Wednesday, October 6, 2010

Will Blog For Music: KT Tunstall


When I was a little girl, I had sooooo many dreams. In gradeschool, after I realized I wasn't going to become Art Monk, I switched gears and wanted to become a writer. Not just any writer, a sports writer- and I wanted to cover all the big events. I remember writing to The Washington Post sports reporter Christine Brennan about my dreams and aspirations. I couldn't have been older than fifth grade, and she took the time to handwrite me the sweetest note about reaching for my dream. I cherished that note, and I'm quite sure my mom still has it...

But somewhere between middle and high school, my hormones kicked in, I discovered boys, and switched gears. I no longer dreamt of a big, powerful career, but I dreamt of living my life like my mom... As Grey's Anatomy's Christina would say, "I dreamt of being a simple girl." I wanted to have babies- lots of babies- and take care of my brood, having dinner on the table every night. Luckily for me, that has stayed my dream... except for having dinner on the table... and I'm living it out.

I'm not gonna lie, some days are hard, and I wonder what the heck I'm doing when it's going on eight at night, I haven't brushed my teeth yet- as in not at all the entire day, and my kids are giving me a hard time at bedtime... But I wouldn't trade it for the world. And ever since this blog came about, I've been getting the opportunity to pretend I'm a writer in the neatest ways.

Last week in the mail, I received a package. We all know how I love packages, but this one was really cool. I opened it up to find KT Tunstall's new album, Tiger Suit, which didn't even hit stores until October 5th! I was ahead of the game. First, I was super excited because I LOVE music and never have the extra money to buy a girlie c.d. Then, it crossed my mind that I could be "the one" to leak an unreleased track to Perez Hilton. I'm not one to lie... It did tempt me, but I didn't cross that line.:) And then, I calmed down and read the letter that came along with the c.d. and it kindly asked me to review the c.d. and I'd be entered in a contest for a $50 gift card. And, so here I write.

I was able put my son in front of the Wii and clicked the best invention ever- the DVR and my daughter is happily watching Dora... for the time being. And here I sit pretending to be a music columnist. Except for the fact that I don't know the first thing about reviewing an album. So here are some of my thoughts:

-First of all, KT Tunstall rocks. But this album (her 3rd studio album) had huge shoes to fill. I was addicted to her previous songs "Black Horse and the Cherry" Tree and "Suddenly I See." My sister-in-law used to have "Suddenly I See" on her MySpace page and I'd click on her page all the time just to hear, "Her face is a map of the world, Is a map of the world. You can see she's a beautiful girl, She’s a beautiful girl," and I'd suddenly be in a great mood.

-Tunstall gets an A for artistry. She wrote every song on the album and is a true musician. Although, I'm a "Roses are Red, Violets are Blue" kind of girl and I don't like poetry like E.E. Cummings where you are supposed to analyze lines and dig deeper. I like things spelled out for me and in plain text. Some of these lyrics are a little out there for me, and I couldn't begin to tell you the point of the song.

-Tunstall's first single, "Fade Like a Shadow" is already a Top 20 hit on the radio, and I can see why. It reminds me of Heart meets Carly Simon in modern day. My kids even started to sing the chorus... so it gets mad props. That means they weren't screaming in the back of the car.

-The Entertainer might be a girl's weekend song. It takes me back to when we would use whisks in the kitchen as microphones and belt out Neil Diamond's You Don't Bring Me Flowers Anymore to one another. Yes, we were old souls. And even though we are getting older, I guarantee we could belt out quite the rendition of this song.

-If you liked Black Horse and the Cherry Tree, you'll like "Come on, Get In." I think it's Part 2.

-Bonus points for Tunstall's marketing peeps to let mom's like me have this opportunity. You are genious. Maybe not genious... but you made my day.:)

-And lastly... At first I wasn't a fan of this c.d. But it grew on me. Sometimes the best tracks on a c.d. never make it to the radio and go unheard. I see this happening with this song. My favorite song is "(Still A) Weirdo". It gets ingrained in your head, and it makes the c.d. worth purchasing... Love the lyrics:

Now I know
I took for granted
That things would always go
The way I wanted
I was going to be a treetop
A sea, a boat
A rock of ages...

Pay my lip service
Keep it eloquent
Optimistic but
Never quite elegant
Still a weirdo
Still a weirdo
After all these years


Yep, love it. And for now, my fifteen minutes of fantasizing that I'm in an office penning an article are up. My son is calling to have lightsabre training in the basement, and I'm happy to oblige. I come up with the most amazing moves... or at least he thinks they are quite cool. Still a weirdo...:)

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