writer's block sucks, but music helps

so, i have been a wee bit plagued by writer's block on codename: mo for a couple (eek) months now. i've got probably 80% of the story done, but i'm struggling on the last act - not so much because i don't know what's going to happen, but more because i'm having trouble putting all the action i'm seeing in my head down on paper.

it's a bit paralyzing, writer's block. insidious, too, because it overtakes the creative process and hammers forcefully in one's head the futile belief that things will never get finished, because you might just not have it in you.

i wrote the end to mo way back in the beginning. i tend to do that - i'm even the wretched sort who will flip open a brand new book and assure myself of a happy ending occasionally before even getting past chapter two (although, my nook has curbed that nasty tendency more often than naught lately). as a writer, i like to know where i need to steer my characters before i toss them through the wringer, so i can assure them (and myself) that it'll all be worth it in the end. that's not to say that i won't change the ending - i tend to do that, too - but it's the overall feel that helps me through the process. so, i know where the leads in mo are going and what i need to do to get them there, but there's the pesky problem of writing action scenes. 'cause that's where mo culminates in the final act, in a flurry of action scenes that require me to do a whole lot of research about weapons i have no clue about and fighting techniques that i'm utterly unfamiliar with. it's bizarre, because i can see what's going on, but...

i dunno. each time i write out a scene, it just falls flat on its face.

however - my saving grace (no pun intended for those of you out there in my writer's group who have been patiently listening to mo over the last couple months) is music. i've got a playlist built for each of my books, and lately i've been hammering the ones for mo in my head over and over to get the characters and feel in. plus, i've been using my time in the car and shower, both excellent places for me to brainstorm, for some odd reason, to get these scenes right.

find/buy this print at etsy HERE

music is funny to writers. there are those who claim they can't have it on at all while they write. then there are those who say they can only have instrumentals. and then there are those, like me, who would wither up in a small fit of despair without proper tunes to match scenes. the playlists on my itunes are frightening, data-wise, because there are some songs whose playback numbers are astronomical. i can put a song on repeat for a good hour or two while i write and never tire of it.

mo's playlist is a bit schizophrenic, thanks to the story's three points of view. i'd never written a story told from so many POV's before, especially ones that come from such radically different places and motives. but i like it, and i like their influencing songs, and i've got them stuck in my head like crazy lately. which, obviously, means i need to share them with others.

so today, i'm giving you several videos to watch of some really great songs that have put a lot of background influence into codename mo:

AC/DC's hells bells is super important to this story. yes, me - indie queen and folk music lover, adores me some AC/DC. shhh!



ironically, this video also starts with a bell. i've shared it before, but it's so key for this story - sleigh bells' infinity guitars:


Sleigh Bells "Infinity Guitars" from Phil Pinto on Vimeo.

maybe only hardcore U2 fans will have heard of this next one - alex descends into hell for a bottle of milk. it's given me lots of fodder for back story and world building...



god of wine, by third eye blind, is such a hushed, anxious song, and i culled a lot of angst from that sensation for several poor characters:



and finally (although certainly not the last in the huge playlist), lifelines by i am not left handed is so bitterly gorgeous and haunting that it was spot-on perfect for all three MC's POV's during various points in the story:



now, to go and write that scene...

video for a saturday - monster mash

so, can you really go a october without diggin monster mash?

i can't. neither can my kids, who demand to listen to it over and over again. i love that they even try to get the vocals just like bobby "boris" pickett's.

random song trivia for you:

pickett was an aspiring actor, so it only makes sense that his song had some low-budget hollywood sound effects in it. the sound of a coffin opening was imitated by a rusty nail being pulled out of a board, the cauldron bubbling was actually water being bubbled through a straw, and the rattling chains were simply chains being dropped on a tile floor.

and, there have been at least 19 covers done of this song. it's pretty much the gold standard for halloween!

a cartoon version:



and one a fan did for a disney contest, featuring disney villains. super clever!

the darndest things by archie powell and the exports

so, growing up, i was, like most alternative-loving gen-xers, a fan of social distortion. they had a bit of a gritty punk sound to them - not quite polished against the shine of synths coming off of so many other bands of the time (and please, don't get me wrong, i addooooorrred many of those shiny, synth-y bands). i mention this because when i first had a listen to the darndest things by archie powell and the exports, i was instantly transported back to my high school days, sitting on my bedroom floor, listening to social distortion while studying the CD case.

for those of you youngsters, these things called booklets could be found in cd's, and they had pictures and lyrics and all sorts of things that you couldn't find on the internet, because, heck, the internet wasn't around.

damn, i'm old.

i josh about the teasing above (not the old part, sadly). but the point here is that archie powell has a bit of that gritty sound to his music that really features instruments stripped down to the basics (no synths on this song!) and a voice and lyrics that are both honest and a wee bit plaintive.

i like the imagery behind this song, the emotional resonance that comes with trying to figure out where you are and what you want:

well,we're caught in an avalanche, my love
and it seems a though we've no place else to go
so let's talk with a toast to lack thereof
in our brand new house we'll build under the snow

and it's not hard to see
you make me say the darndest things
oh baby, i do decree
oh mecy, mercy me

well, it's time that we've got to be alone
away from all the surface ebb and flow
and to think of the world that we've outgrown
in the comfort of our snow and ice chateau

well, they're sending out a search for us right now
and our faces are on flyers in the streets
though they always hate to stop and disavow
logic says by now we've had to freeze
oh please

you know if it was up to me
i'd get your lifetime guarantee
oh baby, i do decree
oh mercy, mercy me

stream/download the song for free below:



now check out the video for the darndest things:



go HERE to buy skip work, the album the darndest things is off of. FYI, two additional songs off the album (skip work and enough about me) are also offered for free!

pleasant experience (small black cover) by el may

so, let me introduce you to australian multi-instrumentalist/composer/visual artist lara meyerratken, aka el may.

meyerratken has a really great sound - all girly and fun, with hints of bright, warms days in her sunny voice. her music is the infectious sort, the kind best put on in the background when you want motivation or something more than gloom. that's not to say that all her songs shriek of cheer and positive thoughts only - au contrair, my friends. it's just, el may has this way to make her songs sound cheery, like a much milder, kinder version of morrissey.

recently, she recorded a cover of small black's pleasant experience with their blessing. small black bandmate josh kolenik said about el may's version, "It's always amazing to hear songs that you write in a totally new context. Loved the way El May brought out the lyrics in a way that's obscured in our original recording, and the production is pristine."

check it out/download it from the soundcloud below for a short time:

Pleasant Experience - El May (Small Black cover) by El_May

and then go HERE to stream more music by el may. make sure you check out made of water and decide on a direction and go, both of which are excellent songs. okay, actually, stream them all, because i really can't find any that i'm not totally digging. love!

LA peeps, you can check out el may at the troubadour on november 5th - she'll be supporting the paron red heads, who i've previously written about HERE. plus, the fruit bats will be there, too. so, that's like a night of all-around good tunes to check out! go HERE to learn more about the show.

go HERE to buy music from el may.

last but not least, if you want to check out el may's visual art (remember, she's a multi-platform artist!) and you're in the LA area, head over to museum and crane. her exhibit will be up through november 26.

french week: video for a saturday - everyday

learn more about the two HERE.

french week - revolver and hindi zahra

so, here we are, in the middle of french week! anyone in the new york area, be sure to head out to the CMJ festival tonight to check out some of these amazing artists...

revolver is an interesting band in that they're classically trained. not that many artists aren't - in fact, i'd hazard to say that a large percentage of musicians have classical backgrounds somewhere - but two of the members of revolver actually met at france’s prestigious music school maitrise notre dame de paris, which gives them a bit more of an edge than simply playing clarinet in high school. their music, which often has a beatles-esque vibe to it, often is referred to as chamber pop to reflect the use and influence of classical instruments.

have a listen to a song she wrote and see if you can pick out the carefully crafted strands that blend old and new to create something intriguing:

(mp3) a song she wrote by revolver

here's the video for get around town, which is insanely catchy:




born in morocco but raised in paris, hindi zahra takes a bit of both worlds to help craft dreamy songs that inspire romance and perfect nights with wine and candles. it's gorgeous chanteuse stuff, thanks to her throaty yet sweet voice that practically floats above her lilting songs.

check out beautiful tango, which is...well, it's trite, but beautiful:

(mp3) beautiful tango by hindi zahra

and here's the video for the man i love, which is incredibly dreamy stuff. you can practically smell the crêperies nearby, it's just that parisian:



go and see revolver and hindi zahra, plus fellow french artists make the girl dance, chateau marmont, the lanskies, the two, the inspector cluzo, stranded horse and zenzile TONIGHT at NY's hiro ballroom for FREE during the france rocks shows at the CMJ music festival. head over to the santos party house tomorrow night, october 20th, if you happen to miss tonight's shows. go HERE to learn more about the shows.

revolver's second LP is due out in the states in early 2012. until then, go HERE to buy music for a while, the album that includes get around town and a song she wrote.

go HERE to buy handmade, hindi zahra's latest album, which includes beautiful tango and the man i love.

french week - stranded horse and zenzile

so, onwards with french week!

today i want to introduce you to stranded horse (also known as yann tamboura), a singer-songwriter who did much of the recording of his latest album, humbling tides, in normandy, a region of france steeped in legends and rich history.

and it shows. tamboura's music is a fascinating mix of medieval folksong, the mandinka tradition of west africa, traditional french chanson, and fahey-esque fingerpicking. he's quite clever with not only a guitar, but also a kora, and this only lends to his music a storytelling vibe. and that's what tamboura is doing with his music - he's telling you stories. don't expect him to belt out any "baby, baby, baby, let's get it on" kind of choruses; instead, tamboura carefully crafts a tale for you to immerse yourself in. his music is quiet and complex and easy to fall into.

check out the very lovely and the shoreline it withdrew in anger. it'll transport you straight to those norman coasts:

(mp3) and the shoreline it withdrew in anger by stranded horse

now check out the heavily medieval flavored jolting moon:



now, on the complete opposite spectrum of musical sounds, meet zenzile, a veteran french band who manage to mix jazz, rock, post punk, dub and rock together into their music.

check out fire eater, which is synth heavy with distorted vocals, driving guitars, and heavy beats while still managing to sound poppy enough to get your head bouncing:

(mp3) fire eater by zenzile

check out simple lesson, which is a bit more dark than fire eater:



want to see either band? check them out at the CMJ music festival this week in NY! best yet, the shows are freeeee! you can also catch fellow french bands make the girl dance, chateau marmont, the lanskies, hindi zahra, the two, revolver, and the inspector cluzo in addition to stranded horse and zenzile at NY's hiro ballroom on october 19th and the santos party house on october 20th.

buy pawn shop, the eighth album released by zenzile HERE.

buy humbling tides, the latest album by stranded horse, HERE.

french week - make the girl & chateau marmont

so, lucky new yorkers (or people heading to the big apple this week) - CMJ is once again showcasing tunes and bands in a big marathon of goodness! the husband has long made me jealous by regaling me with his own stories of heading out to CMJ's shows back when he used to work for a label. as for me, i've yet to even GO to nyc, let alone one of these great music showcases. but that's another story entirely.

something cool about this year is there's going to be a block of french artists showcased during france rocks CMJ nights. interestingly enough, the majority of the bands that will be performing on october 19th and 20th tend to sing mostly in english. scotland and sweden tend to get a lot of press and hype for churning out great new music lately (and i'll concur, especially with the scottish bands, because so many of my favorites nowadays are from there), but it's almost a crime that france is getting overlooked far too often. there's a ton of interesting tunes coming from france, ranging from singer-songwriter fare to rock.

case in point, make the girl dance. based out of paris, these electro-producers are making some catchy tunes that will be sure to make you want to go clubbing. have a listen to kill me, which has a nice bit of 80's groove in it to entice:

(mp3) kill me (radio edit) by make the girl dance

here's the video for baby baby baby. yes, there are naked girls in it walking through the streets of paris.



there's also chateau marmont (not to be confused with the infamous yet trendy hollywood hotel, angelinos!).

with a debut LP set to be released in the states early in '12, chateau marmont has a very futuristic sound with dreamy synths and poppy yet heavy (yes, really) beats. i like one hundred realities quite a bit. it reminds me, in a very small way, of fellow french artist m83 (who readers know i totally dig). have a listen:

(mp3) one hundred realities by chateau marmont

and here's a mini video for the song, used in a tour announcement from the band:



want to go check out these bands? head over to NY's hiro ballroom on october 19th and the santos party house on october 20th to see make the girl dance and chateau marmont, as well as the lanskies, hindi zahra, the two, revolver, stranded horse, the inspector cluzo, and zenzile.

did i mention these shows are free? seriously. go. but first, go HERE to learn more about france rocks CMJ nights.

stay tuned for more great french bands featured this week!

wordless music post #51

find/buy this print HERE

(mp3) the district sleeps alone tonight by the postal service

video for a saturday - the french bastards

learn more about the inspector cluzo HERE.

shake it out by florence & the machine

so, today's video is perfect for october - it features a masquerade! plus, it's from an album which will launch on halloween and mentions ghouls!

i'm gonna spill a secret here - i haven't done a lot of listening in the past to florence & the machine, and here's why (and friends, it's a really stupid reason) - perez hilton championed the band. is that bad? absolutely not - in fact, it's pretty damn cool for the group, because his site has a huge readership and gives tons of coverage, which is fantastic for any musicians who get a shout out.

so why the lack of attention from me?

eh...i think it might have to do with all the glee love, of which i'm automatically suspicious of. yes, friends, i am not a fan of glee. i've given it a few watches and each time, it felt painfully forced to me - and this comes from a girl who just spent the better part of a couple weeks revisting the glory that is andrew lloyd webber's evita at top volume. yes, i love me some musical theatre, but there's something about glee that just rubs me wrong.

go ahead. pelt me all you want with tomatoes. it won't make me watch the show. plus, i saw part of the britney spears episode, and it made my ears bleed.

SO. i realize my logic over my lack of florence & the machine listening prior to this video is faulty. as for shake it out? i dig it. like, lots 'o digging, because it's fun and catchy and got lots of 80's beats that will enrapture any gen-xer as well as whatever they call today's latest generation who like to pretend they're in the 80's (GOD, HAVE YOU SEEN SOME OF THE HORRIBLE FASHIONS COMING BACK? peeps! the clothes were the WORST part of the 80's - trust me. hold close to the music and movies and lose the rest).

plus, i love the lyrics. it's all about fighting one's own demons - which, as anyone knows, are far worse than any other kind.

regrets collect like old friends
here to relive your darkest moments
i can see no way, i can see no way
and all of the ghouls come out to play

and every demon wants his pound of flesh
but i like to keep some things to myself
i like to keep my issues strong
it's always darkest before the dawn

and i've been a fool and i've been blind
i can never leave the past behind
i can see no way, Ii can see no way
i'm always dragging that horse around

and our love is pastured such a mournful sound
tonight I'm gonna bury that horse in the ground
so i like to keep my issues strong
but it's always darkest before the dawn

shake it out, shake it out, shake it out, shake it out

and it's hard to dance with a devil on your back
so shake him off, oh woah

i am done with my graceless heart
so tonight I'm gonna cut it out and then restart
'cause i like to keep my issues strong
it's always darkest before the dawn

shake it out, shake it out, shake it out, shake it out

and it's hard to dance with a devil on your back
so shake him off

and given half the chance would I take any of it back
it's a final mess but it's left me so empty
it's always darkest before the dawn

and i'm damned if i do, and i'm damned if i don't
so here's to drinks in the dark at the end of my road
and i'm ready to suffer and i'm ready to hope
it's a shot in the dark and right at my throat
'cause looking for heaven, for the devil in me
looking for heaven, for the devil in me
well, what the hell - i'm gonna let it happen to me



ceremonials by florence and the machine will be released on october 31st. go HERE to pre-order it. you can also buy the shake it out single there.

the waiting game

(rambling post ahead!)

so, first off, apologies for the dire lack of music posts on a daily basis. i had a great run of being able to get those done easily, but now my kids are involved in lots of school and sports and MY GOD, ARE THOSE THINGS TIME SUCKS. i'm also trying my best to fit in decent writing time in an effort to get one of my books finished and a sequel to another polished up, so i am considering now going to an every other day sort of thing, except when i do find those lovely bits of time to be able to post daily.

apologies also for this post for not being a music one, either.

find/buy this print at etsy HERE

as many of you know, i'm a writer and i'm currently in the process of having one of my books edited. this, friends, is a terrifying experience on a lot of levels - mainly, because it's a waiting game and i am no good at waiting. i never have been, which truly sucks. my editor comes highly recommended after much research into the matter, and she informed me that she'd really only contact me during the process if she had major problems with the work. so on that hand, hooray! although now i'm considering i just jinxed myself by even saying that. but still, the radio silence is brutal at times, especially to one prone to an overactive imagination.

but here's another one of my problems - the fear of it being liked versus unliked.

every writer writes what they want to read - or, at least, that's what they ought to be doing. and that's what i did, with codename AMOF. the interesting thing that i think a lot of people don't really get is just how attached to characters an author gets. i mean, we know these people we write. we know what makes them tick, what makes them happy and sad and so furious they can barely speak. we know their inner hopes and their greatest fears, and we care. it sounds ridiculous on paper (ha - no pun intended. at least, not really), but these characters become friends.

they become real.

authors fall in love with their characters. i can't tell you how many times i've read on other author blogs about how enamored they become with their characters, and i'm no different. it's a patently ridiculous thing for a person to admit, for me to admit, but when you get this close to the people you create, the ones you hear in your head and see clear as day in your mind, you do develop warm, fuzzy feelings towards them. each new story brings new crushes and new sets of worries. case in point - i actually sobbed (yes, sobbed) when i did something awful to one of my favorite characters.

so, when you present these people, these characters, to the world (or your writing group or friends or family or whoever), you can't help but feel leery and protective of them. each time somebody reads one of my stories, i think, and hope, "was a connection made?"

logically, i know there are going to be people who don't connect with my characters, who don't find them compelling or interesting. i know this. it's just going to happen, because that's just how things are. nothing is universally loved, nothing universally guaranteed. but it doesn't mean i'm not just the wee bit nervous about them in the hands of my editor, because the truth is, i want her to like them.

and yet, i have to wait to find out.

video for a saturday - in the sun

so, is there really anyone more adorable than zooey deschanel? i mean, the girl has a wardrobe to die for, is a great actress (have you seen new girl? lovelovelove it), sings great (alongside m. ward in she and him), and is married to ben gibbard (good lord, can you imagine how cute they might be, writing songs for one another?). anyway, here's a dose of zooey for you this morning, in a sweet retro like song with an equally likable video:



learn more about she and him HERE. note they have a christmas album coming. i'm geekily gleeful about it! and yes, i realize it's october.

blackbirds by NOVI

so, i want to apologize ahead of time for this song.

why, you're asking?

because it's the stuff earworms are made of. it's catchy (um, like insanely so - just you wait until you start hearing "peddling back, peddle me back et. al to you"), it's got kitsch (the whole rap bit in the middle with the guy strutting with a gun? i totally broke out in laughter over that), and it's got some lyrics that remind you that music sometimes, while insightful and deep and meaningful, can be plain fun, if not bizarre (imagines of birds on the side of the road copulating? oookaay...). so, yeah. you'll most likely be hearing this one in your head long after you've finished watching the video!

okay, now the details - blackbirds, by NOVI, an up and coming artist from LA, is semi-electronic girly-girl music. it's fun, friends. goofy, bouncy, poppy fun, even you scratch your head over the gun guy while giggling.

tgif!


NOVI : Blackbirds from Spool on Vimeo.

came along by amtrac

so, caleb cornett, who also goes by amtrac, grew up in kentucky but sounds much more at home in the miami club scene, which makes sense since that's where he currently hangs his hat.

a self-taught musician, amtrac's got an interesting sound that mixes tinkly keyboards with drum machines and monotone vocals against solid yet trippy beats. it's inherently likable electronica and excellent music to get your body moving, whether you intend it to or not.

check out his latest single, came along:

(mp3) came along by amtrac

here's a video of amtrac performing the song live:

Came Along (Live) from amtrac on Vimeo.

buy came along, the album with the same name as the single, HERE.

interview: lisa hannigan

so, i remember the first time i really listened to damien rice - gosh, it's been, what, seven years, maybe? six? and i instantly picked up on this lovely female voice in the background, and i was charmed. not that rice isn't charming on his own, but this voice was really very sweet and beautiful, a perfect pitch and foil for his melancholy. i did a bit of hunting around and discovered it belong to an irish singer-songwriter by the name of lisa hannigan, and ever since then, i've been consistently delighted by her music. she released a solo debut album back in '08 by the name of sea sew and is now back with her sophomore release passenger which is truly a gorgeous work of art.

photo by nick leclair

curious about her creative process, considering she's such a talented songstress, i asked lisa a few questions about passenger and how she works:

have you met heather: passenger, your latest album, was just released. what's the story behind it?

lisa hannigan: Well, most of the record was written on the road during touring so I suppose that influenced the record a great deal. Being away brings about a certain nostalgia for home and also the past.

hymh: do you have any favorites off of the album?

lisa: They're all my favourites really. There's none that I dread appearing on the setlist. If I had to pick one it would be Little Bird.

hymh: what is your creative process like behind writing your music?

lisa: A song would usually start with a melody or a line of words and then I tend to walk about humming to myself until it gets some sort of shape to it. Sometimes I don't know what a song is about until I've written a good portion of it.

hymh: where do you tend to find inspiration for your songs?

lisa: I generally write songs from personal experience or the adventures and tomfoolery of close friends.

hymh: you're about to embark on a tour through the US. what's a typical tour like for you?

lisa: A lot of energy is spent finding the most delicious food we can. There's certain places that we never miss, like legal seafood in Boston.. Oh the crab cakes..

hymh: you've worked with people like damien rice and herbie hancock in the past, which must have been both fun and interesting. do you ever find yourself being influenced by those you've worked with?

lisa: I imagine everyone that I meet and work with influences me on some way. Some less directly than others. With Herbie in particular, he showed me that the trick is not to aim to play or sing something right, but to find something new and interesting each time.

thanks, lisa!

download and have a listen to knots, which is off of passenger:

it was early in the morning,
we were sitting on the stoop,
there wheeled away a starling
and i thought that I would too.
oh for all i knew,
i was lost through and through,
in my high heels and my old dress
with my new keys in the wrong city.

i tie the knots to remember in my heart,
so i choke and i sputter to a stop,
i am a borrower and lender of the lot.

i walk away asleep
and chalk an outline round the scene.
this shadow play of whiskey talk,
a heavy denier dream.
oh let it be, i was lost in him and me.
in my high heels and my old dress
with my new keys in the wrong city.

i tie the knots to remember in my heart,
so i choke and i sputter to a stop,
i am a borrower and lender of the lot.

(mp3) knots by lisa hannigan

i'm going to have to agree with lisa on little bird. it's my favorite off of passenger, too. so, so delicate. so, so sweet and sad at the same time. perfect poetry-like lyrics. simple and yet complex at the same time. for example:

i was salted by your hunger,
now you've gone and lost your appetite
and a little bird is every bit as handy in a fight.
i am lonely as a memory
despite the gathering round the fire.
aren't you every bird on every wire?

see what i mean? check out a video of lisa performing the song in dublin earlier this year:



want to see lisa on tour? check out one of the following dates:

October 4 Portland, OR Doug Fir
October 5 Seattle, WA Tractor
October 6 Vancouver, BC Media Club
October 7 Calgary, AB Heritage Park Gasoline Alley
October 10 Chicago, IL Double Door
October 12 Washington, DC 9:30 Club
October 13 Baltimore, MD Sound Stage
October 16 Montreal, QB Petit Campus
October 17 Boston, MA Paradise
October 20 Philadelphia, PA Milk Boy
October 21 New York, NY Hiro

buy passenger, lisa hannigan's latest album, HERE.

album review: brynn andre

so, today i want to introduce you to brynn andre, a very talented young singer-songwriter who, according to her bio, writes about "the upheaval she faced in Minneapolis after reluctantly unmasking what had become her present-day fiction." she released her sophomore album, the self-entitled brynn andre this year and i had a chance recently to have a listen to it.

the album isn't going to blow the lid off your speakers - but i think that's its purpose. it's introspective, often filled with self-critical songs that are utterly relatable in many ways. andre examines the intricacies of actions and feelings towards relationships, many unhappy or ill-fated. don't expect the album to be mopey, though, or whiny - instead, there's a quiet hush that invites you in to eavesdrop to the inner workings of turmoil, leaving you to listen a little closer to hear the story, rather than tune out to the meanings and merely rock out to the tunes.

although brynn's calm, lovely vocals may belie a sort of consistency amongst her songs, there's actually a range of standard singer-songwriter fare (my best) to blues-infused ballads (fire escape and granite) and 3/4 metered stories (such as devil). each song builds upon the last, creating a catalogue of a fairly well constructed documentation of highly charged emotions.

and the lyrics? check out devil, which is such a bittersweet song geared for tragedy: and i saw your devil / pull up a chair / and i'm in so much trouble / because i like you there / you little devil / with your head on my shoulder / this is going to hurt when it's over. or ocean: the good is gone / as soon as it hits your back / and you tasted fingertip to tongue / as fast as you can / and i wanted to stay / as soon as it runs away / like a river that's only got power when it rains. or my favorite off the album, homecoming king, which is so very angry and sad all at the same time in just the way a girl who knows she's making a mistake and still goes through with it anyways is:

there's a kind of muscle
oh, i've never had it in me
but i think you're made of it
from your forearms to feet
and i'm a stupid girl trying to arm wrestle the homecoming king at the lunch table
and i'm a stupid girl

and you never let me finish what i want to say
and there's so many limits to what you can take
and we're drunk, in a cab
this is not a date
you're the homecoming king
i've got nothing to say

and there's a kind of quiet
i could never quite keep
and you're made of silence
and it goes bone deep
and i'm a stupid girl singing on my lawn
asking the homecoming king to prom
and i'm a stupid girl

and you never let me finish what i want to say
and there's so many limits to what you can take
and we're drunk, in ca cab
this is not a date
you're the homecoming king
i've got nothing to say

you're the homecoming king
but we're not going to prom
we're barely speaking
it's the bare minimum
and i'm a stupid girl thinking you would stay long
it's time to pay
we're almost home

and we're drunk, in a cab
this is not a date
you're the homecoming king
i've got nothing to say
and you never let me finish what i want to say
and there's so many limits to what you can take
and we're drunk, in a cab
this is not a date
you're the homecoming king,
you're the homecoming king

and we are drunk, in a cab
i've got nothing to say

stream it below:



can you resist that hook in the chorus? no? i didn't think so.

download ocean:

(mp3) ocean by brynn andre

stream the entire album below:



buy brynn andre's self-entitled album HERE.