so, i have a thing for katie herzig songs. her voice is like honey, her melodies just as sweet. the husband likes to make fun of me for it, because he says i have a stable of katies on my ipod that all sound alike. i vehemently disagree, of course, but that’s not the point of this post. the point here is that katie h has teamed up with the talented andrew belle to create the wistful and bittersweet static waves. and, while we’re at it, this post is more about him than her.
sometimes i think it’s a tough gig being a singer-songwriter nowadays. rock is king, of course – rock will ALWAYS be big. rap and hip-hop have a stranglehold on the radiowaves, and then, of course, there’s straight-out pop to contend with. there are radio stations for alternative tunes (although these stations play metallica, claiming it is alternative, AND IT IS NOT. I DON’T CARE WHAT YOU SAY OR HOW YOU ARGUE IT, METALLICA IS AND NEVER WILL BE INDIE OR ALTERNATIVE. KROQ, STOP TRYING TO CRAM THEM DOWN MY THROAT), oldie, and country. but folk? and singer-songwriters? where do they go? how do people who love this sort of music even FIND these artists in popular markets?
they don’t. they have to come to the internet, and thank goodness for that, or my ipod would be perilously free of meaningful music.
andrew belle is young – 24, has a bit of a jack johnson vibe to his vocals, and he’s putting out songs that don’t fit the popular molds. and i thank him for that, because cookie-cutter crap just doesn’t do it for me anymore (i think i last felt that way back when i was in early elementary school and fretted over whether or not cyndi lauper was better than madonna).
i’m not alone thinking belle is talented – itunes recently just listed him and his recent album, the ladder, as a top singer-songwriter of 2010 in their annual rewind.
so, today, have a listen to static waves, in which he duets with katie herzig. i love the line: i would have let you leave. so, so sad, isn’t it?
i count the steps from where i am
to where i started
i tap my feet
and close the door, to your apartment
and i know youre never gonna understand
its too late for you to stop and think
too late to mention
i make a move and spill my drink
to break the tension
i know you’re never gonna understand
ill try my best to follow if i can, but
i would have let you leave
the static waves across the screen
define this notion
back and forth and in between
like my emotion
and i know you’re never gonna understand
and wont you slow this down oh if you can
you swayed your hips and stole the breathe
that i was taking
i touched your lips and held your hands
when they were shaking
look how we’ve fallen upon our knees
how we forgot it
these empty halls held our disease
before we caught it
now out the door and down the stairs from your apartment
i would have let you leave
the static waves across the screen
define this notion
back and forth and in between
like my emotion
now out the door and down the stairs
from your apartment
i count the steps from where i am
to where i started
i would have let you
i would have let you leave.
(mp3) static waves by andrew belle and katie herzig
here’s the video:
buy the ladder, the album static waves is off of, HERE for only $5.99 (a total steal, peeps!). like andrew belle? download his set at hotel cafe here in LA in 2010 free HERE.