I think last week was the most stressful week in work history for me. Not that I'm going to go into it in a public forum like this. But damn. It was bad. And it continued into this week a little bit, but things have started looking up. I actually thought about quitting last week. Like, why do I bother? But I'm over that now. Still bored, but not super stressed. So that's good.
I did make up for all the stress by getting incredibly drunk on Friday night. I went to a housewarming party at the Moishe House, this Jewish group that I'm sure I've talked about in the past so won't go into now. Anyway, got incredibly drunk. Not sloppily, which is good. But I did drink like 2+ bottles of wine between 8pm and 1am. And actually I thought I was doing ok, but knew I was drunk and left, and blacked out by the time I got home. Which is a 2 minute walk away. So I was much more drunk than I realized. And in retrospect, very glad I left. Luckily I did have enough wits about me in the middle of the night to cancel my Saturday morning yoga class. So that was good.
Anyway let's move on to music. Music which does not make me think of getting super drunk or Jews at all. In fact, we're starting out with one of the farthest things musically from Jews - Country music. What!?!? I know, right? Michael listens to country music?? Well, no, not really. Generally not. I'm happy to give it a listen, I just generally don't like it. But there is a very interesting woman named Yola who is all over the indie scene these days, and she has caught my attention. This woman makes country music. Pure and simple. So I have no idea why I like it. But I do. In fact, one of my favorite songs is Fly Away, off of her first EP, Orphan Offering, which came out back in 2016.
So country. But this woman herself is super interesting. First of all, she's a big, black woman. Which is not your usual demographic for country music. Also, she's British. And, after deciding she wanted to be a musician, she basically got kicked out of her house and was living on the streets. But she's damn good. I mean, listen to those vocals. Plus it helps that she was picked up by Dan Auerbach of The Black Keys, who produced her debut album, Walk Through Fire, which just came out a few weeks ago. It's a pretty decent album, especially considering the whole country thing. The first major single, and the one that got her a bunch of buzz and caught my attention in the first place, is Faraway Look, which is wonderful.
Now we'll move away from Country music, but not too far away. Just into the genre of folk, which is something I can totally get behind. And we do have another misfit in the folk world, J.S. Ondara. Before you ask (because I did and wasn't sure when I just listened), J.S. Ondara is a man. But he's got a very sultry, androgynous voice. He's also just put out his first album, called Tales of America. But here's the fun part: he's also not American, and making some of the most American music out there (Yay for melting pots! Boo for walls!)! Anyway, the man is Kenyan and ended up in the US somehow (I know I read about it, but can't remember the details) and then started making music. Or maybe he was already making music, who knows. But his music has taken on a completely American bent. Now, very often with new artists, I introduce their first song, even if it isn't my favorite. Usually because it's what caught my attention or got me turned on to them. But I'm going to skip that for J.S. Ondara, and just move on to my favorite track off the album, called Lebanon.
How wonderful is that song? And how good does he sound? He totally reminds me of Tracy Chapman, which is probably one more reason why I wasn't sure if he was a man or woman when I first heard him. So that first single I referred to is called American Dream, and it's a really nice song, and definitely caught my attention, but I did not think it was worth all the hype. But enough to make me listen to the album. And then I found these amazing tracks like Lebanon, or Torch Song, the other one I'm sharing with you. And there's more of them! The whole album is really incredible. Might be a strong contender for my Top 10 this year, in fact.
I did make up for all the stress by getting incredibly drunk on Friday night. I went to a housewarming party at the Moishe House, this Jewish group that I'm sure I've talked about in the past so won't go into now. Anyway, got incredibly drunk. Not sloppily, which is good. But I did drink like 2+ bottles of wine between 8pm and 1am. And actually I thought I was doing ok, but knew I was drunk and left, and blacked out by the time I got home. Which is a 2 minute walk away. So I was much more drunk than I realized. And in retrospect, very glad I left. Luckily I did have enough wits about me in the middle of the night to cancel my Saturday morning yoga class. So that was good.
Anyway let's move on to music. Music which does not make me think of getting super drunk or Jews at all. In fact, we're starting out with one of the farthest things musically from Jews - Country music. What!?!? I know, right? Michael listens to country music?? Well, no, not really. Generally not. I'm happy to give it a listen, I just generally don't like it. But there is a very interesting woman named Yola who is all over the indie scene these days, and she has caught my attention. This woman makes country music. Pure and simple. So I have no idea why I like it. But I do. In fact, one of my favorite songs is Fly Away, off of her first EP, Orphan Offering, which came out back in 2016.
So country. But this woman herself is super interesting. First of all, she's a big, black woman. Which is not your usual demographic for country music. Also, she's British. And, after deciding she wanted to be a musician, she basically got kicked out of her house and was living on the streets. But she's damn good. I mean, listen to those vocals. Plus it helps that she was picked up by Dan Auerbach of The Black Keys, who produced her debut album, Walk Through Fire, which just came out a few weeks ago. It's a pretty decent album, especially considering the whole country thing. The first major single, and the one that got her a bunch of buzz and caught my attention in the first place, is Faraway Look, which is wonderful.
Now we'll move away from Country music, but not too far away. Just into the genre of folk, which is something I can totally get behind. And we do have another misfit in the folk world, J.S. Ondara. Before you ask (because I did and wasn't sure when I just listened), J.S. Ondara is a man. But he's got a very sultry, androgynous voice. He's also just put out his first album, called Tales of America. But here's the fun part: he's also not American, and making some of the most American music out there (Yay for melting pots! Boo for walls!)! Anyway, the man is Kenyan and ended up in the US somehow (I know I read about it, but can't remember the details) and then started making music. Or maybe he was already making music, who knows. But his music has taken on a completely American bent. Now, very often with new artists, I introduce their first song, even if it isn't my favorite. Usually because it's what caught my attention or got me turned on to them. But I'm going to skip that for J.S. Ondara, and just move on to my favorite track off the album, called Lebanon.
How wonderful is that song? And how good does he sound? He totally reminds me of Tracy Chapman, which is probably one more reason why I wasn't sure if he was a man or woman when I first heard him. So that first single I referred to is called American Dream, and it's a really nice song, and definitely caught my attention, but I did not think it was worth all the hype. But enough to make me listen to the album. And then I found these amazing tracks like Lebanon, or Torch Song, the other one I'm sharing with you. And there's more of them! The whole album is really incredible. Might be a strong contender for my Top 10 this year, in fact.
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