Helloooo! So, I have been wanting to share a little more about the album I’m working on, so I decided to do a video preview of one of the last ones that I wrote. I chose to share this one first because it is one of the more playful, lighter ones and I thought it would be fitting for a summer weekend release:). Hope you like it! If you do, leave a little comment to let me know….feedback is always much appreciated. Thanks! Have a wonderful weekend!! …and a few more videos to come in the future, so keep checking in!
Hello everyone. Well, these past couple of days something has really been weighing heavy on my heart. I know that the conflict over in Gaza has been going on forever, it is nothing new. However, with the recent escalation and seeing other people around me dealing with death, it has affected me so deeply. It pains me to see such violence and death. When will it end? What will it take for both sides to see that neither of them will ever come out of this as victors? Neither of them will ever know the end to suffering unless they do what has never ever been done…..choose peace. I know, I know, there are the cynics and realists who will scoff, who will ridicule my little girl’s notion of “can’t we all just get along” — but screw that! I do not care. I have, and forever will be an idealist. It is who I am. I believe peace is not only necessary but possible and I will never apologize for that. Where would we be without the idealist? The people who, despite the seemingly insurmountable obstacles standing in their way, say “I’m going to try anyway”. I have to believe it. Just do. All of that said, my heart goes out to all of the victims of the violence…..all of them. I will not choose sides because there is only ONE side really — that is on the side of humanity.
So, what can I do? All the way over here in Orange County, CA? Little ol’ me. Well, I don’t have the faintest clue! And it frustrates me! All I know to do is to put it down in song or word and share it with whoever will listen. It will not bring peace, but my conscience will not let me do NOTHING. So, here is all I could do – a song, unfinished, unrefined. My voice is shaky, my timing off, and it is missing the musical track (working on that still). I actually wrote this song several months ago and have been holding it to see about getting music and production and all that. But, today I just felt so compelled to share this. So here it is, bare bones and all….
This is Arvid from Sweden. I do not know him……but I do know he is a beautiful soul. How do I know this you ask? Well, if you listen to 30 seconds of his music, you will hear it hidden in there. From the very beginning of listening to his “Falling through the Sky”, you get this happy, light and lifted feeling. The bouncy beat starts off with sounds that give you a feeling of being a child on the playground, maybe swinging on a swing and feeling the wind on your face. There are touches of Cold Play and Owl City in the music and in his voice, but still there is something very much his own in there. My favorite part of the song starts at about the 2.40 mark where he begins “I’m shaking, my head is aching….it’s all breaking, all the mistakes I’m making, will you catch me as I’m falling through the sky.” Such a smart and effortless flow to it, lovely.
Then, there’s “Drive On”. I could imagine myself just getting into a car, driving very slowly, at a snail’s pace. He sings, “you think you’re alone, but that’s where you are wrong” and then I can feel a little push in the song, starting to move now. Then he continues, “street lights, all blur together from the teardrops in your eyes”. I picture someone driving late at night trying to run away from something. Finally, the gear shifts into third at about 2.18 and he’s saying “drive on….travel on for what your worth.” Now, the person isn’t driving away but driving towards something….a better life maybe. What I love about this song (and all his songs, really), is his use of space. He leaves nice, quiet pockets in there where people can just feel what they are feeling and process. I like that. That is actually something I could do more of in my songs….using space wisely and not trying to fill up every bit of it.
The last songs on there are “Death is not the End” and “Little Darling” (which is the one in the video above). These, I think, express two things that have touched me personally. I have had a lot of death around me in the last two years and, at times, when death is so close it does feel like you are “scatter[ing] out your dreams like broken glass”. And then, you think, there has to be something. There just has to be. I can’t just lose this person….they can’t just be gone, they have to be continuing on in some way. Also with death, you think of life and how precious it is – how important it is to see the big picture and be thankful. So on days when I’m complaining about the small stuff and I’ve “miss[ed] the bus”, I try to remember that I’ve “never seen the dark side of the world” and that whatever small thing I’m dealing with…..it ain’t that bad in the grand scheme of things. There are people suffering, fearing for their lives every time they walk outside their door…people who don’t even have a door. So, yeah, it really isn’t all that bad even though it may feel like it is.
Thank you, Arvid. In a world of messages about “ho’s” (sp?) and “shaking your ass”, it is good to come across substance. Something you can chew on and feel good about consuming. Wish you the best…may your music feed the masses. The end.
***Please show your love, support, check out this guy’s music, follow him, comment…..check him out at www.soundcloud.com/arvidlizell
Hello again. I have to say that I really look forward to post days. When I first began this blog, I wasn’t exactly sure what my motivations were. Now, though, it has become more clear to me that this is not something that I want more than it is something that I need. I need to share. I need to show my heart. To be open, transparent. Why? I think because I am such an introverted person…I hold everyone at a distance and guard myself so vigilantly. And despite the fact that anyone in the world can see this, it is here where I feel safe enough to be exposed. That is why, I think, so many of us are so drawn to the internet, to social networking sites. It allows for disclosure, but also allows us to pick and choose what we disclose, how much of it we disclose, and the manner in which we disclose. And, if you don’t like what I share or something doesn’t make sense to you, my ego is protected by the fact that I can’t see that in your face or hear it in your voice.
I think people just want to be known….really, truly known. We want to do what we can to make sure that when we die, we will have given enough of ourselves, shown enough of ourselves, for someone to say, “I knew her.” Maybe that’s just me, though.
Anyway, this is this week’s song. It was written as a sort of prequel to another song I posted a while back called “Little Star”. If you listen to both this new song, “The Dance” and “Little Star”, you may hear some similarities, but they are about two different, yet related things. Give it a listen. I posted two links because I noticed that the other songs I’ve been posting from SoundCloud are not directly accessible from phones and I-Pads. It may be that I am posting them incorrectly, but nevertheless, here they are, hopefully at least one of them works for you! Catch you this Friday for a new featured artist!
Well, you probably noticed that there was no post yesterday. But, here it is. As I mentioned on the last post, I have just recently discovered SoundCloud and I am really enjoying finding new music on there. One of the first people I came across was this guy from the UK named Ghostpoet. First of all, I love the name. Second, he’s got some crazy stuff on there …very different from what I do, but I like it! I like Bob and Damian Marley, always have, and this guy has a little bit of that swagger but what he does isn’t really reggae at all. It’s got a bunch of different influences wrapped up together into one sound and I think it works. One of the songs I liked the best was his “Garden Path”. At the beginning he makes some sounds with his voice that make it seem like he’s clearing his throat or something. But, I like it because it gives the feeling of someone walking into the studio and just jumping into a stream of consciousness-type of performance. Check it out and let me know what you think and/or follow him on SoundCloud and leave him a comment. http://m.soundcloud.com/ghostpoet
Hello!!! It’s Friday, hurray:)! I said on my last post that today I’d be featuring a new artist on here. This time it is a beautiful, soulful woman by the name of Melissa Polinar. I do not know too much about her on the personal level. What I do know is that she is crazzzzy talented! She’s been posting videos on youtube for a while now and has a pretty consistent following. What I love about her apart from her smooth and silky voice is that she glows….literally, she GLOWS when she performs. You can tell she is a good soul because it is written all over her face. I am also so impressed with her skill with the guitar and the great control she has when she sings….every note is on pointe and her choice of inflection and varying dynamics is impeccable. In short, she is awesome. Here’s one of her original songs, a good friend of mine shared this with me and it just moved me. Let me know if you like it too. And, if you do, please show some love and support by leaving her a comment on youtube, liking her on facebook at http://www.facebook.com/melissapolinar, or on her own blog at http://melissapolinar.com/blog. I predict your ears will thank me for this!
Good day to everyone! I am loving how gorgeous it is outside and I plan on getting out there and spending the rest of the day with my son. Looking forward to that. As promised, though, I am posting that song I said I would before we head out. It’s another one on the guitar. I’ve been doing more on the guitar lately because I’m trying to practice more and get better at it and as I do that, I end up messing around and find something I can use for a song. This one is very simple, most of the song is two chords (like some of the others;) ), but I kind of like it that way. It is fitting for me since I see myself as somewhat of a simple kind of girl. In fact, I hope that as I get older, I will become even more of a simple person. Please don’t confuse simple with simple-minded. By simple, I mean, someone who doesn’t need much and is content in every moment. It is one of my truest desires, to learn to live more and more simply…to love simply…
Here’s the new song, hope you enjoy it!
Oh, and don’t forget to stop by on Friday and check out this week’s featured artist!
A few years ago, I had the privilege of taking care of a group of special young ladies. Many of them had to deal with some pretty tough circumstances at a very young age….things most of us have never had to deal with. I was always amazed by them. How resilient they were. How hopeful they were for the future. How they were able to cope. Many of them had great dreams, great imaginations…a by-product, I think, of what had happened in their life.
It was clear that the touch of tragedy left its mark on them, but at the core, there were remnants of their unaltered selves. Rarely, would they let anyone see that self, though. That part of them was kept deep within….far away from danger. But, at times, you could catch a glimpse and I couldn’t help but hope that with time, with healing, they would be able to let that true self back up to the surface for good. Wherever they are now, I hope they are well, that they are pursuing the dreams they had and so graciously shared with me. They touched my life and taught me so much about the best and worst parts of our humanity. They taught me to try to see people from the inside out. For that, I am truly grateful to them. Thanks girls. This song was written with them in mind. The audio might be low, so the words are down below.
Also, thank you to Blair at http://gomofo.wordpress.com/ for posting my site on his own…check him out, he’s a REAL guitarist… I ‘preciate it mister:).
Dreamin’ A Way
Broken glass on the window pane
She sits and stares at her shoes
Memories of fists and pain
Stick to her mind
Just like glue
And she can’t tell you how
Or even why
All that she knows is now
Is the last time
The window’s not the only broken thing
But still she tells her shoes its time to go
She’s got herself a plan to kill the pain
That’s taking way too much of her soul
She’s dreamin’, dreamin’ her way
Dreamin’ a way away
Violent clouds filled with fear hate
Billow over in bloom
Words that sear as the lightening strikes
Trying to cause her wound
And she can’t tell you how
Or even what
All that she knows is she
Can’t let them touch
The center of her heart…won’t feel the gloom
Hard as they try she just won’t let them in
She’s got herself a ticket to the moon
Where they can’t take her soul away again
She’s dreamin’, dreamin’ her way
She’s dreamin’ her way away
Away, away
Away, away, away, she’s goin’ away
She’s building a rocket in her mind
Away, away, away, she’s goin’ away
She makes it to the moon just in time
But, she’s still dreamin’, dreamin’ a way
dreamin’ her way away, away, away
This is my first ever time doing a cover song on here. And who else would I choose to cover than the GREAT Ella Fitzgerald! One of my top 10 favorite songs in the world is her version of Summertime. And since it is rainy and cold out there, I thought it would be the perfect song to help me pretend like it was a warm day at the beach in June. Now, there is noooooo way in the world that I would ever compare or want to be compared to Ella and so this rendition is entirely different than her own. In addition to changing the tune, I also switched up a few lyrics here and there and added a little something different at the end. Also, I thought putting in a little hip hop-infused rhythm to it would be fun and modernize it a bit. So, it is definitely different from the original, but done with great love and respect in my heart for her. Here is my homage and my version of Summertime
Hello!!!! Hope everyone is having a wonderful weekend. I just came back from time spent with my beautiful family at the beach. Such a lovely day today, though I feel like us Californians have been quite spoiled this winter season with so many sunny days. A little rain might do us some good….hopefully, this Monday we’ll see some. Anyway, as promised — a new song. Well, actually, for me it’s quite an old song. This song was written a while back when I first started messing around with writing and recording songs. It’s been in my computer and I listened to it the other day and thought I’d dust it off and share it with you all today.
I wrote it during a phase that I like to call “my uncharacteristically optimistic phase.” I hate to admit it, but I am naturally a glass half-empty type of person. I can see the bright side and feel the sun, but it just usually takes more work for me to do so….I have to do it intentionally–it doesn’t just happen for me as it seems to do for some. Therefore, I often end up having conversations with myself where I give myself a pep talk, a perspective check if you will, in order to not go to the dark side. There was a period of time, though, when (for some reason) it seemed like it was much easier for me to see the long view and I didn’t have to work so hard at it. It was out of this part of my life where this song came from. It is basically me talking to myself and saying….”hey, the only person that can make or break it for you is you, so stop complaining and do something already.” It is called …Make It
The track is a bit different from other stuff I’ve posted, but I try to get into all styles, try on various brands ….it challenges me and …it’s just fun.
Side note: I was very sorry to hear about Whitney Houston. Before the chaos in her life stole away her gift, no one came close to her talent. I only wish she would have been able to come out of it and find her way back. But, I will remember her at her best…what a great voice!
Words & Music 