2010
these dreams are forever
maura @ 9:39 pm
It’s been a whiny summer here at mauraweb!, and I’m sorry about that. Really, I am. Seriously! Stop laughing. I can still see you snickering behind your hand.
I realized the other day that I’m having a summer of female vocalists. First it was the new Tracey Thorn record in May. Then in June I got the second Lady Gaga record for my birthday, and almost immediately had to buy the first. In each of these cases I pulled a total deep-ender and found myself listening to little else (except for the occasional Orbital, which is my anti-writer’s-block go-to music).
For July it’s most definitely been Janelle Monae. I was a little late to this party–my pal Luke and millions of others have been blogging her praises since the record came out in May. But now I’m fully hooked. Everything everyone says is true: it’s an incredibly rich, diverse, funky album. I love the references to folks like Bowie and Prince, but I also adore the orchestral sections, esp. the strings. She’s arranged the record into two suites and it feels like a soundtrack, which reminds me of my obsession with the Diva soundtrack when I was in high school. And I double-dog dare you *not* to tap your feet along with the single. Go ahead, try it–I’ll wait:
See?
I suspect that my August will continue to be filled w/female voices: Kristin Hersh’s new record was just released. Actually it’s a book and a record. A recbook. A bookord. Whatever it is, I’m ordering it right up.
4 comments on “these dreams are forever”
Oh, and both Best Coast and Dum Dum Girls remind me of the Primitives, just a little bit. So you might like them. (Sorry for the double post. no coffee yet).
I know, Tightrope (and Dance or Die) has fast become my psyche-myself-up-for-things-I-don’t-want-to-do song. So great.
Cool, I’ll check them out, thanks! I’ve heard of Dum Dum Girls but haven’t had a chance to listen, and will add Best Coast to my list too.
[…] music music: I’m in a music rut again. It started at the end of the summer, my summer of female vocalists, when I slid into the fall (which was itself very summery, anyway) on the tails of Janelle […]
“Tightrope” is the song of the year. I don’t know how anyone can out do it.
I’ve been digging Best Coast and Dum Dum Girls, both two different flavors of girly sound.