lenka

I must have seen one hundred references for Lenka on twenty different sites before I actually listened to her music.  Sometimes a good new tune is right under your nose, cliche as it may seem.

Lenka doesn't go by her full name, Lenka Kripac, and it seems appropriate.  It's almost too formal for her music.

The Australian-born singer released her self-titled debut, Lenka, in September of last year, sweeping audiences with her single, The Show.  The song is so unbelievably catchy, it's no surprise she co-wrote it with none other than the wonderfully talented Jason Reeves.

Lenka's songs are buoyant, full of life, and undeniably put you in a good mood.  In a sense, they're quite youthful, but touch on subjects a person of any age could relate to - which seems reasonable coming from a (surprisingly) thirty-year-old.  Regardless, my feet are sure to tap along every time one of her songs reach my ears.  

My current favorites off of her album include the obvious mention of The Show, along with the sultry Skipalong and the kickdrum-heavy We Will Not Grow Old.

Lenka's music video for The Show is quite cute and innovative.  Look for the dancing tomatoes - they're my favorite part.  I'd link to the Youtube video here, but embedding is unfortunately disabled.  A simple link will have to suffice.  Check out the video here.

Lenka has also released quite a few promo animated stop-motion videos you should be sure to watch.  They're quite entertaining and done with Lenka's partner in crime, artist James Gulliver Hancock, but more on him later.

It might just be the obvious Australian accent incorporated into the music, seeing as how I also love Kate Nash's noticable British tint in her music, but nevertheless, Lenka's music sure makes smile. 

Since I have no official video clip to leave you with, here's a short VH1 promo as the network's You Oughta Know Artist.

the hotel cafe tour at the henry fonda

Wow, I'm way past due on blogging, so I guess it's best to do some catching up and fill you in on what I've been listening to lately.

In November, I went on the spur of the moment decision to the Hotel Cafe Tour's last show at the Henry Fonda Theater. The line-up included Rachael Yamagata, Meiko, Jaymay, Lenka, Emily Wells, and Thao Nguyen.

Overall, I would have to say the show was fun, but not necessarily the best it could have been. Because it was the final night of the tour, it didn't seem as though any of the acts really took the show seriously. It was more like a party with everyone drinking and half-drunk, as opposed to a concert, and the fact that artists kept going on and off of the stage made the arrangement just seem messy.

Nonetheless, it was fun seeing one of my favorites, Jaymay, again and I always love to hear about new artists. Lenka's songs were fun to tap my feet along with (who can resist Australians?) and Meiko wooed the crowd with her well-known song, Boys With Girlfriends. Emily Wells' music surprised me, simply because I wasn't familiar her beforehand and Thao Nguyen's songs added an extra kick of spunk to the show. Rachael definitely turned out to be the most impressive act of the evening in my books. I had heard of Rachael before, yet never really sat down to give her songs a serious listen. She's so extremely talented and her voice is mesmorizing. Needless to say, I made sure to pick up a copy of

her album, Elephants...Teeth Sinking Into Heart, not too long after the show.

Here's a clip of the entire night's line-up singing along with Thao's song, Bag of Hammers. This might have been my most favorite point in the evening.

Afterward, I managed to get a few shots with some of the performers as security was kicking everyone out.

the time has come

To return to the blogging world.  Freshly released from school (forever), expect to hear a lot more from me via blogger.  More soon.  Promise.

amy kuney: bird's eye view

I have no excuse for not posting about the long-expected release of Amy Kuney's debut full-length album until now, other than I wanted to do it justice.

Bird's Eye View, released August 12th, has to be one of the best album's I've heard in a long time.  This 10-song package sets a new, higher standard in the music world.

Unlike other musicians today, Amy writes lyrics that are smart, evocative, powerful and actually have meaning.  They tell stories rather than just providing outlines.

Combined with her beautiful vocals and charming manner, Amy defines the complete package of an artist.

Bird's Eye View ranges from upbeat tales of relationship circumstances in Rocket Surgery and Love is Trippy to poignant scenes in everyday life in Appreciate Your Hands, while still fitting seamlessly together.

The world is waiting to hear an album of a such high caliber and they can find it in Amy Kuney's Bird's Eye View.  You can purchase the album on iTunes or as a hard-copy here.

Not enough good things can be said about Amy simply because of her sincerity and genuineness.  It is truly an honor to be able to work for a person with such admirability.

I leave you with a video of Thank You For Last Night from Amy's live performance DVD. She leaves me speechless with each viewing.

damien rice

I've been a fan of Damien Rice for what seems like forever.  I remember first learning of him after hearing his song, The Blower's Daughter, in the film Closer in 2004.  Ever since, I've been in awe of his powerful lyrics and mind-blowing tunes.

An Irish folk-singer, Damien released his incredible first album, O, in 2003.  Every one of the songs on O has been a favorite of mine because every one has a different story to tell- a different emotion to express.

In 2006, Damien released 9, his second album, which demonstrates his growth, yet still retains the power of his earlier album.

One of the stand-out tracks on 9, Elephant, was originally known as The Blower's Daughter Part Two.  It's absolutely superb and just as heart-wrenching as The Blower's Daughter.

Here's a video of Damien performing the track live.

It blows me away every time.

Recently, none other than the lovely Amy Kuney, my boss, covered Damien's song, The Blower's Daughter, on piano.  The first time that I heard it, I got chills.  The second time I heard it, I got chills.  I've probably listened to her version one hundred times, and I still get the chills.  I love what she did with it.

The best thing about Amy's cover, though, is what happened because of it.

A Damien Rice fansite, Eskimo Friends, featured Amy's take on the song and somehow Damien himself watched the video and fell in love with Amy's voice.

This led to Amy flying over to Iceland to perform two shows with Damien and even singing with him on his songs Cold Water and Volcano.

Absolutely stunning.  I only wish I could have been there to see two of my favorite artists, one of them being my boss, performing together.

It's a beautiful thing, really.

tweak: growing up on methamphetamines

I just finished this book, Tweak, by Nic Sheff.  It's an incredibly honest memoir of his struggle and addiction to various drugs, including methamphetamines.  

I originally heard about the book while still working at Barnes and Noble.  We had a display featuring the book, Beautiful Boy, by Nic's father, David Sheff, and I was immediately interested.  I use the phrase "beautiful boy" frequently, and thought that getting the book only seemed appropriate.

After discovering that the story told the father's perspective of his son's addiction and recovery, I felt even more compelled to read it.

Earlier this year, my good friend Jeff died of an accidental overdose.  I had to read this book.

For some reason, I kept putting off actually buying the book until my last week working at Barnes and Noble.  It was then that I found out that Beautiful Boy was actually a counterpart book to Tweak.  I decided that I should read the son's perspective before the father's and thus started into the story.

Tweak, in it's sincerity, captures Nic Sheff's vulnerability in a way I never expected.  The compelling read really pushed me to re-evaluate the way I view myself and others.

I highly recommend this book to anyone who has any connection whatsoever to an experience of addiction.

I can't wait to finally start in on Beautiful Boy.

wall-e: short circuit reinvented

I haven't seen a lot of movies lately, mostly because of a lack of spare time. However, I do manage to get myself to the ones that seem really inviting. This time, that movie was Wall-E.

When I first saw the commercial for Wall-E, I couldn't help but think of Johnny 5 from Short Circuit (one of my favorite films ever...especially the sequel).

Anyways, Wall-E was simply spectacular. The cute little robot put on a good show.

One of the highlights of the film was the marvelous soundtrack. Most of it including composed work made specifically for the film, but there were some special highlights thrown in there.

I especially enjoyed the inclusion of Louis Armstrong's La Vie en Rose. What a magnificent song!

As soon as I got back from the film and caught a few hours of sleep, I went straight to my handy dandy little iTunes and downloaded the track. It's warm, soothing, comforting, and everything else you could want from a song.

Here's the trailer. Enjoy :]