her morning elegance :: oren lavie

My song of the day comes from a singer songwriter playwright artist Oren Lavie's album "The Opposite Side of the Sea." He sounds similar to Leonard Cohen and Nick Drake without sounding like he's merely copying Cohen or Drake and without sounding like an angsty teen. Oren Lavie was born in Israel. He moved to London, then lived in New York where he wrote many of the songs for "The Opposite Side of the Sea." He then moved to Berlin where he recorded the album. As a side note, I wish I was able to do stuff like that.

Anyways, I was introduced to his music through youtube video, for his video "her morning elegance." It's a very well done stop motion video with a really interesting concept. His website is also a lot of fun to look through.



Sun been down for days
A pretty flower in a vase
A slipper by the fireplace
A cello lying in it's case

Soon she's down the stairs
Her morning elegance she wears
The sound of water makes her dream
Awoken by a cloud of steam
She pours a daydream in a cup
A spoon of sugar sweetens up

And She fights for her life
As she puts on her coat
And she fights for her life on the train
She looks at the rain
As it pours
And she fights for her life
As she goes in a store
With a thought she has caught
By a thread
She pays for the bread
And She goes...
Nobody knows

Sun been down for days
A winter melody she plays
The thunder makes her contemplate
She hears a noise behind the gate
Perhaps a letter with a dove
Perhaps a stranger she could love

And She fights for her life
As she puts on her coat
And she fights for her life on the train
She looks at the rain
As it pours
And she fights for her life
As she goes in a store
With a thought she has caught
By a thread
She pays for the bread
And She goes...
Nobody knows

And She fights for her life
As she puts on her coat
And she fights for her life on the train
She looks at the rain
As it pours
And she fights for her life
Where people are pleasantly strange
And counting the change
And She goes...
Nobody knows

Rachel Harrington

Today I'm straying from the theme of local music, and instead sharing some really excellent folk/bluegrass from Oregon. Rachel Harrington is a really excellent singer-songwriter, and I'll let her website bio speak for itself.

"Reared among the Pentecostal pines of Oregon, Rachel Harrington has been doing things in the wrong order for quite some time. She’d had extensive radio play before performing her live show, and she was opening for Grammy winners and nominees before releasing her first record."http://www.rachelharrington.net/home.html

My housemate and I were washing dishes last night and she played some songs off of Rachel Harrington's second cd, "City of Refuge." You can listen to some of those tracks at Rachel's myspace page. I highly recommend listening to the track Karen Kane over on myspace.

Her voice reminds me of a little Lucinda Williams, a little Gillian Welch, and a little Pieta Brown. Videos on youtube mostly feature her and the talented mandolin player Zak Borden who sings with her as well. So here are three enjoyable videos I found on youtube. I also recommend checking out her myspace to hear some of her songs that are a little more fleshed out musically, including some really tasteful use of panning if you're using headphones.

Big Star :: Haley Bonar

I love, love, love St. Paul folk singer Haley Bonar and was a little disappointed when Meggo beat me to the blogging with "Something Great" a few months ago. I've been wanting to pull something together about my other favorite song of hers, "Big Star," (also the name of her newest album) for a while, and I figured that our local music theme month was a good time.

Do you remember that episode of Seinfeld where Elaine dates a guy who's obsessed with the song "Desperado?" He actually "shushes" her so he can hear the whole thing. "Big Star" has been doing that to me lately. This song always makes me stop and just kind of put everything on hold for a while. I've actually pulled my car over when it came on the radio to listen it from beginning to end.

It's a heartbreaking song about the fickleness of fame and celebrity (I think). I especially love the little hints of the electric guitar just in the background of the chorus, just kind of bleeding through Bonar's singing. It makes my frigid Minnesotan heart ache.

"Big Star" Link

You can dress yourself up

Put on a little bit of makeup

Go out and get a haircut

And stumble out into the morning

They'll all hate you tomorrow
When no one buys your single
When you fall they'll look the other way

They're going to buy you airplanes

Fly you all over the oceans

Give you all the loving that you need

Give you all the loving that you need

Gonna be a big star

Waiting

On a big wish

I'm making

They're gonna call you "baby"

Treat you like a symbol

Of something that they'll never understand

I'm gonna read your stories

Spend springtime in the gardens

Tell my children all about the days

But I can't make you happy

I can't make you money

I can only fold your laundry

Gonna be a big star

Waiting

On a big wish

I'm making