After hearing Kristin Andreassen on A Prarie Home Companion a few weeks, I dropped her an email, and hoped she would write me back. Well she did, and threw in the curveball of a phone interview. This sent me in a bit a whirlspin, since I've never done a phone interview before for this blog, and I wasn't quite sure about taping it and what not. And when I do live interviews, I tend to let the interviewee take over, because it gives you better quotes.
So I wasn't quite sure what I was going to do.
But I called her last Wednesday, only to be kicked to voicemail. Now I'm thinking she stood me up. But she called back in a few minutes and told me she was driving in a tunnel on her way to Brooklyn, and once she parked and found a coffee shop she'd call me back.
I'm of the belief that most people are nice, but she was really really nice. 30 minutes later she called and we chatted for a very quick hour about everything. I had questions, written down, but they kind of went right out the window.
So this is less an interview, but more of a long recap of our conversation, sprinkled with quotes.
Although she is based out of Boston right now, Kristin still has a Maryland area code for her cell, attributable to her time with Annapolis's Footworks Percussive Dance Ensemble.
Kristin says that the song "Crayola" was kind of a bridge from Footworks to her solo album "Kiss Me Hello."
"Most of the first songs I wrote didn't have any muscal accompianent. Crayola was one of the first songs I ever wrote, playing patty cake on the steering wheel. I had rhythms and kid shows on the brain."
One of the most amazing things about the album is that Kristin plays virtually all the instruments. But she wouldn't categorize herself as a multi-instrumentalist.
"As a kid, I played piano and sang in choirs. I still wouldn't consider myself an instrumentalist.
"The journey started as a dancer in annapolis, and wiritng my own songs, I figured that I should learn how to play the guitar in from an audience.
"I've always been sort of a band person."
And a band person she is. She plays with two other bands,
Sometymes Why and Uncle Earl. For the record, I'm all for attractive women getting together and singing beautiful music. But Kristin keeps the whole thing rather breezy and low key, even when she's name dropping. On talking about Uncle Earl's last album
"It was a very unfanfareish release. We did this record with John Paul Jones."
Oh, just John Paul Jones. Of Led Zepplin fame.
And so our conversation goes. She still seems geniunely incredulous that she got on to A Prarie Home Companion after mailing them a copy of her fantastic debut album ("I was like , that's a waste of a $1.11").
I've already gushed over "Kiss Me Hello" but I'm going to continue. It's a really pleasant and refreshing album. Slightly genre mixing, it still is very traditional American music. Kristin says she had many sources of inspiration.
"I feel like in a weird way, I wrote these songs in sort of genre categories, and recording them kind of taught me what they were. Our friends would come and stay with us [in Annapolis] all the time. And I feel that what I learned about music, came from those times when friends would come by and stay."
Lyrically, the album stands out for great writing. Each song has a very nice hand-crafted feel to it, with no thrown away lines or overemoted filler.
"I'm not a fan of music that makes you work too hard to understand it, that it's not an exercise.
"I think it's the influence of listening to other songwriters. One of the thigns that Dylan said is that he listened to so much traditional music. So much of his stuff is stolen melodies. And I think that's okay. And you can't always come up with something completely orginal. There's something archtypal."
Kristin's next big adventure
is her two song a month club. For $15, you get two brand new songs a month from her for 2009. This is why I love independent artists. That's an incredible connection to make with an audience.
Again, Kristin seems very unassuming about the task.
"It's a lot of music. It's not that I'm going to have low standards for myself. I'm seeing the two song a month club as a committment to myself to write. Of the fans I have, I feel like thay enjoy the process. Your early demos, you feel like they are completely flawed, and those are the ones people like.
"I've learned that other people are more forgiving than I am of my first attempt."
If you'd like to see Kristin play in your hometown, she says just write her, which I'm sure your local music hall will appreciate.
So, I'm cleaning out stuff in my bedroom, and I find two unworn shirts from two very awesome concerts this year.
What is it that makes us like Girl Talk?
Reuters is reporting that Amazon is the second largest seller of digital music, trafficking an astonishing 130 million digital tracks in 2008.
I had intended to write a post about my newest Christmas music purchase, and how much I love this genre of music, and how corny that makes me.
1. No Kids, "Come Into My House." I heard this album back in February, a suggestion from eMusic. This is what happens when you stretch the boundaries of genre music. Is it r&b? Is it smarty academic art pop? Is it four part college quartet harmony? I love it because it's indescribable. I love it because when you see it live it's totally reinvented. I love it because it makes me dance. And I love it because no one this year was trying to have this much fun and push this far past what sonically music should be.
2. Lil Wayne, "Tha Carter III." It's a real achievement when rappers decide they can both be entertainers and true artists. Lil Wayne finally hit that point this year. Picking up the mantle of "greatest Rapper alive" from Jay-Z, he put out an album that was commercial and truly weird. Don't believe? He has a song on here where he raps about being an alien. The second single, "A Milli," might be the best indie rap song on a major label. Lil Wayne calls in the heaviest producers (Swizz Beatz, Kanye West, David banner) and still in the end chooses to do it his way.
3. Conor Oberst, "Conor Oberst." I didn't think this album would rate this high. But on repeated listens, it just gets better and better and better. Sure, he's aping Dylan on over half the tracks, but who doesn't? It's a flat out solid record, beautifully written, and beautifully sung. Still, one has to wonder, where is the dividing line between Bright Eyes and Conor Oberst?
4. Tokyo Police Club, "Elephant Shell." This album is another early release that held up all year long. Try to find yourself not hand clapping and singing along to this 30 some odd minute record. True, it lacks some of the energy of the 2007 EPs, but these kids have a lot of energy. Don't believe me? Check out their Spring 2009 tour.
5. Ra Ra Riot, "The Rhumb Line." All debuts should be this good. Catchy pop music, with incredible lyrics. A violin and cello might seem gimmicky, but it works remakarbly. You have to give it up for a band that decides to push on after one of its founding members dies. Try to think about anything else when you hear "Dying is Fine" or "Winter 05."
6. Rhymefest, "Mark Ronson Presents Rhymefest: Man in the Mirror." The second best hip-hop album this year, from one of the game's best lyricists and from one of the industry's best producers. It's rare for concept albums to work with rap, but essentially what you have here is a spliced up conversation between Rhymefest and King of Pop Michael Jackson. The beats are flawless, the rhymes complex, the skits funny, and the guests spots never overshadowing (even with Talib! And Mary J! And Wale!). You can't buy this album (cos no one could ever clear the two dozen or so MJ samples) but you can get it for free from Rhymefest's website.
7. Lowry, "Love is Dead." This is the album I wish Death Cab for Cutie had put out this year. Soft haunting lullabies, with wisps of electronics and synths piped in over them. Calling it folk pop seems a bit of a strecth (it's way more folky than poppy). But it's a strong effort from a brand new group.
8. The Rosebuds, "Life Like." I was torn about this album. Is it a regression to the organic Birds Make Good Neighbors, or was it a less new wave-y Night of the Furies? In the end, I just decided it was like all other Rosebuds records: a consistently solid album from start to finish. You can tell Ivan and Kelly pour themselves into the production, and you feel it on every song. This is perfect for night driving, when you want to go really fast on empty highways.
9. Okkervil River, "The Stand Ins." The second half to last year's "Stage Names," we find songs about your douchy trust fund friend, porn star Savannah, lying pop signers, and possibly mass murders. Yeah, it's weird. But it's fantastic.
10. Santogold, "Santogold." Imagine MIA without the controversial third world politics. What you get is Santogold. You still get the Baltimore house beats, the Diplo and Switch produced tracks. If you fell in love with the sexy neo rock soul of Res' How I Do then you'll love this album (as you should, since Santogold produced that).
I was at this concert. It was stinking hot. Jeff was keeping it cool. On the high hat
I asked the lead singer from my favorite band of 2008, Nick Krgovich of No Kids, to send me over a list of his top 10 albums for 2008.
Andy Herod of The Electric Owls
If I'm in the car between 6 and 8 pm on Saturday, odds are I'm listening to Garrison Keillor's A Prarie Home Companion. I've been doing this since I was a little boy. I've been to see the show live once, and it is truly something you should do if you have the chance. Each show is a masterpiece.
Yesterday, President Bush commuted John Forte's 14 year sentence.
You know you like Mos Def. He's kinda indie. He does awesome films. And like that site from earlier this year illuminated, he's a rapper that it's okay for white people to like.
Fail Whale
Ivan and Kelly ponder the menu at Allen and Sons
Normally I shy away from remixes.
Ugh.
