I finally got around to listening to Kate Nash's new album and while it's a giant departure from her earlier stuff, it's pretty great. Half the album is skippable, a few songs are alright but the others are completely repeatable. Like, put this shit on repeat because it's awesome.
She has this song, We Get On, from an old album which is up there in my favorites of all time. It's one of those songs that puts you directly in the narrative and crushes you exactly how she intended to. It's kind of amazing actually. I've only heard a live version and I'd like to keep it that way. It was one of those accidental downloads. It was supposed to be the album version but it wasn't. I don't want to look for it on youtube because I'm afraid of coming across covers or other versions that don't live up to it and I don't want to ruin it.
My favorite song of the new album is called Sister, and it's great.
What strikes me about her, and I guess music/artists in general, is the passion. There's a point in most of my days where I'm jealous/angry at everyone who gets to do exactly what they love all the time. For most people like myself, we have jobs that moderately fulfill us, and find the time outside of work to follow our passions.
Not that I didn't give it a full-time go. I tried the bohemian thing where I had random jobs to pay rent and tried to be a full time writer/director/slacker/whatever, but that wasn't for me. I think for most people it's about balancing dreams, real life and desires. I always wanted a house and pets and a family and wasn't willing to give up those dreams for one that was far less attainable and probably not as rewarding. But the grass is always greener. And even though she probably hates a lot of the crap she has to do, listening to Sister makes me wish I was back in high school, playing guitar in our high school band at some battle of the bands, or sitting on my ikea bed/couch in a bed bug infested building in Washington Heights working on a screenplay.
Passion has its ebbs and flows and unfortunately, writer's block only subsides for short periods. My point is this: I think I need to get better at letting those periods play out and when the writing starts happening in my head, it needs to translate to a piece of paper. Or as Mekhi Phifer would put it, 'do whatever the fuck you wanna do' — just so long as you do it.
I'm out. I'll see ya when I see ya.
-M
