to hear her next effort.
