"The clouds, the clouds
Clouds raced all across the autumn sky
And you and I fumbled for a way to say goodbye
Strangers weren't we
Scared to look into each other's eyes?"
My One and Only Thrill has been sitting in the CD-player of my car for days, continuously playing as I drive and add to my list of reasons why Melody Gardot makes me melt. The passage above is just one that stuck with me while listening to the album. It hasn't happened since Fiona Apples When the Pawn... but this is a state of pure awe. Baby I'm a Fool, the opener of the album, kicks it off with gorgeous violin that painted a dozen pictures of bliss in my head. I felt myself speed up as I got to track #3, Who Will Comfort Me. I must apologize to my comrades driving on Northwest Highway because the second the rhythmic acoustic guitar sounded beginning this song, I was swept away. Gardot’s impeccable delivery as the words "My soul is a-weary" trickle from her lips...I was hooked within the first ten seconds! After a verse or so the trumpets solidify the awesome groove that pumps through the entire song. Elements pile on top of each other as Gardot scats and, at the end, adds a choir of baritone voices to echo her pleading "Who will comfort me?".
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qKDj-OVJ6hc
All of that, and that's not even my favorite! They all are..I could gush at least that much about most songs on this album.
The next one to stick with me was the haunting "Your Heart is as Black as Night". The emotion of the piano accompaniment would suffice, but as soon as Gardot lays her sultry vocals on thick, the song takes off. In perhaps the most accusatory track, Gardot keeps her magnificent cool as she slides from note to note with the same ease as every other track--which is almost more enticing than the obnoxious belt of many other current artists.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kmc1XN3iVVc
The album has impressed me so far (if you couldnt tell, shame on you), but I hadn't been moved to tears quite yet. Lover Undercover begins with an innocent sounding Melody simply stating: "I don't need anything more than I got, I'll make it simple when others may not". The song is a word of comfort to a lover, a letter of loyalty as Gardot promises to ease her lover's pain. Everything about this heartfelt ballad moved me. As I drove through the hellish parking lot of Northpark Mall the day after Christmas, this track played and calmed my road rage and my fear of screwing up. I entered a daze the first time I heard it and still check into the same peaceful place in my head when I see the track number change to #5. The climax of the song arrives at the last note. All accompaniment holds as Gardot finishes the song off herself (as she does on other songs as well). Gardot sings the words:
"Whenever you need a soft touch
Know my demands are small
Make me a lover, undercover
Or don't ever love me at all"
All of the words are sung with the typical delivery until Gardot reaches the last phrase. She launches into a beautiful full voice with the words "at all" as she commands your attention. For reasons beyond my logical understanding, I was almost moved to tears at the sound of that note. I guess the music had already lulled me into a perpetual state of content and that last note was the reminder that Melody wants what she wants--a lover undercover. I melted.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gLNzMxhyDWU
I could gush for hours, and will probably write more posts about Gardot as I continue to learn about her. I still need to rant about Our Love is Easy, but all in good time. As soon as I am able to take a break from My One and Only Thrill I am going to do everything in my power to learn about Melody Gardot. What an inspiration.
"How was I to know that this was always only just a little game to you?
All the time I felt you gave your heart I thought that I would do the same for you,
Tell the truth I think I should have seen it coming from a mile away,
When the words you say are,
'Baby I’m a fool who thinks it’s cool to fall in love'"
Monday, December 28, 2009
Tuesday, December 15, 2009
Maya: Emerge By Michael Lagoki
Over the past year or so I have been very blessed to meet some of the most creative and talented people I know through a non-profit organization called ArtLoveMagic. The band I play bass in (Rin Tin Tin) was approached at a Zounds Sounds show by Justin Nygren (a founder of ALM). He gave us his card and told us that he was interested in booking us to play shows. We had no idea at the time that we would become very close with the people of ArtLoveMagic.
Rin Tin Tin has played a zillion of ArtLoveMagic's Art and Coffee shows. These open mic nights are held at Saxby's Coffee in Farmer's Branch and serve as a showcase for poets, musicians, painters, and damn near every kind of art you can think of. At one of our first Art and Coffees, we watched another founder, Michael Lagoki, recite an incredibly moving poem that spoke to us in an astonishing way. His poem is titled Maya: Emerge and describes man's desire to do good combating the compulsion to be selfish. His poem illustrates the aspect of our very human nature to put ourselves first when others should be the most important.
^Live scribing
I truly admire Michael Lagoki, here is
Maya: Emerge
This world is a Maya.
It's a metaphor for self.
True connection feels like heaven- isolation feels like hell.
We've always known it was illusion, yet still it hit the truth.
So we've been waiting and debating, we've been organizing proof. We've been analyzing roots cause we've been strategizing moves. We've been gathering and cataloging hints and lies and clues.
See it's easy to get lost when you're trying to put a puzzle together, even when you know it's a game.
Because how do you do a puzzle when the pieces keep changing? ...when the size and the shapes and the colors and the names and even the picture on the BOX are all in constant shift, and they're breathing in and out and they're moving around like this, and you thought you made progress but you find yourself back where you thought you had started, still craving what you lacked, and you scream
"I've been trying, I've been doing right. I've been reading holy books, sayin' prayers every night. I've been walking the faith. I've been giving to the poor. I have been begging God to open the door."
But you know the truth is you've been both. You've been the sacred and the profane. Yeah, you were honoring the name when you weren't taking it in vain. And you were giving to the poor when it didn't occur to you to hoard. And you were lifting up your gifts when you weren't demanding more.
But hey, that's what life is, it's a paradox of sorts.
You are a vibration in the body of God, moving back and moving forth.
So why don't you ease up a bit? Stop providing so much stress.
You didn't come forth here to judge yourself, you came here to express, to think and feel and bless, to open up your chest, to use the language of your soul to birth magnificence. The wise ones will rejoice. We are at a time of choice.
We need to feel your voice.
Step forward and be heard. Reclaim the gift of word.
Creativity, vitality, through poetry: emerge."
-Michael Lagocki
If you would like to hear Michael recite his poem, go to the music section of ArtLoveMagic.com
http://artlovemagic.com/homebase/radio_02.htm
Rin Tin Tin has played a zillion of ArtLoveMagic's Art and Coffee shows. These open mic nights are held at Saxby's Coffee in Farmer's Branch and serve as a showcase for poets, musicians, painters, and damn near every kind of art you can think of. At one of our first Art and Coffees, we watched another founder, Michael Lagoki, recite an incredibly moving poem that spoke to us in an astonishing way. His poem is titled Maya: Emerge and describes man's desire to do good combating the compulsion to be selfish. His poem illustrates the aspect of our very human nature to put ourselves first when others should be the most important.
^Live scribing
I truly admire Michael Lagoki, here is
Maya: Emerge
This world is a Maya.
It's a metaphor for self.
True connection feels like heaven- isolation feels like hell.
We've always known it was illusion, yet still it hit the truth.
So we've been waiting and debating, we've been organizing proof. We've been analyzing roots cause we've been strategizing moves. We've been gathering and cataloging hints and lies and clues.
See it's easy to get lost when you're trying to put a puzzle together, even when you know it's a game.
Because how do you do a puzzle when the pieces keep changing? ...when the size and the shapes and the colors and the names and even the picture on the BOX are all in constant shift, and they're breathing in and out and they're moving around like this, and you thought you made progress but you find yourself back where you thought you had started, still craving what you lacked, and you scream
"I've been trying, I've been doing right. I've been reading holy books, sayin' prayers every night. I've been walking the faith. I've been giving to the poor. I have been begging God to open the door."
But you know the truth is you've been both. You've been the sacred and the profane. Yeah, you were honoring the name when you weren't taking it in vain. And you were giving to the poor when it didn't occur to you to hoard. And you were lifting up your gifts when you weren't demanding more.
But hey, that's what life is, it's a paradox of sorts.
You are a vibration in the body of God, moving back and moving forth.
So why don't you ease up a bit? Stop providing so much stress.
You didn't come forth here to judge yourself, you came here to express, to think and feel and bless, to open up your chest, to use the language of your soul to birth magnificence. The wise ones will rejoice. We are at a time of choice.
We need to feel your voice.
Step forward and be heard. Reclaim the gift of word.
Creativity, vitality, through poetry: emerge."
-Michael Lagocki
If you would like to hear Michael recite his poem, go to the music section of ArtLoveMagic.com
http://artlovemagic.com/homebase/radio_02.htm
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