Mindy Smith

Well, here lately I've gone from a Björk kick to a Mindy Smith kick...I know. That's like going from orange juice to supreme pizza with pickles. What can I say? I like to keep the variety going. I may return to Björk later.

I first heard Mindy Smith when she opened for Nickel Creek at ASU. Such a great show. Mindy Smith is fantastic. She has a tone for country/bluegrass that can't be learned. Kind of like Alison Krauss in the sense that there's no way you could ever practice for getting that vocal sound. You either have it or you don't.

She combines the themes of religion, love, and self-discovery in her songs and it's all really heartfelt. A straight-from-the-heart-to-the-page kind of thing. Love it. I wouldn't classify her as country or bluegrass. Somewhere inbetween, but more on the country side. Worth listening to however you choose to look at it though. Also, her cover of "Jolene" (featuring Dolly Parton) is really good if you like that song.

Recently I discovered this song of her's called "Peace of Mind" - a new favorite for sure. Favorite enough for me to post the lyrics...but you don't get half the meaning out of them compared to when you hear the actual song. It's one of the prettiest songs I've heard in a while I think. So I'll leave you with that.

I need peace of mind and a hopeful heart

to lose this rage and move out of the dark

I ain't lookin for rainbows or shooting stars,

just some peace of mind and a hopeful heart

I need peace of mind and a lullaby

cause there's an angry voice in my head tonight

telling me to do things that can't be right

I need peace of mind and a lullaby

And a miracle for this broken soul,

a little miracle for this broken soul

I need peace of mind and a gentle hand

as I try to change the way I am

and hope God forgives me when I can't

I need peace of mind and a gentle hand

or a miracle for this broken soul,

a little miracle for this broken soul

I need peace of mind and a hopeful heart

why August 25th was a good day.

Imogen Heap's new album Ellipse finally came out yesterday...I have been waiting on this for a long time! She has a way of fusing words and sound like no other. The sound is similar to the last album, but in my opinion, that's what sets her apart (i.e. use of the vocoder). I'm all for new sounds, but in this case, her "sound" is central to what makes her Imogen Heap. I'd actually be kind of disappointed if the record didn't have her signature innovative style. I mean, Imogen Heap wouldn't be Imogen Heap if she abandoned it all and we were presented with acoustic guitars and boring pop-wannabe tunes.

I've probably listened to all the songs at least once- but the tracks "Wait It Out" and "Half Life" make the whole album completely worth $9.99 to me. or however much it costs on iTunes. I actually ended up buying the cd off her website ("Immi's Favourite Edition"), and that speaks volumes for me. I rarely (I'm talking 0.5 times a year) buy physical cd's- only when the album is so completely great and unique that you need to have it in your hands. It's too good to be shoved on the iTunes shelf, if you will.

I'm also excited about listening to Ingrid Michaelson's new stuff (her new album entitled Everybody was released yesterday as well). I noticed "The Chain" is on the track list- one of my favorites from her. A live version of the song is on Be OK, and I'm sure the new version is wonderful as well. I hope the chorus stays the same...in the live version it is sung as a round (I don't even know if that's the right phrase) and that's what makes the song. I'm also liking "Soldier," which I think can be heard on her myspace.

Anyway. The lyrics to "Half Life" are too good not to be posted. So I'll leave you with that. Last I checked, the whole cd was available for streaming at Imogen's myspace so go listen. :)

I knew that I'd get like this again,

that's why I try to keep at bay,

be a hundred percent when I'm with you and then

the perfect heart's length away

the stickler is you've played not one beat wrong

you never promised me anything

even sat me down, warned me just how they fall

I knew the odds were I'd never win, yet here I am

it's a half life

with you as my quarterback

a daft life

my self worth measured in text-back tempo,

it's been two days and eight minutes too slow,

well there may well be others but I still like to pretend

that I'm the one you really want to grow old with

I've got a schedule to stick to, got a world to keep sweet,

it's so much to everyone all the time

will you ever slow down, will I ever come first,

the universe contracts to size

it's a half life

with you as my quarterback

a daft life

you know you'll never be alone,

you know you'll always be loved

and maybe you'll never need more than that.

of other sapless little loves, what's to become of us,

does it even register on your conscience?

long for one last showdown from a box in a crowd

air compress tight to explode

I'm clinching my ticket to the only way out

as you disappear in a puff of smoke

it's a half life

with you as my quarterback

a daft life

jobs and Christmas music

It's very depressing that, when I think about what I love to do most, it involves sitting for hours listening to music and/or searching for new music. What kind of job is out there where you can do that?! It's so frustrating. I think maybe I would do well working in a music store. Who knows.

Besides that, I am very happy that it is almost the month of December. Yay Christmas! Last year, Sarah McLachlan's album Wintersong was my soundtrack for the holiday. I fell asleep every night listening to it. Such a good cd. It's different from the other fifty million Christmas cd's that artists put out every year. The songs, with the exception of a few, aren't your typical Christmas songs and I like that. So anyway, here are the lyrics to one of my favorite songs called "Wintersong."

The lake is frozen over, the trees are white with snow
and all around reminders of you are everywhere I go
It's later, morning's in no hurry but sleep won't set me free
I lie awake and try to recall how your body felt beside me
When silence gets too hard to handle, and the night too long

And this is how I see you, in the snow on Christmas morning
Love and happiness surround you
as you throw your arms up to the sky
I keep this moment by and by
Oh how I miss you now, my love
Merry Christmas, my love

A sense of joy fills the air and I daydream and I stare
up at the tree and I see your star up there

And this is how I see you, in the snow on Christmas morning
Love and happiness surround you
as you throw your arms up to the sky
I keep this moment by and by
-Sarah McLachlan

Tori Amos and Peter Gabriel

The Tori Amos concert was fabulous as expected. I love love LOVE her music and she is beyond amazing on the piano. It's insane. I would post the few pictures I took, but I'm too lazy to do it right now!

Right now, I have Peter Gabriel's "I Grieve" on repeat. I am loving this song. And in general, Peter Gabriel is a great musician. The song is from "City of Angels"...so I'm guessing somehow the lyrics tie in with the movie (which I actually never saw). I have a tendency to gravitate towards more depressing songs, but there isn't anything wrong with that necessarily. However, I think it's safe to say that grieving for someone is an idea that most people can relate to. Even if it isn't necessarily grieving over someone who has literally passed away, but just grieving over someone for whatever reason. So anyway, here are the lyrics:

It was only one hour ago
It was all so different then
There's nothing yet has really sunk in
Looks like it always did
This flesh and bone
is just the way that you were tied in
Now there's no one home

I grieve for you
and you leave me
It's so hard to move on,
still loving what's gone
They say life carries on,
carries on and on and on and on

The news that truly shocks is the empty, empty page
while the final rattle rocks its empty, empty cage
and I can't handle this

I grieve for you
and you leave me

Let it out and move on,
missing what's gone
They say life carries on
They say life carries on and on and on

Life carries on
in the people I meet
in everyone that's out on the street
in all the dogs and cats
in the flies and rats
in the rot and the rust
in the ashes and the dust
and life carries on and on and on and on
Life carries on and on and on

It’s just the car that we ride in,
the home we reside in
the face that we hide in
the way we are tied in
and life carries on and on and on and on
Life carries on and on and on

Did I dream this belief
or did I believe this dream?
Now I can find relief
I grieve