Rachael Yamagata

Monday, January 8 by JR

hap·pen·stance adjective: a circumstance especially that is due to chance.

here's another once chicago local - 28 yr old freckle faced Rachael-with-two-a's-Yamagata - the hottest talent to emerge from the halfie community since kristin kreuk. at least since kt tunstall? has she been featured on grey's anatomy yet? seriously.

according to wikipedia, happenstance is her first full length album, produced by the same guy behind mayer, dmb, and ben folds. (currently she's in studio working on number 2 with the guy behind rilo kiley and bright eyes). she's already collaborated with a slew of artists like mraz, ryan adams, and mandy moore. speaking of whom, mandy and zach braff are in her top 8 on her myspace. please do not hold this against her. self described as 'Janis Joplin meets Fiona Apple' - you can definitely hear a little fiona in 'letter read'. her other influences include jeff buckley, carole king, and a somewhat expected smattering of her peers, i.e. regina spektor. some ppl liken her to maria mena, but i think here is a distinction between a girl and a young woman.

"I try my best to write of love and pain and explore how we humans treat each other, and what our souls are trying to get out at the same time. Performing is my meditation; writing my traveling companion. These songs are as truthful and in the moment as I could be at this point in my life. They are observational, touching, but with a sense of hopefulness that every piece, and each bit of pain had a reason. So that nothing is wasted. The never can be happenstance."

"I think honesty is the most important thing for my songwriting which leads me to live a lonely existence of rehashing the muddy waters of my faults and love tragedies. I'm definitely hung up on wanting life to be fair and everyone's full story to be told and understood truthfully. I will never be a great educator because of my intelligence for facts or analytical skills, however I'm pretty damn compassionate and will probably draw people to me for some sense that 'I've been there too…' Life is not always heavy and dark, but I do spend time swimming in those areas. Go fish. "

i would like to see her branch out of love/love sick songs, but maybe that is what she means by her 'compassion'. ppl are drawn to her for it.

hard to choose just a couple samplers...

moments with oliver - just over a minute of instrumentals

i'll find a way
feels like joni mitchell and damien rice (she did cover joni's 'river' which can be heard on her myspace, another good cover 'jesus was a crossmaker')

letter read
fiona applish

even so
" you're gonna question whether you really know me at all
you will revisit every smile, and where it fit into the day"

listen only:
fireflies (duet with rhett miller)
streaming

be be love
indirect link to her myspace

reason why
indirect link to her myspace

1 Comments:

Blogger Brian Pan said...

ack! the downloads expired already and i haven't listened to them yet!

can someone re-upload and update the links (yourfilelink lasts longer)? thanks.

1/15/2007 11:37 PM

 

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