Deep in thought on the couch here. First of all, I've been thinking about how pleased I was with your response to my last post. I thought it was going to be rather risky asking you which artists you thought I sounded similar to, but good news: almost all of you chose some of my very favorites. This will make my job of creating the perfect pitch a lot easier. A million thanks. The next step in formulating my pitch is to concoct a list of artists, authors, or other well known figures who have influenced me. After giving this some good thought, here is my list:- Author and book: Willa Cather's, My Ántonia.
- The French films, "Le Chateau de Ma Mère," and "La Gloire de Mon Père," based on the novels by Marcel Pagnol.
- Composers: Debussy, Rachmoninov, Ravel.
- Growing up: Alphaville, Pet Shop Boys, New Order, Depèche Mode, The Cure, The Cars, The Police, Sting, Tears for Fears and by the way, the soundtrack to Romeo and Juliet changed my life.
- As a teen: The Sundays, Sarah McLachlan, Lisa Loeb.
- Currently: Lenka, Ingrid Michaelson, Regina Spektor, Imogen Heap, A Fine Frenzy, Jess Penner and The Beatles.
- Poets: Lorca, Neruda, Frost.
- Painters: Velazquez (Las Meninas), Picasso, Van Gogh, Matisse, Bloch.
Would love to hear about some of YOUR influences . . .
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What about The Police? I once made a mix tape of alternating songs from The Cars and The Police. Of course I labeled it Police Cars!
ReplyDeleteAre you sure you didn't have any "growing up" influence from Tears for Fears? The end part of Feather in the Wind reminds me of their "Sowing the Seeds of Love" album.
'dreamy' is right! You need to say you have an Ambrosial sound. hahaha.
ReplyDeleteThis is particularly fun for me...as an actress/makeup artist...I have to think in these same terms as well...you've got ME thinking and working in my brain my strategies for self-promotion.
Thanks for letting us sit in the backseat for this ride.
OK, I LOVE Ingrid Michaelson and A Fine Frenzy, really enjoy Regina and Imogen, and I totally bought "The Show" by Lenka after you told me to, so IMO, you're definitely on the right track!
ReplyDeleteAlso, whoever made the comment about the Police, I was raised on the Police and Sting. They are the soundtrack of my childhood.
Yeah, I definitely need to add the Police, Sting AND Tears for Fears. I LOVE Tears for Fears!
ReplyDeleteI'm surprised you haven't received more comments from this post!
ReplyDeleteThere was a time when music was one of my best friends, if not my only friend. (It's still a really good friend!) There came a point in my life where I had to put away my toys, and at that time it felt like the only thing I had was music. (I could have made a pretty penny selling those Star Wars dolls...I mean "action figures"...later, instead of the pittance I received selling them at a garage sale!)
I must have joined RCA (later BMG) and Columbia records at least a dozen times, which allowed me to get quite a collection and variety of music. 8 to 10 albums for the price of 1 was hard to pass up! (I would sign up using variations of my name, or just initials, as well as using grandparent's addresses.) I didn't even have a record player, but would use my sister's or parents' to record the music to a tape that I could listen to on my little LXI stereo with bright green LCD.
Times have changed a lot for the music industry and the options we have for listening to music. I'm sure in some ways that's difficult for musicians, but then there are a lot more opportunities and avenues for getting one's name and sound out. Good luck to you in accomplishing all of your 'dreams' and goals. Don't lose sight of why you love doing what you do. And make sure that all of your lyrics come from the heart first and the rest should be fine!
I loved both those french films (especially the wardrobe). Sigh.
ReplyDeleteAnd all that music was mine growing up although I would add in Annie Lennox.
My major music influences are still: Beth Nielsen Chapman, Dan Fogelberg, and Joni Mitchell.
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