My current favorite current singer was on Saturday Night Live last night. Leslie Feist makes music that is light and poppy yet quirky and eclectic. The petite Canadian singer-songwriter makes me smile. The first song is One Two Three Four and the second is called I Feel It All. Both are from her latest album The Reminder.
Feist
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Hey Norm, are you aware that Feist is playing the Paramount on Wednesday 11/7? FYI.
Yes I am. I am planning on dropping by. Thanks.
I like really her too Norm. But get this - In her second song, don’t you think she channels and looks a bit like a young version of my beloved Patti Smith?
Yes she does. But that is were the similiarity ends! Ha.
Did you really “Ha” me relative to Patti? I guess you did! You make me laugh Norm, you know you always have - with your great sense of humor. Do you have an aversion to Patti? To her music? Or as some have, regardless of her talent, to her looks?
I was just thinking that Feist and Patti, despite their looks, have styles that really couldn’t be more different.
I have always had what you’d call a “commercial” ear. Which enabled me to survive in commerical radio for all those years. I wasn’t one of those radio guys who grumbled about having to play commercial crap.
So I have always appreciate a good mainstream pop hit. Not to say there isn’t some crap out there. Now and then.
Patti never was very commercial. I guess that Springsteen song (”Because The Night” ???) was as close as she came to being accepted on mainstream radio.
Patti’s “Twelve” is an album full of Classic Rock covers that ain’t half bad. The Mountain would’ve been the only place to play it locally if anybody did. It came out earlier this year so she’s still around. I think I read she’s still doing shows in small venues.
Norm, it strikes me that your reviews of contemporary pop stuff is not befitting the image I have of you (a manly man at KZOK with your arm in a sling).
Come on man! Let’s review Steve Earle and John Fogerty!
Hey Bill . . . I did watch Fogerty lastest TV special in HD. He still does the CCR songs exactly like original recordings.
My arm was in a sling fall of ‘74 (having broken my collar bone after falling off my bicycle racing down the hill into Spokane . . . I had led a Seattle caravan of several thousand cyclists to Expo ‘74 . . . which I never saw!)
For most of that fall I was eating Percoden regularly . . so I am not sure how “manly” I was.
On “Twelve”, Patti does a cover of Gimme Shelter that I like better than the original. I mentioned to a friend the other day about how good the music is on radio stations in Ohio, and that it was fitting that the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame is there. They play Patti on the radio in Toledo!
Tricia . . . let see “Gimmie Shelter” . . . Patti Smith or Stones? Hmmm . . . it isn’t even “just a shot away.”
The original version has the huge advance of being the sound track of a turbulent time . . . the violence on the screens, the pillage and the burning. If you were there any cover or redo is faint in comparison.
Saw Feist last night . . . . at the Paramount Theatre . . . downtown Seattle.
First of all the Paramount was packed. It looked like even the balcony was full. Allot of her songs were recognized by the crowd. There were several impressive unprompted (and prompted) audience sing-a-longs. She must be getting exposure some where. Maybe “The Mountain”?? Most of her tunes were quiet and subtle. But she did rock out a couple times. I recognized several tunes from the current album. I like her voice and eclectic style. She is very petite and looks like a hip version of Karen Carpenter (credit: Heidi) or a young Patti Smith (thanks Tricia).
Unlike her SNL version of the “One Two Three Four” there wasn’t a banjo in sight. In fact the band was considerably smaller than the group she had on TV. But each band member played a variety of instruments. There were guitars, keyboards and horns.
Oh she did a very cool thing . . . technology wise. Let see if I can explain how on a couple tunes she sang with herself. Using a different microphone that was obviously hooked up to some kind of recording thing . .. she sang the background parts of the song . . .. layered her voice to replicated three or four background singers. Then moved back to the main mic to sing lead with her background voices in the background. It was pretty amazing.
She appeared to be quite the accomplished musician playing guitars and piano. She did some talking between songs. Her localization material need a bit fine tuning. She asked the audience how many on us could see the “ocean” from where we lived!!! But she was aware of how close we were to Canada (her home country).
All in all it was a good show . . . she does a wide variety of styles. From the typical hip modern girl sound . . . to almost Motown.
Hey Norm, I think that thing Feist did is called “looping”. Not sure though. K.T. Tustall does it too. I think it is fascinating and very fun to watch it all come together.