SOUNDTRACK: JANET FEDER-Tiny Desk Concert #233 (August 6, 2012).
I’d published these posts without Soundtracks while I was reading the calendars. But I decided to add Tiny Desk Concerts to them when I realized that I’d love to post about all of the remaining 100 or shows and this was a good way to knock out 25 of them.
Janet Feder is an amazing guitarist. I enjoyed the simple act of her picking out the notes in a chord and simultaneously using her pinky to play harmonics on two different strings.
But beyond that she has a great sound. In part it’s the guitar which is a nylon-string baritone electric! But it’s also because of the way she prepares her strings—she gets interesting bell sounds and other rattling noises. These aren’t the focus of the song, just the accents of them.
The first song is not an instrumental, it’s called “Angles And Exits.” She says that she was used to not singing since she primarily played classical music. But she has enjoyed adding voice to her songs. Her voice is soft and delicate. The song works with words, but it would probably be fine without them.
It looks like she has some kind of thing on the first fret on the high strings—so an open notes gets that bell sound. She says that these additions to the guitar have allowed her to have fun playing the guitar again.
She describes what she does on the second song “Heater.” She puts a device on her string to make a great sound. Although even after she describes it I don’t understand how it works. She begins the song by pulling on what sounds like an uncoiled guitar string ratcheting it tighter ad tighter. When she finally gets to the melody, her playing is excellent—all over the guitar but not really flashy, just interesting. The melody in the slow part at the end is enchanting.
“I Hear Voices” opens with harmonics and a rattling on the strings—a neat combination of heavenly notes and noise from an alligator clip on the strings. It’s a mesmerizing and very cool sound and a beautiful song too.
[READ: December 16, 2016] “The Heaviest Dress”
Near the end of November, I found out about The Short Story Advent Calendar. Which is what exactly? Well…
The Short Story Advent Calendar returns, not a moment too soon, to spice up your holidays with another collection of 24 stories that readers open one by one on the mornings leading up to Christmas. This year’s stories once again come from some of your favourite writers across the continent—plus a couple of new crushes you haven’t met yet. Most of the stories have never appeared in a book before. Some have never been published, period.
I already had plans for what to post about in December, but since this arrived I’ve decided to post about every story on each day.
This is the story of a young Jewish girl returning to her home in Montreal after some time in New York City.
The girl’s parents died when she was five and she had lived with her Aunt Rita and Uncle Mort ever since. She felt that their house was never hers, and so it never grew mundane. In the past year she had moved to New York City to go to fashion school. (more…)
I loved Beth Orton’s album Trailer Park. The acoustic / electronic sound was new and interesting. I haven’t heard much from Orton since then, although I gather she has released a bunch and has been producing as well.
Souad Massi has a fascinating story:
I didn’t know Exitmusic before this show. The band is a 4 piece and they make a really big sound . In fact, when I was only listening to the show I forgot that they were at a Tiny Desk. Their sound is not loud, but it’s enveloping. They have two keyboards a guitar and an electronic drum. The guitar is gauzy, playing high chords. But it’s the keyboards, and washes of sound that really create the whole show. Lead vocals are provided by Aleksa Palladino and her voice is stark and wavery, slightly scary and scared at the same time.
Since I first heard this Tiny Desk Concert, I have become a huge fan of Laura Marling. Her album Once I Was an Eagle is dynamite. Her voice is unique and beautiful. She sounds so mature and sophisticated in her singing style. It is astonishing to learn that she was only 22 when she recorded this (and she looks it).
Brandi Carlile has been making a lot of noise on WXPN this last year. She has a few song that I really like. But I didn’t realize that her background was in country music—it’s slightly apparent on her more recent music. But in this Tiny Desk, her whole country style really comes out. Well, I guess she’s more alternative country—it’s strange that she has a country twang in her voice since she is from Washington.
I know Kelly Hogan as an amazing back up singer. She sang with The Decemberists when I saw them live (and she was truly amazing). She also often sings with Neko Case.
Arborea is a totally captivating band.
Jolie Holland was the singer of The Be Good Tanyas, a band I know of but am not familiar with. Since that band disbanded, she has released six solo albums. She sings a kind of dusky folk music. Her voice isn’t gravelly, but it is somewhat gritty—with a kind of nonchalant slurring of words that is strangely enticing.
After all of these years there’s not much to say about Cowboy Junkies that hasn’t been said. They sound a certain way and only ever sound that way. Their songs are slow, “mournful and thoughtful,” relatively long (because they are so slow) and Margo Timmins has a beautiful voice which hasn’t changed in 25 yeas.
I Just Read About That... 