Tuesday, June 15, 2004
I really hate the gym. No matter how strongly I feel I need to be there to maintain some semblance of health, I can’t shake the feeling that I should be jogging on the beach or climbing up some dirty hill. But, of course it’s never all that convenient to go to the beach, or if I do go to the beach, it’s too easy to chill lazily and take in the sunset – which is surely a more natural thing to do, anyway. However, I love cheeseburgers, so my presence is required at least a few times a week in ye olde gymnasium.
And, an hour at the gym is a great time to go in-depth with, say, the new album from Rachel Yamagata.
Sure, the gym is a great place for pumping uptempo house, but given my soul’s desperate need to escape that harrowing prison of a place, sometimes a quiet, intimate album can be just as effective in getting me through the rigorous ordeal. It just requires keeping my eyes closed while I sweat. Yamagata’s Happenstance really did the trick last night. While my body toiled away in agony, my mind was on a date with an intelligent and sophisticated songwriter.
Yamagata’s emotional tales waft smokily over piano with a casual off-hand manner that is very accessible. She will, of course, draw comparisons to Fiona Apple and in some ways Norah Jones. At when she has the songs, those comparisons are valid in the good way. “Worn Me Down” is a flat out hit, and if the single doesn’t make it, I guess it will be because it slips through the cracks between adult and alternative.
Just like being on a real date though, I found my mind wandering a little after the halfway point. I can only listen to a girl ramble on for so long before I start drifting off – this time I lost the plot while wondering how expensive it would be to get into hang-gliding. You could probably see me nodding politely as my date continued on blithely about her emotional growth and independence, but I wasn’t all there for all of it. It finished up well though, and by the end of the album, I was really feeling her pain, empathizing, wanting to comfort her the best I could and lavish her with attention, preferably over some wine back at her place. As dates and albums go, I’d consider it a rare and stirring success.
See, I thought “Collide” from Yamagata’s self-titled preview EP was one of my favorite tracks of the past year. That infectious song didn’t make it onto this album, I guess because the EP and the album are meant to stand alone. Shame that, since the full-length couldn’t seem to hold me enthralled throughout. If she had saved the best of both for one killer album, she might have made a real splash. As it is now, she has two very good releases and is the darling of the KCRW set. Not that I mind. Just like with ex-girlfriends, I can stitch together the best memories and create my own playlist.
And, unless I keep going to the gym, memories of ex-girlfriends are all I’m ever gonna have.
