Song of the Week: “Confident” by Demi Lovato

Y’all. Demi Lovato is my girl. There was a time in my life, my early twenties to be exact, when I lived with my parents, worked the graveyard shift at a local hotel, and generally moped around. I was supposed to be completing an online course to become certified as a teacher, but most nights, my heart wasn’t in it and I’d watch endless hours of YouTube instead. One of the shows I came across and loved was Disney’s “Sonny with a Chance.” It was ridiculous and silly and way too young for me, but it was three a.m. and there was no one around to judge. Sometimes you love what you love.

The biggest thing that drew me to this show was Demi Lovato. There was something so open and unabashed about her. She always gave it her all.

November 20, 2015November 19, 2015

Song of the Week: “Water Water” by Empress Of

Empress Of is the stage name for Lorely Rodriguez, a Brooklyn-based, Honduran-American singer, songwriter, and producer. “Water Water” is the first single off her debut full-length album, “Me.” She wrote it in seclusion, spending five months in a small town in Mexico at a friend’s house. Her setting comes through strongly on this track.

In the song she talks about the privilege of potable water, of living in a place where drinkable water is used for showers, baths, watering the yard, and rinsing dirty dishes. I’m not sure it’s calling anyone out for this. Her words feel more like an examination of how one place can be so different from another. “Water, water is a privilege/ Just like kids who go to college/ There’s a ring around your mouth now/ Where you used to whisper knowledge.”

October 23, 2015October 22, 2015

Song of the Week: “Lemon Eyes” by Meg Myers

I love a girl with a voice, and I extra love a girl with confidence. Meg Myers delivers nothing but voice and confidence on her debut album, “Sorry.” Both of these qualities are on full display in her second single, “Lemon Eyes.”

It’s a song about bitterness, jealousy, pain, all those nasty feelings, but it’s also about trying to make someone leave those feelings behind and move toward new love instead. My favorite part is the pre-chorus.

“You’re so bitter, bitter, bitter yellow/ Settle, settle, got to settle down, okay?/ Listen, listen, you listen, yellow/ It’s a killer, a killer, a killer, jealousy.” I freaking love how she delivers these lines. It’s so unique and fun. She makes everything super staccato and breathy, but each syllable packs a punch, making this pre-chorus irresistibly sing-along-able.

October 16, 2015October 8, 2015

Song of the Week: “Break Bones” by Wild Child

On October 2, one of my favorite Austin bands to see live—Wild Child— released their third album, “Fools.” When you live in a city like Austin, a city that prides itself on being the live music capital of the world, it’s rewarding to be a part of it. I love playing shows in Austin, and I love, love, love going to see shows.

When I first moved back to ATX a few years ago, I went on a show-going bender, watching a gig every night of the week, sometimes even jumping to more than one show if I could afford it. Standing on concrete for that many hours, night after night, actually started giving me back problems! One of the first bands I fell in love with during this heyday was Wild Child. They danced. They laughed. They played raucous songs that made everyone in the crowd start dancing and laughing, too. I’d be at a show alone, and I couldn’t help moving my body when they played. I was broke. I didn’t know what I was doing with my life. But listening to their cello, and their fiddle, and their harmonies made me happy.

October 2, 2015October 2, 2015

Song of the Week: “Art Deco” by Lana Del Rey

Most of the world is of two minds when it comes to Lana Del Rey—love or hate. Rarely does anyone claim middle ground. When I first heard one of her early singles, “Video Games,” I was appalled. I thought the lyrics were so backward, so not okay. “In his favorite sundress/ Watching me get undressed/ Take that body downtown.” How could a woman write lyrics like this? Those lyrics, the subservience and the pandering to men, scared me.

Now, however, I listen to that song and it makes me want to cry. It makes me want to weep with understanding because I hear the exquisite sadness in her voice and in her melodies. I hear the resignation, the giving in and the giving up. What’s more, I see the same world-weary exhaustion in the teen girls I know. I remember feeling it myself. Looking at my role as a girl and thinking, “I guess this is the best we get. Wear a cute outfit. Put on the makeup he likes. Smile at him. Maybe he’ll give me some attention.”