Another Post About Driving, Kind of.

photo courtesy of Amano7.org

I work weekdays at a restaurant (making salads, answering phones, taking orders, waiting tables) from 11:00 AM to anytime between 3:00 and 4:30. Today was one of those "4:30" days. After punching out, I got a ride to the Volkswagen dealership where my* Jetta (very manly, I know) was being serviced.

I picked it up, and being sans iPod at that moment, I switched to the only halfway decent radio station in my area, 90.7 FM, W-FUV: the Fordham University Radio Station.

Occasionally, they feature live performances from up-and-comers like Fionn Regan, who did a live performance this past July before playing at Joe's Pub on Lafayette St.

Today, they featured a live interview with Keren Ann, as well as several performances done in the W-FUV studio. Before I even knew her full name, before I even heard her play, I learned Keren had grown up in Israel and the Netherlands, moved to Paris shortly after, and now lives in New York City.

She writes songs mainly in French and English, and has had no classical training (though i subsequently found out her music begs to differ.)

I liked the way she described her music: she writes songs about experiences, and generally in the language she was speaking at the time of said experiences: songs written while touring the states are generally in English, songs elsewhere are written in the tongues of elsewhere.

She then explained how the lyrics' language can dictate style. The French songs "go better with a glass of wine," she said, "as opposed to whisky."

I fell in love with this woman on that alone. But then!

Then! she played!

I quickly became smitten with Keren's diverse style, blending classical instruments with synths, standard guitars, basses, and drums with occasional claps that, all together give off an ethereal glow not dissimilar to Sigur Rós, the emotions she is able to convey in each song come alive like pop-up books.

The guitar playing on "It Ain't No Crime" is almost Nels Cline-like at parts, and her voice, OH that voice! You'll just have to listen to that.

Like I said, I am smitten with her music. I have a crush on her music. I'd like to pass her music love notes in a high school history class, or take it ice skating...maybe get some ice cream afterwards. I'd like to hold her music's hand awkwardly in a cheesy movie neither of us want to see, or send it text messages ending in lame smiley faces :-).

Most of the music I discover, or randomly harbor infatuation with has been in cars. Driving to work, home from work, or somewhere on hours of open highways, "I was listening to this record on this highway between these exits while driving to this place" and so on. Music to me is an extremely locative thing, and I must say I was in the right place at the right time for Keren Ann. A woman who has lived all over the world, and writes songs perfect for some of the places she's been.

You can catch a full interview with Keren and live, in-studio performances on W-FUV's website later tonight or tomorrow.

In the mean time, I don't have any MP3s to put up, but try her Myspace for now.
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*by "my Jetta" I mean the car I'm using while I'm home. I don't technically own it.

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In other news, my friend Sarah will be biking 4,000 miles cross country with 24 other students, alongside her twin sister, Katie, from Baltimore, MD to San Francisco, CA this summer in efforts to raise money for cancer research.  

You can help her raise money by donating.

Thanks.