May 2005 List

"Billie's Bones": Janis Ian
(Billie's Bones, 2004)
Before hearing this song and the Billie's Bones album, I was a Janis Ian neophyte, having only previously heard "At Seventeen" and Roberta Flack's version of "Jesse." Within seconds of listening, I appreciated Janis Ian's very visual and intimate style of songwriting, this song explaining the debt she owes to Billie Holiday, one of her musical idols.

"Sleeping With You": Blue Horizon
(Shapeshifter, 2005)
What I enjoy most about Elizabeth and Jason's singing is how their two very different voices create a timbre when they harmonize. "Sleeping With You" emphasizes this beautiful harmony and has accompanied me during lunch hours spent sitting on a tree stump overlooking the reservoir in Central Park.

"Arms of a Woman": Amos Lee
(Amos Lee, 2005)
I'm in the midst of a love affair with all of the songs on Amos Lee's debut album, but "Arms of a Woman" caught my attention first. A friend asked me how I could identify with a line like "I am at ease in the arms of a woman" but, in my opinion, the naked emotion of Amos' singing transcends gender and speaks to the universal experience of longing - whether it be for a woman, a man, a memory...

"Trouble": The Savage Juliet
(Another Roadside Attraction, 2004)
(No relation to the Ray LaMontagne song posted last month.)
At The Savage Juliet's CD Release party held at Tonic last week, the band gave out free copies of Another Roadside Attraction, which was fantastic news for my friend Robert and I, who thoroughly enjoyed our first TSJ concert. Though I don't remember hearing "Trouble" at the show (I arrived late after going one subway stop too far), I've played the song - literally - at least thirty times since last Friday...my love for it is so visceral that I can't even describe why I love it!

"Maresia": Adriana Calcanhotto
(Publico, 2000)
I was sitting inside Rue des Crepes last night, pretending to write in my journal, when a lilting, Brazilian-brushed rhythm suddenly set my head bopping from side to side. I asked one of the guys who works at Rue des Crepes what CD was on the stereo and he wrote "Adriana Calcanhotto, Publico" on a guest check, whereupon I anted up and made a dash for Tower Records near NYU - I just had to have it!