in which shared vocal duties are discussed and appreciated

so, whether it is fair or not, most bands' identities are defined by their lead singers. personally, i think it's a lousy thing, because it takes more than just a singer to make a song work - but the truth is, more often than not, when people think of a band, they envision the lead singer rather than the musicians within. case in point - rage against the machine. when zack de la rocha decided to leave the band, the rest of the group stuck together but eventually lost out in terms of popularity and relevance until chris cornell from soundgarden joined them (and then, sadly, the greatness that was rage against the machine actually became soundgarden 2). despite the fact that RATM was great for more reasons than just de la rocha's voice, many listeners weren't willing to follow the group once he was gone. and that's the way a lot of listeners are - fickle and focused on one cog of the machine rather than the whole.



however, there are some groups out there that do vary the vocal responsibilities. think of the greatness that was fleetwood mac - what i liked about them was how some songs called for lindsay buckinham's voice, others needed stevie nicks or christine mcvie's. no one person pigeonholed the market on vocals, and it made the band more interesting for it. no one can look at that band and only see one member - fleetwood mac is a composite of all the members.



for today's song, i wanted to share a suprise. ra ra riot is usually led by wes miles' very distinctive voice - but there is one track, you and i know, off their new album, the orchard, that is sung by the cellist alexandra lawn. and you know what? i like the change of pace - it gave the album something extra. something better. hopefully we'll hear more from lawn on future tracks.

clear my eyes
from this
reverie
so that i don't mind

oh - oh no no no
said i, well i

don't
don't wanna know
even if you say you know that you
wanna find my heart
tell me that you never wanted to

promise to hide
i'll clear my eyes
i would

unburden you
from this,
unaware you
well i need to

don't
don't leave a note
even if you say you know that you
wanna find my heart
tell me that you never wanted to
don't
don't leave a note
even if you say you know that you
wanna find my heart
tell me that you never wanted to

you and i you and i know...

wanna find my heart
you and i you and i know
don't...

(mp3) you and i know by ra ra riot (via ca va cool)

and the video:

Ra Ra Riot "You And I Know" (Preview) from Barsuk Records on Vimeo.