I grew up listening to my parents music – The Beatles, Harry Chapin, Cat Stevens, Judy Collins. I never recognized the rock posters on my friends’ walls. I rarely listened to the radio. Things changed, however, when I moved to Los Angeles as an adult. This city is the birthplace of so many bands, or at least the place they come for their christening party. I end up having an opportunity to discover new music all the time.
I’m still most drawn to harmonic melodies and lyrics that tell a story, however. What would you expect from a girl whose favorite song in highschool was Tangled Up Puppet?
So, in addition to my new-found love for Angus and Julia Stone, I must declare my obsession over Spain. While the country is very cool, too, I’m actually talking about the BAND.
In particular, I simply CAN NOT STOP playing I’m Still Free.
A few nights ago, I was lucky enough to venture through the gates of Hollywood Forever, a gorgeous cemetery in the heart of Hollywood. I meandered my way past gravestones, caged peacocks and an antique Rolls Royce, climbed the stairs of an old Masonic lodge, and bore witness to such glorious, inspired creativity that I am compelled to share my new musical obsession… Angus & Julia Stone.
If you’ve never heard of them, take a moment now to listen. PLEASE.
Their music is ethereal, idiosyncratic, poignant, profound, and just hell o’ gorgeous.
In addition, they are the most charming, Australian, brother-and-sister sensations I’ve ever heard. Not to mention, more talented than my simple mind can comprehend.
photo by Jen Castle
During the set to which I raptly listened, Julia blissfully played guitar, harmonica, piano, and trumpet in addition to singing with a clarity and emotional integrity that left me envious of her talent, honored by her willingness to share her gifts and hungry for more. Her brother, Angus, was equally mesmerizing while displaying his vocal abilities and skills on the guitar, harmonica and trumpet. He was charmingly bashful about the trumpet playing, since he normally plays the trombone.
SERIOUSLY.
via Jen Castle Photography
The concert was held in a high-ceilinged hall within the Masonic Lodge. Wooden beams criss-crossed above our heads, huge chandeliers dangling from their intersect points. Intricately carved, high-backed chairs lined the back of the stage. Lit candelabra augmented the magical essence of the space. Together, these details created an ambiance of suspense and intimacy that perfectly matched the energy of Angus and Julia. Three supporting musicians ably filled out their sound with drums, base and electric guitar on many of the songs, but the Stones earned all of my attention.
Julia told honest, amusing, rambling stories about a few of the songs. She also did this thing with her hands, as she grooved to the sounds she so transparently adores, that had me equal parts spell-bound and wondering why I don’t have the courage to do that when I dance in public. I completely understood her impulses. And I’d be shocked if fewer than half the audience members didn’t consider, at one point or another, whether they could bundle her up and steal her away to make her their best friend or lover. Any time spent with one or both of the Stone siblings would be utterly delightful – a flat out GOOD TIME. They were just that damn likable!
On a night when much of America was watching the outcome of the nation’s feverish 1-866 dialing skills and Simon Fuller’s marketing magic, I sat with a friend and a few hundred eclectic music fans to experience a level of talent and unbridled joy that uniformly took our breath away. I must thank my favorite (and only) radio station for making tickets available to KCRW members. And my lucky stars for letting me win them.
Now, I hope you take some time to explore Angus and Julia Stone’s music. I expect you just may fall in love with it as quickly as I did!
Posted in melodies on March 6th, 2010 by emmajames
I met one of the OK Go guys outside a pizza joint a few months back. Hopefully, we’ll meet again because I MUST ask him how many takes it took to create this AMAZING video. PLEASE take a moment to honor this feat of imagination, patience, irreverence, and glee.
Doesn’t it just make you want to go find a warehouse, some paint cans and pulleys?
When I think of paintings on suede or velvet, images of Vegas and Elvis usually come to mind. Not that I spend much time thinking about paintings on suede and velvet. But I stumbled across an artist recently who made me pause and reevaluate my assumptions about what suede art, in particular, can be.
"Red Tulips" by Kate Moriarty
Kate Moriarty is an L.A.-based artist who captures misty dreamscapes with pastels and suede. Strange, but true. And amazingly beautiful.
"London Bridges" by Kate Moriarty
Don’t you just love when an artist surprises you into seeing something in a completely different light?
"Fade Away" by Kate Moriarty
I’ll never look at suede the same way again. Velvet, on the other hand, may indeed still remain associated with awful renditions of The King, and ’80s prom dresses. But, dare I say it, velvet gets the better song. I am far more likely to dance manically through my house to Black Velvet than to Blue Suede Shoes any day.
Now, do you have a preference for suede or velvet?
Posted in melodies on January 28th, 2010 by emmajames
Ma cheri Charlotte Gainsbourg,
Je t’adore! In fact, I’m currently obsessed with your new album, IRM. I must admit I had a wee tender for your father, Serge. Listening to his music made me want to smoke cloves and lounge about in velvet-covered wine cellars with beatnik intellectuals in a post-coital fog of bliss. Your songs evoke an entirely different, but equally delightful, sensation. Particularly with this album, and perhaps in no small part to Beck’s influence, I am transported to a far more sugar plum world. I daydream of skipping, spinning and dancing my way through fields of daisies and marigolds while Vaseline-covered lenses capture the essence of pure joy that flits through sun-baked skies like a mischievous fairy come alive with laughter. This is not nearly as scary as it may sound. I’m actually quite sane.
I simply love your music, and I strongly encourage everyone who has ears to check out your new album.
