Aliya S. King

*Okay. This is not new music. But it’s new to me. So there.

Eff that Swiffer. Always running out of absorbent pads. Eff him! It was always you dear mop. Always.

Definitely like Laura Veirs. So glad I was nosy on Friday and discovered her. I listened to a few snippets on itunes and liked everything I heard: snappy folksy music with great instrumentation. And her voice is soothing. She reminds me just a bit of the Moldy Peaches, the group behind the super-amazing music on the Juno soundtrack.

This song, “Don’t Lose Yourself,” is my favorite Laura Veirs song so far.

Okay. So I haven’t even listen to a full Laura Veirs record. But from the snippets I’ve heard here and there, this is what I’m checking for. Not sure if I’m patient enough to listen to an entire album.

Sidebar: Are we still calling them ‘records’ and ‘albums’? What’s a complete set of songs called? An album, right? Even though the last album I bought was this one:

This joint folded out. And I danced around the den with Michael. You know you did too!

I think we’re still calling them albums. Even though albums are obsolete and CDs are on the way. Sigh.

Anyway. Laura Veirs. Don’t Lose Yourself. Good stuff. The video is cute, too.

Dang. Wonder if I can use a guitar pic on my hair...

You know how some people open their mouths to perform and you get chills up your arms? Remember how it felt in the pit of your stomach when Fantasia sang Summertime on American Idol? (I stopped watching for the rest of the season after that performance. My rationale was that if I continued to watch and she didn’t win, I’d be forced to riot in the streets. I met ‘Tasia years later and told her that story and she laughed and laughed.)

Well, I got a bit of that feeling when I watched this youtube performance of Gary Clark, Jr. He’s singing If Trouble Were Money, originally recorded by Albert Collins. (Though I’m quite partial to the version performed by Mint Condition on the Jason’s Lyric soundtrack. Fire!)

His voice is earthy and raspy. And I like it. But it’s really his skills on the gee-tar that knock me out. Dude is dope.

And people, he is 24 freaking years old!

He’s one of those people, (again, like ‘Tasia), that would make the old folks say, “he’s been here before.”

Got that old soul thing going on. Makes you want to say, well damn, boy. What could you possibly know about heartache and pain?

Check him out! I command you! And then, when he blows up, we can all be like, uh duh, of course I know about Gark Clark, Jr. Where have you been? We’ll be real music-loving hipsters who know all about the Austin blues scene!

Hon, I love the pigtails. But I just don't think you should have used the leftover wallpaper to make a shirt. Just my opinion.

Okay, I’m a sucker for a cute love story. And I love couples like The Submarines who record together. Y’know, like:

Love Will Keep Us Together was the joint! And how much did you love homegirl's haircut?

Or better yet:

Girl, you better act right. It's a lot of girls named Peaches in this world...

So, I do my homework on The Submarines and it turns out that they were performing as a couple. And then they broke up. But they continued to write music together. And all their songs were about missing each other! Awwww! So they got back together. Yay! And then they got married. Yay! And then a friend mastered their demo as a wedding present. And it became their first album. Yay!

And they’re awesome.

I like this joint. It’s called Me You and The Bourgeoise. And how much do you love that as the title for a song!?

It’s happy music. I could play this in the car and Tog would probably accept it as a substitute for Elmo’s Song. It makes me feel good inside. And homegirl reminds me just a touch of Gwen Stefani. (Somehow, I think this comparison would piss her off. She seems like the type who would be all I’m a purist and my music is about my craft and I’m not making a clothing line or doing mindless pop songs.) Whatev. Gwen Stefani is the shit.

Anyway, here’s how the song begins:

Here I am with all the pleasures of the first world
Laid out before me

Who are we to breakdown?

Everyday we wake up,
We choose Love
We choose Light

This is my goal. Wake up and choose love and light. Makes me feel good just writing it!

The Submarines must be choosing love, light and a whole lotta cash. Turns out Apple is using this joint in their commercials. I thought this song sounded familiar!

Sweet! Go Submarines!

Okay, dear readers. What do you think of Laura Veirs, Gary Clark Jr and The Submarines? And do you remember The Captain and Tenille? Do you know the name of that group above with the girl in the beaded cornrows? Do you wake up in the morning and choose love?

I’d love to hear from you…

This entry was posted on March 30, 2009 at 9:35 am and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.