Artist Spotlight: Sia

Hello again. It’s been a bit, hasn’t it? (As usual.) Looking over my past posts, I didn’t realize that I hadn’t done an Artist Spotlight for a while…in fact, the last spotlight post I made was back in October, during Anniversary Week, with the candlestick…ahem, I mean, about the astoundingly talented Laura Marling. The time is ripe for the first Artist Spotlight in 2012, so here it is, by way of Australia…

Sia!

Sia (whose full name is Sia Furler) is definitely a special kind of artist. She started off her career doing mostly singer-songwriter-oriented music, but has since dipped her toes in pop and dance music as well. And her voice…wow. It’s such an expressive, unique, singular instrument. I know it’s a bit of a cliche to say “you’ve never heard anything like it,” but really, with Sia it just might be true.

I first came in contact with her music in 2008, around the time her third studio album, “Some People Have Real Problems,” came out. I’m not sure exactly how I discovered that particular album, but I took a few listens to it and now here we are. I also have a few cuts from her previous studio album, “Colour The Small One,” on my iPod. The first, “Breathe Me,” may sound familiar, as it was used in the series finale of “Six Feet Under,” and has also popped up in commercials here and there. The second, “Don’t Bring Me Down,” is a hauntingly fragile song backed by lush strings. (I can’t find a way to embed the album version here on the blog, but you can check it out here.) Notice how Sia’s voice sounds in these songs…it’s a bit of a different vocal approach than the one she would use in her later music.

Of course, it was her next album that started it all for me, as I mentioned above. She really lets her voice free in these songs, it seems like, and the songs themselves are beautifully written. Take a listen to three standouts, the heartbreaking “You Have Been Loved,” clever kiss-off “The Girl You Lost To Cocaine,” and tender “Day Too Soon” (which is a song I’d either love to sing or have played at my wedding someday…the lyrics are perfect):

And here’s one more track from that album (I had to keep myself from sharing more…), complete with music video. It was free on iTunes one week, and I of course jumped on that offer. It was a song I hadn’t heard before I watched the video…and I was blown away, both musically and visually. It’s terrific:

Her latest album, “We Are Born,” came out in 2010, and it was an interesting shift in direction for Sia. It’s a collection of, essentially, dance pop…but done brilliantly as only Sia can. If I had my way, I’d share the whole album, but as usual I’ll keep myself to a few of my favorites…firecracker album opener “The Fight,” the disco-themed “You’ve Changed,” the peppy “Bring Night,” and the stark, beautiful “I’m In Here,” which harks back to Sia’s earlier work:

OK, so I may have embedded enough media here to paper my wall (if walls could be papered by streaming med…y’know, I’m just going to quit while I’m behind), but I have a few more songs to share with you before we go. (It’s really hard choosing my favorites with Sia, as is the case with pretty much any of my favorite artists. Just be glad I’m not dumping a bunch of clips on you and calling it a day. Anyways, Sia’s music isn’t just limited to her albums…her voice has also cropped up over the years on various soundtracks and cover projects. Notably, she contributed a gorgeous number to the “Eclipse” soundtrack (yep, she sang in a “Twilight” movie…), called “My Love.” She also did a terrific cover of Radiohead’s classic “Paranoid Android” on a Radiohead tribute album. And, oh, she’s collaborated with two people you just might have heard of lately…French producer David Guetta and rapper Flo Rida (yes, that fool behind “Low” and “Right Round”), on “Titanium” and “Wild Ones” respectively. To say she elevates both tracks to new heights would be a huge understatement. Hear all of those great Sia appearances here (like I wouldn’t embed them after all that):

And now I shall escape before I end up embedding any more songs. At least you have a lot of music to dive into. I’ll be back in a bit with a new Song of the Day, and later on with some more posts. (Famous last words? ) Thanks, as always, for reading and listening!

My Best Songs of 2011

Alas, it’s the end of the year. The time when many “best of” lists are posted. Just like last year, I have utilized my handy dandy iTunes play count (and numerous Top 40/Top 100/Top 200-style auto-playlists) to formulate a list of songs I’ve downloaded this year that I’ve listened to constantly. To add to the fun, just for kicks I searched out the songs from 2010 in my Top 200 Most Played that didn’t make it onto last year’s Best Songs. They’re included in their own list below. As I noted last year, a few of these weren’t released this year…I just caught on to them within 2011. (In fact, this is true of more than a few entries on this list…this year I went old-school. Comparatively, anyhow.) Here they are…my top 23 songs of the year.

1. No Cars Go — Arcade Fire (#7, 45 plays, added Apr. 15)
2. How Come You Never Go There — Feist (#12, 42 plays, added Oct. 3) (check out my Song of the Day post on it here)
3. Never Leave Your Heart Alone — Butterfly Boucher (#13, 41 plays, added Feb. 10) (also a past Song of the Day, found here)
4. Cold War — Janelle Monáe (#19, 40 plays, added Apr. 25)
5. Tú y Yo — Ximena Sariñana (#22, 39 plays, added Jan. 5) (yet another Song of the Day alum, its post is here)
6. New York — Paloma Faith (#43, 35 plays, added Mar. 11)
7. Crown of Love — Arcade Fire (#50, 33 plays, added Apr. 15)
8. Queen of Hearts — Company of Thieves (#62, 32 plays, added May 17)
9. Rebellion (Lies) — Arcade Fire (#83, 29 plays, added Apr. 15)
10. Hoppípolla – Sigur Rós (#89, 29 plays, added Jul. 3) (these Songs of the Day are popping up like daisies on this list…find it here)
11. Every Teardrop Is A Waterfall — Coldplay (#92, 28 plays, added Jun. 3)
12. Sophia — Laura Marling (#99, 28 plays, added Jul. 25)
13. Stone Cold Sober — Paloma Faith (#102, 28 plays, added Jan. 2)
14. Lippy Kids — Elbow (#110, 27 plays, added Mar. 11)
15. Shake It Out — Florence + The Machine (#112, 27 plays, added Oct. 17)
16. Young Love — Mystery Jets feat. Laura Marling (#122, 26 plays, added Aug. 21)
17. Someone Like You — Adele (#124, 25 plays, added Feb. 20)
18. Mixtape (with the BBC Heritage Orchestra) (Live) — Jamie Cullum (#132, 25 plays, added May 16)
19. Rollerblades — Eliza Doolittle (#151, 23 plays, added Jan. 6)
20. Tallulah — Company of Thieves (#173, 21 plays, added May 17)
21. Love Is A Losing Game — Sachal Vasandani (#182, 21 plays, added Jun. 20)
22. Avenue — Agnes Obel (#187, 20 plays, added Sep. 28)
23. Cry Baby — Cee-Lo Green (#190, 20 plays, added Aug. 10) (subject of a Music Video of the Day earlier this year…watch it here)

An interesting note before I dive into the songs from last year that got left out of the 2010 list because they were late bloomers…”Mixtape,” a song that was no. 30 on last year’s post, found its way onto the “best of” list yet again in 2011, this time via an amazing live version he did with the BBC Heritage Orchestra during a BBC Proms performance. (I posted the video in my Artist Spotlight on him earlier this year.)

Now, the songs I downloaded in 2010 that grew on me enough this year to now be part of my Top 200 Most Played playlist on iTunes. There’s one group you may notice makes a strong showing…more on that in a minute.

1. Bulldozer — Bess Rogers (#17, 40 plays, added 12/29/10) (Song of the Day post here)
2. Deep Blue — Arcade Fire (#28, 37 plays, added 9/6/10)
3. Rolling In The Deep — Adele (#35, 35 plays, added 12/4/10) (yep, I had it a YEAR ago…)
4. We Used To Wait — Arcade Fire (#59, 32 plays, added 8/31/10)
5. Under The Sheets — Ellie Goulding (#63, 32 plays, added 12/16/10)
6. The Suburbs — Arcade Fire (#91, 28 plays, added 8/20/10)
7. Niño Hojas — Natalia LaFourcade (#101, 28 plays, added 12/4/10)
8. Wake Up — Arcade Fire (#125, 25 plays, added 10/28/10)
9. Kaleidoscope Heart — Sara Bareilles (#142, 24 plays, added 9/6/10)
10. Bluebird — Sara Bareilles (#143, 24 plays, added 9/6/10)
11. Guns and Horses — Ellie Goulding (#152, 23 plays, added 12/16/10)
12. Pocket Philosopher — Mandy Moore (#155, 23 plays, added 8/31/10)
13. Ready To Start — Arcade Fire (#159, 22 plays, added 9/6/10)
14. Scared of the Dark — Courtney Cotter (#160, 22 plays, added 6/27/10)
15. Every Time You Go — Ellie Goulding (#161, 22 plays, added 12/16/10)
16. I’m Not Calling You A Liar — Florence + The Machine (#162, 22 plays, added 10/14/10)
17. Swimming — Florence + The Machine (#175, 21 plays, added 10/14/10)
18. Machine Gun — Sara Bareilles (#183, 21 plays, added 9/6/10)
19. Big Jumps — Emiliana Torrini (#196, 20 plays, added 7/19/10)

Could you spot which group I fell madly in love with this year? Perhaps this post back in April might help you out. Yep, 2011 was the Year of Arcade Fire for me. I had gotten their album “The Suburbs” back in the summer of 2010, and loved it, but didn’t pay too much attention to it (evidence: the fact that not a single Arcade Fire song made it onto last year’s Best of list)…that all changed when I went on impulse to see them in concert earlier this year, and afterwards I immediately bought every single one of their songs that I didn’t already own.  I’ve listened to them a heck of a lot since April, and it shows on my most played songs, for sure. Eight songs from the two lists above are by Arcade Fire. Other artists that make multiple appearances: on the 2011 list, Paloma Faith, Company of Thieves, and Laura Marling each have 2 (Laura’s second is as a featured artist); on the list with leftovers from last year, Ellie Goulding and Sara Bareilles appear 3 times, and Florence + The Machine appears twice (in addition to an appearance on the 2011 list). All in all, it’s been a fantastic past two years of music.

My end-of-2011 posting isn’t done yet. Stay tuned for not one, but TWO separate posts highlighting my favorite albums of 2011. (And I picked them all by myself. Take THAT, iTunes!) You’ll find some big tickets, but also some hidden gems, and a few unexpected choices. At least one post will be on its way tomorrow, hopefully two. (If not, Part II will go up New Year’s Eve at the latest.) I’m excited to share my album picks with you, and for now, thanks for stopping by, and see you again soon.

Two Songs of the Day: “Keep Your Head Up” and “Landfill”

Since, as usual, I haven’t posted in a while, here’s not one Song of the Day…but two! They’re very nicely contrasting in style, and they’ve been on my mind (and in my ears) for a while. The first song? How about a little…

“Keep Your Head Up” by Andy Grammer!

A good friend, who’s now living and working as a sound engineer in the very entertainment-filled city of Branson, Missouri, actually tipped me off to this song, and Andy Grammer’s music in general. (He also was lucky enough to be able to attend an Andy Grammer/Natasha Bedingfield/Kate Voegele concert a month or two ago.) This song is very upbeat and positive, but what I really love about it, and a lot of Andy’s music that I’ve heard, is that it balances that positivity and catchiness with a nice sense of depth and maturity. It’s a very happy song that will most likely get stuck in your head (and keep your finger glued to the repeat button), but it has substance and a little something that keeps it from being too sticky-sweet, like some upbeat songs can tend to be. It also helps that Andy’s voice is soaring and very easy on the ears…it’s a great balance of textures, and it works very nicely for this song.

Now, for a more introspective offering…

“Landfill” by Daughter!

This was the Indie Spotlight Free Download on iTunes a week or two ago, and even though I got it for free (you can too…this SoundCloud widget includes a download link), I would have gladly paid quite a bit of money for it. It’s a gorgeous, heartbreaking, beautifully fragile song, full of warmth, longing, and soul. (Enough descriptors there for you? Whew.) The lyrics are very powerful…the crux of the song comes at the end of each chorus, when Daughter (AKA Elena Tonra) sings the very relatable line, “I want you so much…but I hate your guts.” The duality of desire and bitterness over a love lost is a very striking one, and it, along with Elena’s stunningly pure, expressive voice, and the beautifully stark instrumentation, makes for an unforgettable listening experience.

See y’all soon with some more new posts (in fact, if all goes to plan I should be introducing an intriguing new weekly feature tomorrow), and quite possibly, a new blog theme. Stay tuned for more musical goodness here at Harmony Avenue.

Song of the Day: “Hoppípolla”

I hope you all had a wonderful Fourth of July. I really need to get back to regular posting…anyways, here’s a gorgeous Song of the Day…

“Hoppípolla” by Sigur Rós!

So about a year ago or so, thanks to a viewing of “How To Train Your Dragon” (an excellent film, by the way) with my family, I fell madly in love with the music of Jónsi, the lead singer of (you guessed it) Icelandic band Sigur Rós. He had contributed a song to the movie, which played during the end credits, called “Sticks and Stones,” and while the rest of my posse didn’t pay it much mind at the time, I was hooked. I checked out his recently released solo album (called “Go”), and from then on it was musical love.

Except I forgot one thing. As I said before, Jónsi is the lead singer of a band…and I had neglected to check out any of said band’s music. Sigur Rós had actually caught my eye in a somewhat unusual way a few years prior…their most recent album, “Með suð í eyrum við spilum endalaust,” features a rather revealing cover, and while seeing it on the iTunes front page, and recognizing the name of Sigur Rós, I decided to briefly check their music out, mainly due to curiosity. I must not have stayed long, because I didn’t end up downloading or searching out anything else of theirs.

That all changed, though, a few days ago. After seeing a random song of theirs in passing on my iTunes sidebar (iTunes seems to be the key to a lot of my music discovery lately…), and taking a brief listen to it, a few nights ago I decided to take another look at their music, spurred by my admiration of Jónsi’s work. I don’t know how it came to be the first song I listened to, but “Hoppípolla” was my official introduction to Sigur Rós (I think it might have had something to do with the fact that I looked up the band on a favorite sheet music website of mine, and the song was one of only two the site had for sale), and it grabbed me almost instantly. It starts off with a simple piano line, then grows with guitars and strings…and takes off into something truly special. About halfway through the song, it starts to build even more, and after a sweeping orchestra melody kicks in…it’s pretty much musical heaven. Full disclosure: I started crying while listening to this song for the first time. That’s certainly not something that happens often with me, and when it happens, it’s something to be excited about. Even though the lyrics are in Icelandic (and, for the latter, part, “Hopelandic,” the ethereal made-up language that Sigur Rós utilizes very often), this song touched me in a deeper, almost unexplainable way than just any normal tune does. It’s music of intense beauty, creativity, and happiness, and it’s something that most certainly should be shared.

As always, thanks for reading! Up next on my writing queue is a new Artist Spotlight, on indie songstress Alyse Black. See you soon with that (hopefully “soon” this time will actually be “soon”), and keep on the lookout for some new posts, new features, and new ways to help make this blog better.

Cover Stories: “I Can’t Make You Love Me”

How about I skip the usual “aaah, I haven’t posted in a long time” nonsense and just skip to a new feature I’ve been meaning to debut? Yeah? Here we go.

I’m calling this one “Cover Stories”…every so often, I’ll highlight a well-known song, and share a few choice covers of said song. I’ve always been a huge fan of well-done cover songs–and thus they populate my iPod and listening habits quite heavily. And I’ll probably write about them a bit. And that’s pretty much it…if you guys have any suggestions of how I can spice this up, let me know, but hopefully the beauty lies in its simplicity. The first song? Let’s go with a gem originally by Bonnie Raitt…

“I Can’t Make You Love Me”

In case you haven’t heard it, its music video is embedded above. It’s an absolutely heartbreaking song about the end of a romance…but rather than being simply being something depressing and sad, it’s completely powerful and riveting. Here’s an excerpt from the Wikipedia article about the song, explaining some of its early origins:

“The idea for the song came to Reid while reading an article about a man arrested for getting drunk and shooting at his girlfriend’s car. The judge asked him if he had learned anything, to which he replied, “I learned, Your Honor, that you can’t make a woman love you if she don’t.” Reid and Shamblin were both country music songwriters, who according to some accounts originally wrote the song as a fast, bluegrass number. Upon slowing down the tempo considerably, they realized the song gained considerable power. It then made its way to Raitt.”

Bonnie also reportedly recorded the song in just one take, saying that she couldn’t recapture the emotion in the song again in the studio.

With such a singular, almost magical song, how could any other artist add on it? Jazz vocalist Sophie Milman did just that, with an absolutely gorgeous take on the song on her most recent album, “Take Love Easy.” The arrangement is stunning, her vocal is passionate and beautiful, and a few terrific reharmonizations within the chords bring the song to even more life:

Another great cover I’ve heard of the song is from a somewhat unlikely source…a contestant on “American Idol.” And in this case, someone who in my opinion is one of the best the show has ever had…season 8′s Allison Iraheta. She injects the song with tons of raw fire, and almost an effortless-sounding sense of the emotional core of it all. Add to that the fact that at the time she performed this, she was only 16 years old, and prepare to be impressed. The studio version of her live performance is embedded here (a quick YouTube search should turn up the just-as-terrific live version, which I wasn’t able to embed):

Finally, here’s probably one of the most unconventional takes of the song I’ve heard…a version by indie artist Bon Iver (the stage name of Justin Vernon), performed on “Late Night with Jimmy Fallon,” that mashes up a bit of the song with the classic Donny Hathaway tune “A Song For You,” and another Bonnie Raitt hit, “Nick of Time.” It’s something that seems like it wouldn’t work on paper…but thanks to the stark, lovely piano backing, and Justin’s committed, wonderfully unique vocal, it all clicks together very nicely.

So there we go. The test drive of the new Cover Stories feature is complete. Let me know your thoughts about it. I’ll see y’all soon with a new Artist Spotlight, on the amazing singer-songwriter Alyse Black. Thanks for reading!

Song of the Day: “To Build A Home”

So…16 days have passed by. Without a post. For shame, Brandon, for shame. This tonight, and an Artist Spotlight tomorrow. Plus I still have a lot of interesting things cooked up for later. For now…today’s/tonight’s Song of the Day? How about…

“To Build A Home” by the Cinematic Orchestra (feat. Patrick Watson)!

 

This is a gorgeous tune by a British group called The Cinematic Orchestra, which actually usually does instrumental music, from what I understand. According to Wikipedia (because Wikipedia knows all? ), they often have a more jazz/electronic vibe. I haven’t checked out their music much, but since Jamie Cullum name-checked them, and this song is so terrific, perhaps I should. Anyways, it’s a very sparse, yet driving piano-based ballad (with some tasteful, beautiful strings) with vocals by Canadian singer/songwriter Patrick Watson (who I’d actually already heard of, and I have 2 of his songs on my iPod to boot). Of all people to introduce me to it…my sister actually told me about this, which is kind of crazy, since she’s totally into more mainstream music than I am. (Apparently she’s in a ‘contemporary music’ mood right now, so she’s been getting into a LOT of artists/music I love much more than whatever we agree on in the field of music normally. It’s kind of amazing. ) It’s sweeping, heartbreaking, and uplifting all at once. It’s rather hard for me to get enough of it.

See you soon with fresh posts, and lots of great music! My next post (if things according to plan) will be an Artist Spotlight on the aforementioned Jamie Cullum. You’re gonna love him, I know it. Thanks for reading, as always!

Song of the Day: “The Truth”

Here’s a lovely Song of the Day, the first in May…I say.

“The Truth” by Catherine Papworth!

(Unfortunately, I can’t get the widget to embed correctly right now from ReverbNation, so here’s the link until I can figure the technical problems out:  http://www.reverbnation.com/play_now/song_5560589) (UPDATE! The link to the widget is below. Either click that link, or the link above. Either one should work fine.)

http://cache.reverbnation.com/widgets/swf/40/pro_widget.swf?id=artist_240888&posted_by=&skin_id=PWAS1008&font_color=333333&auto_play=false&shuffle=false&song_ids=5560589


I was lucky enough to see Catherine perform at an informal little open mic night in someone’s backyard last week, and although I had heard a lot about her due to her connections with Noteworthy (the awesome women’s a cappella group at BYU that she was in and eventually co-directed during her time there) and Arizona and everything, I hadn’t really heard much of her music. The few songs she played were absolutely gorgeous…ranging from a stop-you-in-your-tracks cover of the Cure’s “Friday I’m In Love” (which apparently was free a few months ago, but now is completely unavailable, which makes me a bit sad) to one or two excellent originals to, of course, this lovely number (also an original). It’s the title track off her recent EP, and it’s uplifting, beautiful, outstandingly crafted…it’s heartfelt, but refreshing at the same time. (The way the piano starts off, and the delicious harmonies, get me every time.) I can’t get enough of it, and thanks to the songs she played that night, and the songs I now have on my iPod, I’m now one of Catherine’s biggest fans.

See y’all later in the week with some new posting. As always, whoever you are…thanks for reading!

Song of the Day: “I’m Gonna Make It Better”

So I’m officially obsessed with Arcade Fire. Like completely obsessed. I’ve listened to their music about 80% of the time I go onto iTunes or my iPod since Wednesday. I can’t stop. Ever. Or at least for now. Anyways, as much as I’d like to post about them forever, since I don’t want this blog to become a one-trick pony/Arcade Fire lovefest, and there’s always tons of great music out there, let’s make today’s Song of the Day…

“I’m Gonna Make It Better” by She & Him!

I love She & Him (made up of actress Zooey Deschanel & guitarist/singer M. Ward), mainly because I have a somewhat intense celebrity crush (just for fun) on Zooey (picture below in case you’re somehow unfamiliar with her, and because you can never have too many photos of Zooey), and she’s proven to be just as adept at music as she is at acting and being a cool person in general. This is a track from their latest album, “Volume Two,” that I somehow missed my first time going through the album and finding my favorites. It’s a charming, understated song with some delicious harmonies, and a terrific guitar solo by M. Ward. There’s a slight little undertone of longing/heartbreak (as is the case with a lot of She & Him’s music), but it’s so winsomely delivered (also the case with a lot of She & Him’s music) that you can’t help but love it/smile. It’s sunny, lightweight pop, but it has heart and soul that keeps it from being too sugary or sweet.

So to keep myself honest on track, how about I tease a few things I’m planning to post in the next little while? Let’s see…

• A few Artist Spotlights. Some artists I have on tap for those: Elbow, Alyse Black, and Jamie Cullum. Subjects subject to change, of course.
• An album review or two? I haven’t done one of those in a while.
• How about a new feature? There’s an idea I have involving spotlights on covers of songs. Stay on the lookout for that.
• I’ve also thought about a potential guest-blogger feature here. I’ll have to talk to some peeps I know that would be interested in that…and of course, if you’re reading this and you’d like to be featured here with a post on something music-related, let me know!

That’s all for now, methinks. Thanks for reading!

Artist Spotlight: Ellie Goulding

Before I post a new Artist Spotlight (you’ll really love this one), another reminder to VOTE in Harmony Avenue’s Best Original Movie Song contest. So far there’s only 2 votes on the poll…so yeah, we need just a few more votes. The more, the merrier! Make sure your favorite song doesn’t go unrepresented.

Now, we turn the artist spotlight onto the UK’s own…

Ellie Goulding!

Believe it or not, it wasn’t love at first sight between me and Ellie’s music. The first time I was introduced to it was one late night watching “Later…with Jools Holland” (a popular weekly music show in Great Britain, hosted by the charming Jools Holland, that features a lot of great music acts each week), which airs on a random cable channel called Ovation here in the States. Ellie sang a song of hers called “Under The Sheets,” and while I was thought it was OK (and interesting how she kind of played the drums in her performance), it didn’t make too much of an impression on my tired soul that night, and I didn’t really investigate her music any further.

Fast forward to a few months later where I was listening to music on iTunes one night, and I had my little “Ping sidebar” thing turned on, so as I listened, various music suggestions and posts from artists I “follow” on it were coming up accordingly. I’m pretty sure I was listening to Lucy Schwartz (interestingly enough, the subject of a previous Artist Spotlight here on Harmony Avenue), because her feed came up, and she had posted something about how she loved a song called “Starry Eyed”…by none other than Ellie Goulding. Since it’s iTunes and all, there was a button right there to listen to a 90-second clip of the song, so I decided to try it out, since Ellie’s name sounded familiar. I listened to it…and the rest is history. I simply HAD to check out more of Ellie’s music. (More proof why Lucy Schwartz rocks, btw. ) The song that started it all, right here:

It’s an energetic, beautiful, addicting song, and rather than detract from it, its very glossy production really brings it to life, I think. The parts where Ellie sings “next thing, we’re touching” are my favorites. For some reason, the way she sings that line, and the harmonies around it…it always gets me.

Ellie’s music is somewhat unclassifiable, though a lot of people have used the “folktronica” label for it, which I think kind of fits. It’s very melodic, beautifully written music, but it’s produced under a more beat-driven lens, which makes it very unique and engaging. Her music takes the best of both worlds and marries them together into something all her own. You can see similarities to artists like Florence + The Machine, Imogen Heap, and Robyn here and there, just to name a few…but in the end, it’s something undeniably fresh. Here’s a lovely, sweeping ballad called “The Writer” from Ellie’s debut album:

While her music is layered and, well, shiny, Ellie can also cut it in a more stripped-down, acoustic setting. A prime example is her drop-dead gorgeous cover of Elton John’s classic “Your Song.” (The bridge is quite possibly one of the most beautiful musical moments I have ever heard.) It really turns the song on its ear and brings a haunting, breahtaking new dimension to it:

She also does brilliantly in a live setting. Her voice is soft and fragile and times, but also full of power. Here’s a stunning cover of a Rihanna song that I actually kind of discovered just now, while looking for a good example of her live performing skills. (You learn something new every day! ) Sorry the video quality isn’t completely amazing, but at least it’s easily available on the Internet. That’s a plus.

And of course, this post wouldn’t be complete with a little irony. Here are the studio versions of the two songs Ellie sang that night on Jools Holland…that have turned out to be two of my favorite cuts on her album. Speaking of her album…more on that in a second. But first, here are “Guns and Horses” and “Under the Sheets” (apologies for the ad that may come up on the video):

And, to close things off, had I posted this a month or two ago, I would have had to tell you readers that live in America that Ellie’s album wasn’t available anywhere here (well, at least not anywhere like iTunes or whatnot). Now I don’t have to! A special US edition of her debut album, “Lights,” complete with a few bonus tracks that weren’t on her original UK release, came out here in the States back on March 8th! Even better, Ellie’s offering a free full preview of the album on YouTube, so you can try before you buy! (I promise I’m not a corporate shill…I just love her music and want as many people to love/support it as possible. Promise. ) I’ve taken the liberty of embedding it here, though it may be easier for you to view/listen to it directly on YouTube. Enjoy the music! (And be sure to check it out sooner rather than later. I have no idea if Ellie’s label will keep it up for too long or not.)

So that’s the outstanding Ellie Goulding for you. Remember to vote in the Best Original Song contest, and I’ll see you in a day or two with another new post! Thanks for reading.

Sketches: Yellow

My first Sketches (AKA the part where I blog about something random and music-related, in an informal fashion) post in a while, beginning with a video:

As I might have stated on this blog before, I’m a HUGE covers guy. One of my favorite types of music to look for is that of one artist covering another artist’s song (preferably one that I know). So when I saw this video of Sara Bareilles singing “Yellow” (the early Coldplay hit) on my YouTube homepage the past week or so (one of the handful of random YouTube subscribers I have…or something…had “liked” the video), and a few nights ago I had some time to watch it, I was expecting something nice…Sara Bareilles is one of my favorite artists, and “Yellow” is a beautiful song. I had a feeling she’d do a good job with it.

My expectations were modest ranging to fairly high…and yet I was still blown away. It was simple, heartfelt, breathtaking, and…it just felt special. I listen to a lot of great covers all the time, but for some reason this one stood out.

I’ve been thinking since then about why in particular it had such an effect on me. Music certainly isn’t a mindless endeavor for me…I mean, hello, I have a blog dedicated to it…and I do think about what I listen to a lot, but I think a lot of times it’s subconscious. Anyways, one of the things that really struck me about her version of the song was how the vocal seemed to come from the heart. Yes, that’s a quality I see a lot of good musicians have…soulful vocals that aren’t just words and notes, but truth and expression. (It’s also a quality I’m trying to work on myself as a musician. Right now, I often feel I sing too much like a robot. ) But it’s a quality that should be treasured, and Sara really let me as a listener (and viewer, in the case of this video) that this song truly meant something to her. (The little anecdote at the beginning, about how the record that “Yellow” comes from…AKA “Parachute” by Coldplay…meant a lot to her during her time studying abroad, helped hit home that aspect.)

Something else that really hit me hard was the simplicity of the arrangement. The piano line essentially consists of only driving quarter-note chords…throughout the entire 4-minute song. Of course the chords change, and Sara builds some stuff in the left hand as the song progresses, and the dynamic rises and falls as it needs to…but it’s pretty bare-bones stuff. Yet, rather than make the performance feel flat or empty…it makes it stronger. It builds beautifully, and the fact that someone can do that with just a piano and their voice…wow.

Simplicity. I think that’s something that sometimes gets taken for granted in music. In fact, sometimes it even goes unappreciated. An example: Katelyn Epperly on the “American Idol” semifinals last season (embedded below).  Her performance of, coincidentally, another Coldplay song (in this case “The Scientist”) was very similar to Sara’s…slow, deliberate, driven by a very simple piano part…and just as powerful and meaningful. It didn’t go over entirely well (the judges were lukewarm; she was voted off the show just a week later), and I’m still not quite sure why. Simplicity, with the right song and the right artist, can bring a song to life, and that’s what Sara and Katelyn both did. Now, you just can’t go to the piano, sing a song, and call it great music. Not every tune works with that treatment, and of course, if an artist was to try to make a career out of just that, they wouldn’t get much of anywhere artistically (not to mention commercially, but that’s a whole other story). But when it’s done right, it’s almost like magic. (Sorry to use a bit of a cliche, but that comparison feels pretty accurate to me. And J.K. Rowling. ) It’s a haunting effect, and one that helps make music great.

K, so hopefully I didn’t get too preachy/rambly/pointless. (Let me know in the comments if any of those sentiments occurred. ) In other Harmony Avenue news…my Grammy predictions were kind of off. But I got some of them right. P.S., I’m still riding a huge, huge high off the Grammy wins of Esperanza Spalding and Arcade Fire, among others. The fact that those two were able to win in those incredibly competitive, high-profile categories is a huge step forward for music in my eyes. I think I might be doing an Artist Spotlight on Esperanza in the near-future, so stay tuned for that. (I’ve absolutely loved her music for a while, and the Grammy nom and subsequent win helped remind me how terrific she is.) Thanks for reading, make sure to subscribe, and I’ll see you later on in the week with yet again more blogging and more music.