Mp3 of the Week: “You Geranium, You Potato” by Shelby Sifers

Shelby Sifers, if you haven’t heard of her, is amazing writer and singer making minimalist musings and sweet songs. Her voice is often called “childlike” even in the most loving circles, but I would say it reflects the melancholy of an individual who tries to be hopeful in every circumstance.

“You Geranium, You Potato,” is taken off her overlooked first album Yeah And I’m In Love Too and it is particularly striking. Like my favorite Shelby songs, a lone acoustic guitar plays allowing her voice to shine. She has some lovely harmonies courtesy of Joshua Fu, of The Lonesome Architects if I’m not mistaken.

Basically my take on this song is that it’s about caring for someone who is really depressed and I wish people would sing this to me when I’m feeling down. It’s about seeing someone’s sadness and falling in love with the inherent wisdom/beauty that often (I feel) comes with depression. It is seen quite clearly in the last lines, “There’s never a time/when you don’t feel like dyin’/But somehow/I just love you more…”

Mp3:
Shelby Sifers-"You Geranium, You Potato"

Links:
Shelby Sifers on myspace, she is on tour right now!
Buy her records at Oh Map! Records

A Drum and an Open Window: There Will Be Fields For Us

I saw A Drum and an Open Window play at Muddy Waters Cafe about a month ago. I had no idea who they were or what kind of music they played, but I fell in love with them. They are two guys, Yuri and Whisper, from Emerson College in Boston and they play guitar, banjo, mandolin, xylophone, and melodica. After the show I immediately picked up one of their albums, There Will Be Fields For Us. Listening to this over and over again gets more rewarding each time. From seeing shitty shows in “The Mount Eerie Show Song” to writing their moms postcards in “The Mom Song” to summer time nights in “Summer Camp Pop Song” they truly capture the full spectrum of life on the road. Being a musician myself I felt truly inspired by their conviction in just doing what they love, most beautifully captured in their song “Make Things” where they proclaim, “If I want to sing I just grab this guitar and do it do it do it/ if I want to tour I just get in a car (or van) and do it fucking do it”. Any artist will want to rush out and share their art with the world after hearing these guys. The title track features some nifty melodica work and both guys singing conflicting but harmonizing parts near the end, which I am particularly a big fan of when it is done in songs. A Drum and an Open Window is a band that will inspire you to “make things” and get your toes tapping and singing along quite easily. See them live and then get There Will Be Fields For Us as soon as you can.

Mp3:
Make Things

Myspace
Their website
Oh! Map Records