Alone and Unobserved

Here’s a list of English-language music I’ve been listening to. I like some of these artists so much I may expand parts of this list into stand-alone posts.

Low

I first heard about and listened to Low while I was in Italy, oddly enough. I liked them so much that when I got back to the States over a year later I checked them out, and sure enough, they were as good as I remembered.

You can visit Low’s official site and also Wikipedia’s site on Low.

Here’s a very incomplete list of my favorite songs by Low:

• “July”
• “Broadway (So Many People)”
• “California”
• “In Metal”
• “Death of a Salesman”
• “When I Go Deaf”
• . . . and many more

Erasure

I can’t believe I missed out on these guys for so long. My defense is that, since I was homeschooled, I didn’t actually live in the same world most people did until very recently. Mine has been a long, slow trek out of a howling wilderness.

• “I Love to Hate You”
• “Breathe”
• “Oh l’Amour”

Norah Jones

Gorgeous, warm voice; plays the piano; and she’s pretty, too! Straight guys take note! Her first album, Come Away with Me, is my favorite–very jazzy, with a unified feel. Pretty much all of the songs from that album are phenomenal, so listing them is superfluous. Get the entire album.

Her second album–Feels Like Home–is a little more diverse, veering between jazz, country and bluegrass, but is also a bit more uneven. My favorite songs from this album are:

• “Sunshine”
• “Toes”
• “Above Ground”
• “The Long Way Home”

Michael Bublé

I’m not usually a fan of big-band-style crooners, but Michael Bublé has managed to convert me to some of his songs, at least. Here’s a list of my faves (I’m not sure which albums they come from):

• “Home”
• “Sway”
• “The Way You Look Tonight”
• “Fever”

Izzy (Isobel Cooper)

The frustrating thing about ballroom dance music is that it gets passed from hand to hand to hand so often that the names and singers and artists get lost. Several months ago I saw a waltz routine dance to an aria from Donizetti’s “L’Elisir d’Amore”–a haunting, ethereal arrangement sung by a soprano, instead of the ususal tenor. Somehow I discovered that the version in question had been sung by “Izzy,” whoever Izzy was. After a long internet search I found that, Izzy, short for Isobel Cooper, is a young British soprano who is quite a bit more popular overseas than here. I purchased her American CD as soon as possible.

• “My Love Is Like a Red, Red Rose”
• “Una Furtiva Lagrima”
• “Un Bel Dì Vedremo”

Jamie Cullum

I’m only really a fan of one of his songs–his others are okay–but I really really like the one I like, so that’s why he’s on this list. Also, his voice is sexy no matter what he’s singing. Check out the three songs below (all from his album Twentysomething), especially “All at Sea.”

• “All at Sea”
• “Everlasting Love”
• “High and Dry”

Scissor Sisters

I’ve already raved about this phenomenal band elsewhere in my blog, but I really don’t think I did enough. They are fantastically fabulous. If you don’t believe me, watch the recording of their Brighton concert on their DVD, and convince yourself of their greatness.

• “Take Your Mama”
• “Filthy/Gorgeous”
• “Laura”
• “Get It, Get It”
• “Step Aside for the Man”
• . . . and all of their other fantastic numbers!

Stephen Sondheim musicals

I love Sondheim. I can’t believe that I ever found his melodies unsingable–I sing them to myself all the time! His musicals are funny, poignant, and intelligent, unlike the cookie-cutter stuff that gets all the buzz and attention. You can have your Wicked and Phantom–I’ll take A Little Night Music and Sweeney Todd over them any day.

• A Little Night Music
• All of the songs.
• Sweeney Todd
• “Green Finch and Linnet Bird”
• “The Worst Pies in London”
• “A Barber and His Wife”
• “By the Sea”
• etc.
• Company
• “Little Things You Do Together”
• “Getting Married Today”
• “Another Hundred People”
• “Ladies Who Lunch”
• Follies
• “I’m Still Here”
• “Broadway Baby”
• “Losing My Mind”
• . . . and most of his other works.