TORC 5: The Happiest “Sad Song” – Lenka

Track on Repeat Craze #5: Lenka – Sad Song / Two album.

Every time I listen to Lenka, I find my feet tapping, my head bobbing and my body beginning to bounce. She’s just one of those musicians that lifts your mood when you hear her music. Happy, happy, joy, joy.

Most well known for her song, The Show, which was featured in an Old Navy commercial and on Ugly Betty promos, Lenka‘s second album resonates the same sort of pop-gaiety flavor. However, Two builds upon the first album by adding heavier backbone and stronger, bolder beats. It’s obvious that she’s grown as an artist. And drummer, Fernando Sanchez, beats the *oomph* out of the songs – it’s fucking sweet watching them play live.

Anyway… “Sad Song“! As ironic as the lyrics may sound, they make complete sense to me – “sing me a sad song and make me feel better; sing me a happy song and I might start to cry.” You know how sometimes folks get philosophical or sentimental when something strikes a familiar chord?

Why do sad songs make us feel better when we are down?! I think it’s because we don’t want to elate in other people’s success when we are depressed. Yeah? Well, it is still sort of a happy song… but sad at the same time… So, where does that go in the scale of things?! Ai-ya.

Spinning in the 6-disc player:

1. Lenka - Two
2. Kristinia DeBarge – Exposed
3. Sandi Thom – The Pink and the Lily
4. Missy Higgins – The Sound of White
5. Lady Antebellum – Need You Now
6. Sara Bareilles - Kaleidoscope Heart

Follow Lenka on Facebook or Twitter – like her music, her personality is just as uplifting. Oh hey, she’s also Australian which makes her just the more cooler! Yeah!!

Sara Bareilles Plays Salt Lake with Holly Conlan and Cary Brothers

Last week Lisa and I headed to In the Venue for the Sara Bareilles concert. Moved from the Avalon Theatre to In the Venue for the insane demand, I can certainly say… It. Was. Packed. I can’t say I’m a fan of In the Venue, but it was high-time for a concert in my book.

It certainly does not help that I am not tall. It most certainly did not help that the girls in front of me were an unusual 6′ in height (I may exaggerate… but only by the slightest of inches). It also certainly does not help that Sara isn’t tall (yes, taller than I am, but no Mariah). Sad!

Peering through the occasional gaps popping up between the crowds (when people weren’t moving all the time!) while straining on my tippy-toes, I… well… read on.

Holly Conlan – a lovely musical surprise. I’m loving her stuff.

Cary Brothers – always a humorous delight. The musical happenstance of his first song on TV: funny forever.

And Sara? Fucking hilarious and a grand entertainer. She’s witty, she’s gracious, she’s brilliant, she’s talented, she’s down-to-earth — It’s hard not to love her even more.

TORC 4: The “King of Anything” – Sara Bareilles

Track on Repeat Craze #4: Sara Bareilles – King of Anything / Kaleidoscope Heart album.

This song is sooooo overplayed on the radio, but I’m loving it! Just sitting in front of the computer at work, I probably hear this song at least 3-4 times an hour on the radio. It wakes me up, gets my toes taping, energizes me for the minutes it plays and then some.

Sara Bareilles is one of those rare artists that comes along with what you think is a one-hit wonder… but springs forth into an incredible musician. Long past the days of “Love Song,” she has evolved more and more. And. I. Love. It. Of course, it doesn’t hurt how So You Think You Can Dance‘s Mia Michaels choreographed one of my favorite dances to Sara’s “Gravity” — yes, I do love that show and am not ashamed to admit it. The emotional bonds between song and dance just make me teary-eyed every time I hear it… *ahem ahem* (end of emotional share)

Spinning in the 6-disc player:

1. Various Artists from Wicked: The Musical – Wicked: The Musical
2. Kristinia DeBarge – Exposed
3. Sandi Thom – The Pink and the Lily
4. Missy Higgins – On a Clear Night
5. Lady Antebellum – Need You Now
6. BoA – Made in Twenty

PS: Umm hmm. Missy. Still. Yeah. Hey, I did rotate out the album!