5/16/16

"It really breaks my heart
To see a dear old friend
Go down in the worn old place again
Do you know the sound
Of a closing door?
Have you heard that sound somewhere before?
Do you wonder if she knows you anymore?

I wrapped your love around me like a chain
But I never was afraid that it would die
You can dance in a hurricane
But only if you’re standing in the eye."

Brandi Carlile is one of those artists who I've still yet to really indulge in, but have a feeling I'd really like. This song, "The Eye," has been in my head since I found it on a Spotify playlist late last week, and I love love love it. Whether it's representative of most of her other songs, I can't say, but I can say I've never heard a song of hers that I didn't instantly gravitate toward, and that didn't stick in my head for days -- "The Things I Regret" is equally as powerful but on the uptempo side.

She's got a way with the hook- and in a catchy rock song, that's the part that you need to master. Her voice is strong and supple, and her guitar parts are folksy and melodic. There's a lot of layers here, but the pleasant kind, warm and inviting. Brandi doesn't sugar coat, though, and tackles these issues of dealing with life and love and oneself with some kind of passionate abandon; she's all about never giving up in the face of adversity but instead letting it make you more beautiful, more colorful somehow. And uses these powerful metaphors, about forces of love and war and the universe. Listening to "The Eye" makes me think about the tumultuous times in my life, however distant or recent in memory, and realize how I got through them by finding some sort of center, whether that center was my routine, my company or my discipline.

I was happily surprised tonight when, in going back to look for this song, I found this video with an uncut live performance with Brandi and two accompanying back-up vocalists with some sure and steady harmonies. While I thoroughly enjoyed the recorded version of this song, this video is proof: a good song is a good song is a good song, and needs little else but voices and an instrument to see it through. Purely performance. Simply stunning.

"I am a sturdy soul

And there ain't no shame
In lying down in the bed you've made
Can you fight the urge to run for another day?
You might make it further if you learn to stay.

I wrapped your love around me like a chain
But I never was afraid that it would die
You can dance in a hurricane
But only if you’re standing in the eye
You can dance in a hurricane
But only if you’re standing in the eye."

~The Eye

Brandi Carlile, The Firewatcher's Daughter

3/1/15

"Love is not a victory march, it's a cold and it's a broken Hallelujah."



Another day, another discovered "Hallelujah" cover. Hearing Brandi Carlise's version for the first time today led to me seek out a compiled list of its best versions; little did I know this was a timely search. The first performance of the familiar, timeless ballad turned 30 last month.

I think the first version I ever heard was Jeff Buckley's. The iconic one. The most broken one, with the crying guitar. It is sadder than the John Cale version that perhaps is considered the standard beyond Leonard Cohen's initial creation, even though I agree that the uninitiated listener might assume the song is Buckley's own. He is in it. He is it. 

Interesting with how many versions there are, this song retains mystery, in its haunting structure and veiled innuendo. Among covers, it is one of the most (obviously) common to tackle,but it is also a challenge. This song isn't easy to sing, especially at as slow a tempo as most wind up choosing, and how do you make someone hear the same story and make it sound like new? 

One could argue the world doesn't need more covers of the same song, but I would counter that with the importance of the capacity to adapt and authenticate. Six years ago, I felt differently. But here, after I've taken time to explore and understand my own creative impulses, I see why you would want to honor the work you are inspired by, and pour yourself into it. The best of the best make it work, by the choices they make - an arpeggio here, a breath or gasp there. Acoustic or full band, head voice or soft whispers on the high notes? Choices large and small, in music as in life, make all the difference to success of the whole. Take Brandi's version - completely her own, in her own strong and emotive style. Her voice soars past the octave effortlessly, and fully. The feminine take is not to be ignored. Not to mention the fact I'm a sucker for brilliant singer-songwriters playing with symphonies. Is there a more glorious, holy sound in the world than peaking strings and subtle woodwinds backing up a familiar melody?

The minor fall, and the major lift. 

"So maybe there's a god above
But all I ever learned from love
Was how to shoot at someone who outdrew you.

It's not a cry that you hear at night,
it's not somebody who's seen the light
It's a cold and it's a broken Hallelujah."

~Hallelujah
Leonard Cohen, Various Positions
Brandi Carlise,Live at Benaroya Hall
Jeff Buckley, Grace
et.al

10/11/12

A very beautiful song.

A pair of very talented ladies performed this at an open mic last night, I was very impressed. Pretty much everyone was phenomenal last night. But this song was extremely well-executed and they sang like angels from Folk Heaven. I myself was not so impressive -- quite the opposite, actually, still trying to erase the memory. But it all got me thinking about natural talent, the gifts we're born with that we choose to hone. It could be anything. You'll hear people say that 90 percent of success is showing up, and that talent means nothing if you don't use it...which I believe, to a certain degree. Affinities need to be mastered in order to achieve greatness. Sweat equity bears results. But sheer, God-given talent...well, regardless of skill, you just know it when you see it or hear it or read it or whatever. It touches your heart instantly, makes time stop and makes you see the world in a different way, for a minute or for forever.

I simply don't think that's something you can learn. Pity those of us who are not as blessed, who instead look up in a humble mix of awe and envy, wondering what it feels like to be able to give those gifts to the world.

"I was born when I met you,
Now I'm dying to forget you,
And that is what I know.
Though I dreamed I would fall,
Like a wounded cannonball,
Sinking down with my heart in tow.

Bright lights like white lightning,
Who shot me down?
Who will cut me down?
I'm frozen in my bed till the day comes around,
How I'm lost,
How I'm found.

There's a man all alone,
Telling me his friends are gone,
That they've died and flown away.
So I told him he was wrong,
That you friends are never gone,
If you look to the sky and pray.

Bright lights like white lightning
Who shot me down
Who will cut me down
I'm frozen in my bed till the day comes around
How I'm lost
How I'm found

Someone told me a lie
Someone looked me in the eye
And said time will ease your pain
But behold, when you fall
It's that same old cannonball
Coming back for your heart again

Bright lights like white lightning
Who shot me down
Who will cut me down
I'm frozen in my bed till the day comes around
And it may come around
Until the day comes around
How I'm lost
How I'm found

I was born when I met you
Now I'm dying to forget you
And that is what I know."
~Cannonball
Brandi Carlile, The Story