Speak New Words: Walk in Harmony :: Bethany Deline

Bethany Deline

Ukulele Player, Dancer, and Designer Extraordinaire

In case you haven't guessed already, this is my wonderful new friend, Bethany Deline. Not only is she at the U of M design school with me, but she also has a dance background and a sparkling smile. Aside from automatically being cooler than the rest of us by being from Canadia, she has also written and recoded several lovely tunes. Although she has been finding time recently to write, the music that she has up on her website currently is an eclectic mix of covers and original stuff, all with a Bethany twist. The ukulele is an instrument that can stand on its own and goes well with images of sandy beaches and warm summer days, but (I feel) is a difficult instrument to pair with others. It is so simple and sweet sounding that it would just sound wrong with big drums or rich strings. However, Bethany uses her voice, simple clapping, guitar, and even tapping to add depth and dimension to her stuff. Tapping is my clear favorite, but not simply because it is a dance form. The tapped rhythms are able to be so much complex than a clapped one, and the sound is so light and bright that it compliments her ukulele beautifully.

This particular tune, even though she begged me to use a "better" song, displays the spirit of her music well and it's more fun since there's a video that goes with it! :) The people that make those "Responsibility: pass it on" commercials could take a lesson from Bethany. So take a listen!

For more of Bethany, check out her myspace HERE and her personal website HERE.

Something Great :: Haley Bonar

i heard this song a couple of weeks back, but recently happened upon it again whilst listening to 89.3 The Current. i really dig this woman and after doing some research, i get so excited it's noticeably obvious! turns out Haley Bonar is a fellow midwesterner (from South Dakota) who is based out of St. Paul, Minnesota! *swoon!* so clearly i am completely interested in this musician from the start.

she's got a few records out (the first put out in 2003), with her latest album titled Big Star having been released earlier this past year. she has also won a couple of Minnesota Music Awards, which is super exciting as well...not to mention having her album featured in the Star Tribune, City Pages, The Onion, and Pulse magazine.

what i really enjoy about Haley Bonar is that she sounds like a nice blend of midwestern country meets hippie folk...not your typical twangy country singer, not quite weird enough to be super folky...i like how calm her music is too. she makes me want to take a road trip and buy all her music and spend 22 hours listening to just her while i leave the concrete and buildings and traffic behind and watch the corn fields and dirt roads pass me.

i am really excited for this musician and even more excited to be able to move to the Twin Cities so that i can add her to the list of artists to try to see on a regular basis!

the end.
love,
meggo.


Something Great :: Haley Bonar

(i tried to find the lyrics online, but couldn't so i did the best i could...if anyone has any corrections, feel free to leave them in the comment section!)

you've been talkin bout something great
but you don't really know what you're sayin
i guess that goes without to say
that you don't really know what you're payin for

but it's in the way
it's in the way you see
it's in the way
it's in the way you see
me

my mother told me this yesterday
that girls like me only get to somewhere
it's not really much of the things you say
but how you look at them
and who does your hair

the skin you take
the kids you face baby
the skin you take might take your place baby

you'd be talkin about something great
but you don't really know what you're saying
i guess that goes without to say
that you don't know really what you're paying for
what you're paying for
what you're paying for

Free Download Here