I stumbled across VV Brown the other day while watching some of the fabulous videos on the Black Cab Sessions website. I had never heard of this soulful young Brit and was immediately taken with her sultry voice.
Brown, who kicked off her career singing backup vocals for Madonna and the Pussy Cat Dolls while singing, writing, and producing on the side, came up in the UK last year with her debut single "Crying Blood". She's an ambitious and multitalented lady who does modeling for Select models UK, and has plans in the works to open a vintage clothing store soon. Her latest single "Shark in the Water" is due out on Island Records July 6th, 2009.
From what I've heard out of VV so far, I've gotta say that I appreciate her talent most when I get to hear her voice shine in an acoustic format. That said, Shark in the Water is a pretty darn enjoyable single. With the rhythmic acoustic guitar hook, sweet "ooooh-oooooh" backgrounds, and catchy chorus, it's got all the hallmarks of a summer jam.
It's the Friday before Easter, I believe this is called "Good Friday" but for those of us who go to work or school 5 days a week, I think it's pretty safe to say that all Fridays are good. Am I right?
Springtime is stretching out its muscles these days and while the economy is crumbling, the grass is poking out in bright green blades, toes and shoulders are getting some sun for the first time in months, and love is in the air. I've got a plan this spring to carry around wildflower seeds and sprinkle them on sidewalk cracks and bare dirt patches on my daily walking commute. I'm so excited by the idea of pretty flowers popping up in the gritty sidewalks of Oakland!
While I do my seed sprinkling, I like to listen to happy music, and I am finding that this one song, You and I by Ingrid Michaelson, is coming up on repeat an and awful lot. While it features Jason Mraz whom I'm not really a fan of, the sentiment of the song is downright adorable. Its got the ukulele going on, and it breaks down into a sing-a-long, which is almost always a winner in my book.
There is a lyric in this song that always sticks out at me.
"maybe I think you're cute and funny,
maybe I wanna do what bunnies do with you,
if you know what I mean"
These lyrics are relevant to me for a couple reasons. 1) It's almost Easter, which is as we all know, is a holiday honoring bunnies and chocolate. 2) I have a couple of pet bunnies and I know for a fact that what they do is UTTERLY ADORABLE.
For those of you who don't have the honor of having bunnies, you might want to check out this live bunny cam to get a feel for what I'm talking about.
In case you were wondering, all of the bunnies featured on this cam are 100% adoptable from PetSave Foundation and their Rabbitat in San Pedro CA. You know, just in case you want or need to experience the joy and adorableness up close. What this cam doesn't show is how ridiculously soft and petable these guys are. Forrealz.
And with that friends, I wish you; a happy Easter, Passover, spring, weekend, and whatever else you might be up to. Just be happy, okay?
About a year or two ago a good friend of mine invited me to come see her friend's band. They were playing at the Uptown in Oakland, CA. "What kind of music do they play?" I asked. "Just come" she said, "see for yourself, you'll like it, I promise" she said. And so knowing that my friend knows me well, I went.
When two women took the stage in tiny top hats, clad in stripey pantyhose and bustiers, I knew it was going to be a fun night. When they put on red crepe paper wigs that connected to each other at the end of the hair, and a sang tragic and silly song about two sisters joined at the hair (second track linked below), I was sold. I wanted to be their BFF.
The sister cabaret Vermillion Lies is comprised of two actual sisters named Kim and Zoe Boekbinder. They put on a funny show filled with unexpected instruments like a rusty barbecue grill, a typewriter, and a child size bike with a bell. But more than being just funny and insanely charming, these ladies make some great music, music that features the accordion. Who doesn't love some good accordion action? They're currently on the east coast with with Amanda Palmer, and if you have a chance to see them, you would be wise to do so.
testified before the United Nations about apartheid in her native South Africa and was forced into exile for 31 years as a result. She held nine passports, was granted honorary citizenship in ten countriesGrammy Award with Harry Belafonte. In short, she was a total badass who will be dearly missed.
"Throughout her life, Mama Makeba communicated a positive
message to the world about the struggle of the people of South Africa
and the certainty of victory over the dark forces of apartheid and
colonialism through the art of song."
- South African Foreign Affairs Minister Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma
It's hard to find much about this young lady written in English. Googling has revealed to me a slew of adorable photos, links to her catchy and sweet infectious french songs, and descriptive blurbs which my anglocentric brain cannot decipher. What I do know of her is that her name is Béatrice Martin, she's approximately 18 years old, and performs under the name Coeur de Pirate, which translates adorably to "Heart of Pirate". She's from Montreal and is signed to Grosse Boite/Dare to Care Records... that's about all I got on this one.
Her self titled debut album was released in September of this year. Largely vocal and piano driven, the work is peppered with sweet touches of ukulele, glockenspiel, and what I think may be an alto. With classical overtones and a playful childlike undercurrent running throughout, this album had become my "go to" for the fall. It's got just enough melancholy and just enough joy to accompany the early evenings and cinnamon smells of the season.
Sorry for the extended absence over here at Teensy T. It's been one of those times when life interferes with blogging. The past couple months have been a whirlwind of wedding planning and I am sad to say that this here blog got left in the dust. So sorries!
That said, now that the nuptials are outta the way, I'm hoping to return to a regular posting schedule ASAP. Keep your eyes peeled for more new musics by amazing ladies!
She uses her sweet, innocent, childlike voice, to sing all about love, estrangement, and trying to get by in a less than ideal world, and she does it damn well. Dulcet and frequently catchy, she is a 22 year old Swed who goes by the name of Lykke Li.
As summer draws to a close and I realize that I haven't done a third of things that I was hoping to accomplish, I 've been listening to her on repeat. Li's album, Youth Novels (currently out in Sweden and the UK, and due to hit the US next week), is a of tad melancholy, blended with a healthy does of introspection and catchy hooks which provide an overall air of calm, solace, and listenability. It's the kind of music I upload to my pod and then take with me on a nice long August walk. While reflecting on the summer, and scheming for the fall, these sounds feel just right.
This video was taken sometime last week during the Øya Festival in what looks like it might be a metro station. Watch as Lykke Li and her band of adorable lads perform a sweet acoustic version of "Hanging High".
The blogosphere has been all a twitter with Santogold since the release of her self titled album earlier this year. And with good reason, those tracks are catchy, well produced and the perfect sounds for summer.
When I stumbled on this Radioclit mix, I was taken aback by how natural it seemed to unite someone as rad as Santi with a seasoned badass like M.I.A. Genius. I know what you're thinking... how can anyone fit so much fierceness in one track? Seems hard, but the ladies behind L.E.S. Artistes and Paper Planes somehow make it work. They're magical like that.
Call me romantic, but I am a total sucker for anything melodic, meaningful, and pretty that sounds like it was recorded in someone's bedroom in the wee hours of the morning. The music of Laura Marling totally fits that bill. This young UK songstress may only be 18, but from the depth of her lyrics and soulful vocalizations you can tell she's an old soul... sorry did I just say that? I hate it when people say things like that. Let's just say even though she's young, she knows how to make good tunes. This might be part of what happens when your Dad teaches you how to play the guitar at age 3.
Beyond just making good music, Laura Marling has some really adorable music videos. Take this one for example. It's for a song called "ghosts" which is part of her first full length release Alas I Cannot Swim. The vid came out earlier this year and it features cute skeletons, paper cuts outs, big heads on tiny bodies, and of course, ghosts. It is totally worth 3 minutes and 3 seconds of your time.
When Sesame Street kicks off its 39th season on August 11th, none other than Feist will be guest starring on the episode. She'll be singing a kid-a-fied version of the song you've heard everywhere "1 2 3 4". A clip from the show, naturally, has already been leaked:
Ok, the monsters are cute. And, you've gotta have a heart made of stone if you can't appreciate Sesame Street. But while "1-2-3-4 chickens just back from the shore" is kind of amusing, this song is PLAYED OUT. Feist has got a lot of talent and I wish she would write something new. Can we just let this song die already?
