Tag: John Lennon

3×3: Tami Neilson on Being Nosy, Tired, and Lazy

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Artist: Tami Neilson
Hometown: Auckland, New Zealand via Toronto, Canada
Latest Album: Don’t Be Afraid
Personal Nicknames: Tam (I’m really Tamara, so I guess Tami is actually a permanent nickname.)

 

The skinny white bijshes in @farmersnz stole my hair.

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What was the first record you ever bought with your own money?

The Best of Judy Garland. Seriously. It was a cassette and I wore it right out. (… and it actually wasn’t the best. It didn’t even include “The Man That Got Away.” Travesty.)

How many unread emails or texts currently fill your inbox?

None. I’m just too nosy for that to happen.

If your life were a movie, which songs would be on the soundtrack?

I have two boys under 5, who I have just fed, bathed, and wrangled into bed, so “I’m So Tired” John Lennon is all that comes to mind at this moment … and pretty much sums up my last five years.

What’s your favorite word?

The way my 4.5-year-old says “Chlocolate”

Which sisters are your favorite — Andrews, Secret, McCrary, or Mandrell?

I love them all. Growing up in a family band myself, you just can’t beat a family blend of harmonies. Andrews were the first love, though … I made my little brothers learn all the words to “Hold Tight” just so we could sing it in the tour bus growing up. I still remember my parents and me singing “Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy” at my wedding reception.

If you were a liquor, what would you be?

A distilled spirit

 

Thanks Gore, see ya next time! #gore #newzealand #capitalofcountrymusic

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Fate or free will?

Free will

Cake or pie?

Yes, please! I’ll take a slice of each.

Sunrise or sunset?

Sunset … As a mother of little ones, I see way too many sunrises and look forward to the day when I can revert back to being a lazy musician who sleeps through them!

‘Imaginary Man’

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This year has brought us some intriguing records that fuse the worlds of pop and Americana. Created largely by women — Hannah Miller, Jesse Baylin, and Kasey Chambers, to name three — their soldering of styles both modernist and traditional have had a thought-provoking effect our ears and redefined what we mean when we discuss “American music.”

The first boy to be welcomed to the club, Rayland Baxter disrupts the chromosome balance of the equation with his new collection of tunes that integrate smartly consistent lyrics with self-effacing melodies and subtly simple arrangements. The opening cut, “Mr. Rodriquez,” is a treat — a beautiful narrative of those who live like kings in their minds (and under the freeways in their lives). Baxter blends a deceptively simple pop structure (complete with lyrical “la-di-das”) with an aching story of childhood on “Mother Mother.”

Baxter’s music feels a bit more folkie on the easy ballad “Yellow Eyes” and the acoustic showpiece “Rugged Lovers,” the former sounding a bit like Harry Nilsson and the latter more in the vein of Leonard Cohen. Elsewhere, the screaming electronics that open “Freakin Me Out” pave the way for a fervent ballad that would make John Lennon proud, while the gentle piano and pedal steel of “Your Love” make for a truly amazing listen.

Seldom does the term “Beatlesque” come into play here at the BGS, but the pure pop essence of the Fab Four’s shimmering orchestrations and melodic genius shows its face here, beautifully wrapped in the spirit of Bradley’s Barn and generously imbued with the simple heart of a country boy. A spectacular listen.