SOUNDTRACK: LAURA MARLING-Tiny Desk (Home) Concert #10 (April 16, 2010).
I have become a huge fan of Laura Marling over the last few years. I was so looking forward to her solo performance this past March. It was one of my bigger coronavirus disappointments that the intimate show is not going to be rescheduled.
Marling has been doing regular guitar lessons about her own songs (her tunings and playing style is unique and wonderful to see demonstrated). You can see the past (and future) ones here.
(While many artists have postponed the release of their new music in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic, Laura Marling rushed to change the release date of her album from late summer to April.
As of right now her album is only available digitally. The physical release is slated for summer.
On this Tiny Desk (home) concert, we find her in her living room, with an intimate performance of songs from her just-released record Song For Our Daughter. The album is an homage to a future generation of women and to Maya Angelou’s Letter to My Daughter, a collection of essays addressed to a fictional daughter. The warm, home setting makes room for Laura Marling’s extraordinary voice to shine.
“Held Down” has a lot of backing vocals and arrangements on the record and this stripped down version sounds amazing without it all.
“Strange Girl” demonstrates her deeper singing style in a fast and bouncy song.
“Song For Our Daughter” is a slower song, beautiful and thoughtful.
I just cannot get over how beautiful her voice is. These personal performances almost make up for not seeing her live.
[READ: April 20, 2020] Mac B. Kid Spy: The Impossible Crime
This is the second book in a new series illustrated by Mike Lowery. It begins
My name is Mac Barnett. I am an author. But before I was an author, I was a kid. And when I was a kid, I was a spy. An author’s job is to make up stories. But the story you are about to read is true.
This actually happened to me.
It’s 1989 and Mac is at the mini golf course. But he is there not for the mini golf but for the video games. He is playing Spy Master 2–the arcade update to the home game. Mac was just about to beat the big boss–something no one else had ever done before. People were cheering him on. Except for Derek Lafoy (who did not invite Mac to his birthday party in the previous book). Derek called him Mac Barn Head and chanted “Choke!”
But this book isn’t about video games, its about the Queen of England who called Mac at the golf course to tell him that she thought the Crown Jewels were going to be stolen again. (In the previous book Mac helped rescue the Crown jewels for the Queen). (more…)
I Just Read About That... 