Music Video of the Day: “For The First Time” (With A Twist)

It’s been a bit since I’ve posted a Music Video of the Day, so I thought I’d share one with y’all. In case you’re worried I’m just going to do Songs and Music Videos of the Day for all of 2011…your worries will come true! Moo hu ha ha ha! Just kidding. I’ll be changing things up with some different Harmony Avenue features very soon. In fact, you can even find a teaser list of them below this post. For now, let’s view a video of The Script’s recent single “For The First Time”…or are we? Actually, this is (unnecessary drum roll please!)…

A cover of “For The First Time” by Amy Kuney!

Amy is a terrific singer/pianist…and a very interesting one at that. (She and her friends were kidnapped and released by a group of Guatemalan rebels when she was 17, and she acted and sang on two episodes of “Gilmore Girls,” for example.) She’s done the traditional recording-albums-and-EPs-and-whatnot thing, and her songs have been heard in various shows and movies (most intriguingly in the recent film “Catfish”), but she’s also become very well-known for her covers on YouTube as well. She’s taken on tunes by everyone from Coldplay to Lady Gaga, Damien Rice to Taylor Swift. This is the latest of her YouTube covers, and one of the few she’s done with her own voice multitracked. It’s an absolutely gorgeous version of “For The First Time,” a song from Irish band The Script’s newest album (it’s been out in Europe since September, but drops in the states this Tuesday). Her voice is distinctive and assured, and this acoustically driven version of the song, with her own voice(s) acting like a choir to her lead vocals, really adds to the originality and beauty of the cover…and makes it one that’s better than the original. If you want to hear more of Amy, visit her YouTube channel (the video above should lead you to it alright) or her website. I highly recommend all of her music.

And now, a tiny sneak peek of what I’m planning for upcoming Harmony Avenue posts:

• An Artist Spotlight or two (what I always say, I know, but there’s lots of great artists I want to let you know about!)
• Album reviews of both “Knock On The Sky” (by SHeDAISY) and “Hu Hu Hu” (by Natalia LaFourcade)
• My Picks for the Grammys (I’ll be covering the big categories, naturally, but also some of the obscure ones, like Best Instrumental Arrangement Accompanying Vocals and Best Vocal Jazz Album)
• A Sketches post about men’s choirs (ish)
• A performance or two by yours truly?? (This idea has been in the works since I started this blog, but in 2011 I’d like to actually get it off the ground)
• Some other cool stuff, yo.

And that’s just a teaser…I’m bound to think of other interesting things to share. Keep up with my new posts by subscribing, either with the handy dandy little button at the top, if you’re a WordPress member, or the handy dandy little button on the right side of this blog, which sends you an email every time I post (I don’t post incessantly, so your inbox won’t be terribly bothered). See you later with a new post! Thanks for reading.

Song of the Day: “Tu y Yo”

Happy 2011, everyone! Sorry for my long 11-day absence. It happens sometimes with blogging. Many apologies…here’s a small but lovely piece of music to tide you over until I get a few more posts up in the coming days…

“Tu y Yo” by Ximena Sariñana!

Ximena is an artist (and actress) from Mexico whose debut CD, “Mediocre,” I’ve grown to absolutely love and adore after I downloaded a song from it, “Normal,” for free as an iTunes Cancion de la Semana about two years ago. She’s a terrific artist (in fact, I might do an Artist Spotlight on her down the road), with a powerful, distinctive voice, beautiful songs, and a nice artistic sensibility that’s both unique and very accessible. Her songs are a bit offbeat…but not in a “look, I’m weird!” way. It’s very subtle and sophisticated and very intriguing. Anyways, about a week ago, thanks to Ximena’s Twitter feed (in Spanish, but I follow her anyway just because), I was alerted to a song from her forthcoming new album being available for free on a music blog called Club Fonograma. (You can find that link to the free download here.) [UPDATE: Unfortunately, the download is no longer available, but you can buy the song on iTunes!) It’s an interesting progression from the goodness found on her first album…the production, by Natalia Lafourcade (a fellow outstanding Mexican artist whose most recent album I plan to review in the near future), is a little old-school-sounding…it almost sounds like it was recorded on a cozy, worn antique piano, in a cottage in the mountains. Or something like that. And the song itself? Absolutely gorgeous. It starts off soft and alluring…then goes into a heartbreakingly beautiful chorus, full of power, and a subtle, emotionally haunting quality. It’s not quite sad or happy, but somewhere in between…and Ximena taps into that sweet spot incredibly well. As an interesting side note (thanks, Internet, for your wonderful info),  this song will be the only Spanish-language track on her upcoming album…her English-language debut. Also, Dave Sitek (who produced Scarlett Johansson’s very intriguing Tom Waits cover project) and Greg Kurstin (one half of the Bird and the Bee, who has produced quite a few good things, including stuff by Lily Allen and Beck) will be contributing at producers to the record. Hopefully those pieces of news make you as excited for her new CD as I am.

(Random trivia: My mom watched a Spanish telenovela called “Luz Clarita” when I was younger…complete with the most hummable/verging on annoying/earwormy theme song ever, sung by two young girls in a very precocious style. I found out a year or so ago that Ximena was on that very program, and sung the theme song along with the girl who played Luz Clarita, Daniela Lujan. It’s a small world, eh? )

See y’all in a bit with some more Harmony Avenue goodness.