dreamer by elizaveta

so, any reader of this blog knows i love me the sad songs, which may make this post a bit of a surprise, because today's song is a blatantly in-your-face, sunshine and roses, life is good, happyhappyjoyjoy, everyone is fabulous feel-good offering.

it's like optimisim on crack.

what can i tell you about elizaveta, the woman behind dreamer? well, from what i can tell, she's a a bit of a globe trotting opera-trainer singer who has lived in the US, russia, and italy. she's got this really, really sweet voice that reminds me a bit of ingrid michaelson, and it occasionally breaks out in operatic soprano soarings mid-song.

about dreamer . . .

well, it's like i said. it's gonna be the most cheery thing you hear in some time. some of you are going to want to resist its charms. god, you'll think. opera? REALLY? saccharine lyrics? no thanks. NO THANKS.

okay. you can think that. give it a listen to anyway, and i'll bet you'll find yourself smiling. and possibly hitting repeat (secretly, of course, because we music aficionados can't be seen listening to such perversely positive music within earshot of others, can we? i kid! i kid. well, i mostly kid.).

i like it. a lot. i find it impossibly cheerful, a song i can't feel anything but completely happy listening to.

i believe in fairytales
and serendipitous encounters
catch a tiger by the tails
make a wish
drink from the fountain

oh-oh-oh oh-oh

i believe love will prevail
the path is clear for me to follow
shooting stars will leave a trail
for me to fill with joy and sorrow

oh-oh-oh oh-oh

leave your fear of love behind
let your dreaming be your guide
if you seek then you shall find.

the sun is setting in the west
it hovers like a big balloon
it follows me and beckons me
but i am staring at the moon

oh-oh-oh oh-oh

leave your fear of love behind
let your dreaming be your guide
if you seek then you shall find . . .

turn the tide in from the fallen
waiting to rise up again
i can feel it in blood
i hold the future in my hand

leave your fear of love behind
let your dreaming be your guide
if you seek then you shall find.

i believe in fairytales
and serendipitous encounters

i believe in fairytales
and serendipitous encounters

here's a remix of the song to download:

(mp3) dreamer (greg wells' transparent remix) by elizaveta

and the original version in the official video:



go HERE to buy beatrix runs, the album dreamer is off of.

the world unfolds by gabriel & the hounds

so, i must admit--when i first heard the name of this brooklyn based band, i immediately thought of melissa marr's wicked lovely book series. see, there's this group of faeries called the dark court, and they have these guards who are called hounds, and the lead hound is called the gabriel . . .

and that story really has nothing to do with the band (at least i THINK), but i thought it amusing enough to mention. because, seriously--how cool would it be if gabriel levine, the man behind the band, was actually a closet melissa marr fan?

ANYWAY. ahem. gabriel and the hounds have recently signed with communion records, the home of many talented acts such as daughter and matthew and the atlas (*weeps over their recent break-up*).

in advance of their upcoming debut album, gabriel and the hounds just released a new single called the world unfolds. it's a good song, with lots of nineties-style guitars and plaintive vocals that inherently bring you in, like a friend you're sharing a beer with after work. have a listen to/download the song from the soundcloud below:

hey, when is the world gonna unfold for me?
when will answers become crystal clear?
when will anger be beneath me?
hey, when we gonna find a way out
and why isn't my momma around anymore?
papa said, "hey, we just couldn't keep her around"
and papa said, "i can't hear what's real now,
but you've been asking everyone to get out of your way
but there was never anyone in your way"
hey, when's the world going to unfold for me?

hey, when's the world gonna unfold for me?
when am i gonna feel like a super one?
i wish you the best, but i . . .
i could never feel like you do
i never knew what you meant when you said,
you said, "i could never be with you"
hey, when am i gonna feel like a super one?
when am i gonna start having fun?
when am i gonna be one with everyone
and when am i gonna be with you?

i wish you the best but i . . .
i could never feel like you do
and i never knew what you meant when you said
you said, "i could never be with you"

hey, when am i gonna feel like a super one?
when am i gonna start having fun?
when's the world gonna unfold for me?
when will anger be beneath me?

Gabriel & The Hounds - The World Unfolds by communionmusic

gabriel and the hounds' debut album will be available via communion records in february 2012.

big top by alphabet backwards

so, today's song is all about embracing indie-pop. sounds a bit contradictory, no? but pop music occasionally gets a bad name nowadays, what with the likes of justin bieber running around singing (warbling?) songs that, well, i can't even name. seriously. i can't even name one of his songs. i feel okay with this inability in my life. i'm a . . . how do they say it? non-belieber.

but pop can be really fun to listen to. i love to read how certain people who consider themselves to be music snobs malign the genre. "it's total crap," they sniff. "you couldn't pay me to listen to that swill."

but you know what, internets? i bet you those same haters actually have a good number of pop songs hidden on their ipods or on their computers. we all do. there's always the allure of pop - easy to listen to, easy to sing along with, that makes it impossible to truly resist. (although, YES. i can resist the beibster. and mariah. and a bunch of other "pop" singers - but that's more because they sing things that could crack glass and make dogs go deaf.)

ANYWAY. today's song, a lovely pop ditty called big top, is by the oxford based alphabet backwards.

it's got synths, hurried male-female vocals, and a beat that draws you in. it's a likable song, one that encourages you to hum along. check it out in the video below:



go HERE to buy music from alphabet backwards.

more news!

oh, friends. i am so excited to share this with you...

the official website for my upcoming YA book series is now live! head over to world of annar to get info on the first book, a matter of fate, which is set to be published in the coming months. the first chapter is up for you to read--i'd love to hear what you have to think!

ten favorite songs of 2011

so, happy 2012, friends! i am here to offer up my favorite songs of 2011, fully aware that i ought to have done this just a few weeks before. c'est la vie, though!

anyway, in no particular order, these are the official hymh favorite songs of 2011:

** highlights of owls by amy seeley

i honestly think amy seeley could put out a song with her singing names from the telephone book and i'd still find myself in love with it, she's just that good. highlights of owls was one of those songs that i've gone back to over and over again over the last year--so much so that one night, the husband said, "really, heather? this song again?" yep! and i have no shame for listening to it on repeat often. go HERE to read my original post on highlights of owls.

the sky gave its answer
assured and steady
what to make of the things you're not




** i told you so by teepee

holy moly, friends, do i dig this song. it's a bit addicting, to be honest, one that i can't help but seek out often and play so loud my ear nearly ring. drum machines, lo-fi vocals, and a modulating melody make up one fab song. go HERE to read my original review of it.

don't lean on me when you need a body to cry on
i told you so, i told you many times




** home is not where i come from by nico stai

another artist that could probably sing just about anything and i'd love it, nico stai is, in this opinion, one of the best singer-songwriters around nowadays. his songs are almost all bittersweet, and home is not where i come from is no exception. it's gorgeous in a really simple, uncluttered way. his next album is highly anticipated by this girl! go HERE to read my original review of this song.

and if you ever need a comeback,
i can be the thing you come back to
yeah, and if what you really need is a reason,
hell, i'll be the reason, too

(mp3) home is not where i come from by nico stai


** writing my name (on the back of your hand) by the glue ensemble

so, i'm cheating here, because technically, this song was released in december '10 and not '11, but considering i'm posting my top ten list of '11 in '12, i figure this makes this okay. hee hee! ANYWAY. this song. oh, this song. how do i love writing my name (one the back of your hand)? in ridiculous ways, friends. this song is so incredibly fabulous in just about every way. it's a mix between classical and indie and makes you feel all sorts of wonderful things, like awe and happiness and swooniness (yes, swooniness). i could easily listen to it twenty times a day every day and still feel just as keenly as i do about it now, it's just that good. go HERE to read my original ode to this song.

you know this place like the back of my hand,
but you stumble and fall
because you know nothing at all




** severus and stone by radical face

friends, i have planned for MONTHS now to offer up a review of the new radical face album for you. until i get my lazy self to do so, know this: it's AMAZING. i loves it so much. it is everything good and thought provoking and gorgeous that you would expect from a radical face album. and the shining star, in this opinion, is severus and stone, an incredibly heart wrenching song about twins--one dies, one survives. as a mother of twins, i try not to think too much about the true meaning; instead, i let its loveliness perminate through me, as a nearly perfect example of what singer-songwriting ought to be. go HERE to read an interview i did with ben cooper, the man behind radical face.

he was afloat
found a lonely tree
and tied himself within its limbs
and he said to me these words:
don't you fear for me,
i am where I'm supposed to be

here's a live video of the song--so bitter i didn't get to see him when he was in LA this time around:






** i swear by sallie ford and the sound outside

hot damn is this song rocking. i love the fact that sallie ford looks like this adorable librarian and then is able to belt out these sorts of songs. i swear is all about the trouble with crappy music being churned out for the masses. it makes me laugh every time i hear it, and then i want to turn it up loud and sing along, because it's just that sort of catchy song that requires you to do so. plus, the video is awesome. go HERE to read my original review of this song.

what is this robot sounding bullshit?
they just don't care anymore
why don't we get rid of all of the people
and we can sell our souls to the man
go ahead and tell em that you heard me on the dirty radio






** lavez vous by the bandana splits

i've only posted like a zillon posts about these girls this year, and it's because i have a mad, mad crush on their tunes. the bandana splits are retro-fabulous in every way possible, and lavez vous is my song du jour. it makes me want to dance, it's just so fricking bubbly and awesome. go HERE to read my review of the album this song is off of.

i learned to speak french
from beauty products
that my mom gave to me






** second song by tv on the radio

brilliant song. that is all.
go HERE to read my original review of second song.

and when the night comes i'm fiending like a pyro
and i know it stables my survival
when there's music all around me and i haven't got a single word to say







** ok pal by m83

gen-xers, rejoice! anthony gonzalez, the man behind m83, is here to stoke our nostalgia, and ok pal is a prime example of just how he will do it. john hughes is smiling down on us as he listens to the songs off of hurry up, we're dreaming, thinking, "dude. that would have SO gone with one of my films." go HERE to read my review of the album that ok pal is off of.







and finally...

** stay young and go dancing by death cab for cutie

this was a tough one, because let's face it, i love me the whole codes and keys album. my song crushes have steadily progressed through it over the year, including the delectable monday morning and unobstructed views. but lately, it's been all about stay young and go dancing--and i think this is because it's such a happy song, one that embraces life and makes you feel like life is worth every last second, good or bad. don't get me wrong--i am a diehard fan of all the sad, sad dcfc songs, but this one...

yeah.

this joyous one does it for right now.

'cause when she sings i hear a symphony
and i'm swallowed in sound as it echoes through me
i'm renewed, oh how i feel alive
through autumn's advancing, we'll stay young, go dancing





i look forward to many new song crushes through 2012!

news! news!

so, i wanted to let you know i've finally set up an author site that you can check out: www.heatherlyons.net. if you'd like, go and have a peek! news and info about my upcoming book a matter of fate will be posted over there. have no fear, this blog will remain up and running as my official blog!

here's to a great 2012, filled with great tunes and new books to share. cheers!