-
neumu
Sunday, April 28, 2024 
-
-
--archival-captured-cinematronic-continuity error-daily report-datastream-depth of field--
-
--drama-44.1 khz-gramophone-inquisitive-needle drops-picture book-twinklepop--
-
Neumu = Art + Music + Words
Search Neumu:  

illustration



edited by michael goldbergcontact


Waiting For Mirah's C'mon Miracle

With C’mon Miracle (K), her fourth full-length album full of deeply personal, raw, honest songs, set for a May 4th release, singer/songwriter Mirah Yom Tov Zeitlyn admits to the mild queasiness that comes from baring one's most closely cherished emotions to a horde of strangers. "It feels definitely like I'm exposing parts of myself that are private," she said, in a phone interview the other day, taking a break from boiling maple syrup at her mother's childhood farm in Northeastern Pennsylvania. "It can feel a little raw. But I do continue to do it, because it's worth it. I think that people expect it, too. I know that I really enjoy other artists' work when they're exposing parts of themselves in an honest way. I feel like it's worth it for me."

Mirah's deeply personal lyrics — about love, betrayal, distance and the passage of time — evoke mood and story by implication, and often feel almost childlike in their simplicity. For example, "Nobody Has to Stay," which opens the album, is as lucid and unadorned as verse can be, with such lines as "While you hurt with all that pain/ Stars will kiss your pretty face/ Come away with me today/ Everything should be OK/ Feel your pockets while you may/ With some to eat and some to save/ Nobody has to stay."

That willingness to share extends to the most fundamental of personal issues, Mirah's sexuality, which she freely talks about both in her interviews and her music. "I don't think ... it's not like it's not anybody's business," she explains. "If I'm so immodest to not be private about anything about my life in order to make the music that I make, then there's no reason to have something that's pretty basic and important about my life, my sexuality, be swept under the table."

Mirah, who is openly gay, writes songs that are often frankly sexual. In "We're Both So Sorry," she sings, "You always seem to lose the spark/ When I was only half undressed.” Yet her work transcends gender politics with lyrics that are both precisely specific and universally applicable. "Don't Die in Me" with its samba-rhythmed tale of a failing relationship, for instance, could be about nearly any couple working through betrayal, gay or straight, when Mirah sings, "If you want something back/ All the things that got cracked/ When I felt you lied to me/ And all the million mistakes and the kicks in the face/ I don't want you to die in me."

C'mon Miracle's tracks run the gamut from indie-rock-leaning stomps ("The Light," "Look Up!"), to Latin-flavored shuffles ("The Dogs of B.A.," "Don't Die in Me"), to quirky ballads that pit Mirah's soft-focus soprano against the barest guitar and percussion.

The new album was recorded at Olympia, Washington's Dub Narcotic Studio with longtime collaborator Phil Elvrum of The Microphones and Mt. Eerie, and in Buenos Aires with engineer and percussionist Bryce Panic (one-time drummer of Old Time Relijun). "Phil has golden ears...and a really good sense for wringing sounds out of nowhere and getting them onto tape in a way that no one else can," she says. In the studio, Mirah was joined by the Black Cat Orchestra's cellist Lori Goldston, with whom she had worked on To Always Stretch the Open Arm, an album of mostly covers, released earlier this month by YoYo Records.

The collaborative DIY culture of Olympia and K Records also had a big impact on C'mon Miracle, Mirah recalls. "At Dub Narcotic, on all of the recordings that I've been involved with there, it tends to be pretty free-flowing in terms of, 'Hey, let's get a bunch of people together to clap.' And you'll run around the building finding people who can clap."

She adds, "Also, the downtown of Olympia is pretty small, so if you ever need to round up friends or people to sing or play on the songs, you can stick your head out the window and holler and you'll have a chorus."

Mirah's wintertime sojourn in Buenos Aires and Brazil lends several tracks — "Dogs of B.A." and "Don't Die in Me" — a Latin feel. Others are stripped down and minimal, and a few, including the "The Light" and "Jerusalem," rock eccentrically and convincingly. "Jerusalem," originally written for a Hannukah compilation but rejected as too political, is particularly strong, drawing on Mirah's Jewish upbringing and Internet research to present a nuanced, hard-edged vision of violence and power and the need for peace.

Mirah, who wrote her first song at age 4, has been singing and performing since she was 18. Her first album, 2000's You Think It's Like This, But It's Really Like This (K) established her as one of the nascent decade's most exciting new singer/songwriters. She followed with the critically acclaimed Advisory Committee (K) a year later, and Cold, Cold Water (K) in 2002; she collaborated with Ginger Brooks Takahashi in 2003 on Songs From the Black Mountain Project (K). She has also contributed to albums by The Microphones, Dennis Driscoll, The Blow and Jason Anderson.

Look for a more extensive conversation in "Datastream" with Mirah — talking about her background, her songs, her travels and her formative experiences in Olympia, Washington — in a few weeks. — Jennifer Kelly [Monday, March 29, 2004]


Alejandro Escovedo's Joyous Rebirth

John Vanderslice Kicks Genre

Paul Duncan's Elusive Pop

Stephen Yerkey's Wandering Songs

French Kicks Complete 'Two Thousand'

Spazzy Romanticism: Love Story In Blood Red

Brain Surgeons NYC Rock The Big Questions

Jarboe's 'Men' Charts Turbulent Emotions

Delta 5's Edgy Post-Punk Resurrected

Blitzen Trapper Spiff Things Up

Minus Five: Booze, Betrayal, Bibles and Guns

New Compilation Spotlights Forgotten Folk Guitar Heroes

Chris Brokaw's Experiment In Pop

Old And New With Death Vessel

Silver Jews: Salvation And Redemption

Jana Hunter's Beautiful Doom

Vashti Bunyan Finds Her Voice Again

Nick Castro's Turkish Folk Delight

Katrina Hits New Orleans Musicians Hard

Paula Frazer's Eerie Beauty

The National Find Emotional Balance

Death Cab For Cutie's New Album, Tour

Heavy Trash's Rockabilly Rampage

Help The Wrens Get Their Albums Released!

Devendra Banhart, Andy Cabic Launch Label

Lydia Lunch's Noir Seductions

Bosque Brown's The Real Deal

PDX Pop Now! Fest Announces Lineup

Sarah Dougher Starts Women-Focused Label

Jennifer Gentle's Joyful Psyche

Mountain Goat Darnielle Gets Autobiographical With 'Sunset Tree'

Mia Doi Todd's Beautiful Collaboration

Return of the Gang of Four

Martha Wainwright Finds Her Voice

Brian Jonestown Massacre's Acid Joyride

Solo Disc Due From Pixies' Frank Black

Heartless Bastards' Big-Hearted Rock

Mike Watt's Midlife Journey

The Black Swans Balance Old And New

Nicolai Dunger's Swedish Blues

The Insomniacs' Hard-Edged Pop

Yo La Tengo Collection Due

Juana Molina's 'Homemade' Sound

Beans Evolves

Earlimart's Songs Of Loss

Devendra Banhart's 'Mosquito Drawings'

Negativland Rerelease 'Helter Stupid'

Alina Simone Transforms The Ordinary

Sounds From Nature: Laura Veirs

Octet's Fractured Electric Pop

Sleater-Kinney Working With Lips Producer

The Cult Of Silkworm

The Evolution Of The Concretes

Devendra Banhart's Exuberant New Songs

Catching Up With The Incredible String Band

Gram Rabbit's Desert Visions

Three Indie-Rock Stars Unite As Maritime

Remembering Johnny Ramone

Jarboe's Many Voices

Phil Elvrum's Long Hard Winter

First U.S. Release For Vashti Bunyan Album

Incredible String Band To Tour U.S.

New Music From Lydia Lunch

Le Tigre Protest The Bush War Presidency

Joel RL Phelps: Bleak Songs Rock Hard

Time Tripping With Galaxie 500

Patti Smith Wants Bush Out!

Sharron Kraus: A New Kind Of Folk Music

The Fiery Furnaces' Psychedelic Theater

Harder, Heavier Burning Brides

Sonic Youth's Ongoing Experiment

The Dt's Do It Their Way

Poster Children Cover Political Rock

Rare Thelonious Monk Recordings Due

Uneasy Pop From dios

Beck, Lips, Waits Cover Daniel Johnston

Understanding Franz Ferdinand

The Truly Amazing Joanna Newsom

Mylab's Boundary-Crossing Experiments In Sound

Have You Heard Jolie Holland Whistle?

The 'Magical Realism' Of Vetiver

The Restless, Rootsy Songs Of Eszter Balint

The Sun Sets On The Blasters

Devendra Banhart To Tour U.S.

The East/West Fusion Sounds Of Macha

Destroyer Gets Mellow For Your Blues

TV On The Radio Get Political

Sonic Youth, Modest Mouse To Play Lollapalooza 2004

New Music From The Fall

Apocalyptic Sound From The Intelligence

Fast And Rude With The Casual Dots

'Rejoicing' With Devendra Banhart

New Album, Tour From The Polyphonic Spree

Shearwater Take Wing

Sleater-Kinney To Tour East/West Coasts

Resurrecting Rocket From The Tombs

Visqueen Want To Get A Riot Goin' On

Lloyd Cole Makes A Commotion

Funkstörung's 'Cut-Up' Theory

Waiting For Mirah's C'mon Miracle

Electrelane Find Their Voice

The Television Is Still On!

Experimental Sounds From Hannah Marcus

The Ponys Play With Rayguns

Ex-Mono Men Leader Returns With The Dt's

Mountain Goats' Darnielle Adopts A More Hi-Fi Sound

Sun Kil Moon To Tour U.S., Europe

Nothin' But The Truth From The Von Bondies

Sultans Survive 'Shipwreck'

Sebadoh Reunite For Spring Tour

Xiu Xiu's 'Reality' Rock

Meet The Patients

Beth Orton, M. Ward Make Sadness Taste Sweet

Oneida's Pathway To Ecstasy

Radiohead, Pixies, Dizzee Rascal To Play Coachella

Young People Tour Behind War Prayers

Pixies Tour Dates Announced

Ani DiFranco Tells It Like It Is

Deerhoof Back For 2004 With Milkman

McLusky Set To 'Bring On The Big Guitars' Again

Pixies Reunite For U.S., European Tours

American Music Club, Decemberists To Play NoisePop 2004

Damien Rice Set To Tour U.S.

The Frames Accept Your Love

Punk Rock's A-Frames To Re-Record Third Album

Finally! Mission Of Burma Record New Album

A Solo Detour For Ladybug Transistor's Sasha Bell

Return Of The Old 97's

Spending The Night With Damien Rice

Tindersticks Reissues Due This Spring

The Evolution Of 'A Silver Mt. Zion'

Neil Young Rocks Australia With 'Greendale'

Poster Children Back In Action

'The Great Cat Power Disaster Of 2003'

Chicks On Speed's Subversive Strategies

Oranger At A Crossroad

Peaches On Tour And In Control

Jawbreaker's Complete Dear You Sessions To Be Released

Belle & Sebastian + Trevor Horn = Sunny Pop Nirvana

Von Bondies' Pawn Shoppe Heart

Descendents Are Back!

Modest Mouse Touring; Album Due in 2004

London Suede Take A (Permanent?) Break

Saul Williams Wants You To Think For Yourself

The 'Zen' Sound Of Calexico

Elliott Smith Dead AT 34

Debut Due From Mark Kozelek's Sun Kil Moon

The Hunches: Music That'll 'Fucking Live Forever'

Vic Chesnutt Speaks His Mind

90 Day Men Cancel Tour

Keith Jarrett, Cecil Taylor Highlight SF Jazz Festival

For My Morning Jacket, It's The Music That Matters

EP Due From The Polyphonic Spree

Bright Eyes, Neva Dinova Collaborate On EP

The Rise & Fall & Rise Of Ben Lee

Catching Up With Cheerfully Defiant Tricky

Hanging Around With The Polyphonic Spree

Sophomore Album Due From The Shins

Noise Rock From Iceland's Singapore Sling

Death Cab To Tour U.S.

Rufus Wainwright's Want One Is 'Family Affair'

Death Cab's Transatlanticism On The Way

Heartfelt Rock From Sweden's Last Days Of April

The Minus 5 Get Down With Wilco

Tywanna Jo Baskette's Southern-Gothic Rock

Xiu Xiu's Stewart Takes On 'Gay-bashing'

Portishead Producer Resurfaces Behind New Diva

Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Wire, Primal Scream On Buddyhead Comp

Yeah Yeah Yeahs To Tour West Coast

Sonic Youth, Erase Errata Kick Off 'Buddy Series'

The Locust Are One Scary Band

Damien Rice In The 'Here And Now'

Remembering Karp's Scott Jernigan

ATP-NY Postponed 'Til At Least 2004

The Soul Of Chris Lee

Gits' Frenching The Bully To See Re-Release

Stephen Malkmus Is In Control

Superchunk To Release Rarities Set; Teenage Girls To Swoon As A Result

Summer Touring For The Gossip

Babbling On About Deerhoof

Irish Song Poet Damien Rice's O Released In U.S.

Chatting With ATP's Barry Hogan

Former Digable Planets Frontman Surfaces With Cherrywine

ATP L.A. Festival Rescheduled For Fall

Freakwater's Janet Bean Takes A Solo Turn

Lee's 'Cool Rock'

Strokes, Yeah Yeah Yeahs Highlight YES NEW YORK

Mark Romanek's 'Hurt' Revives Johnny Cash's Career

The Rapture's Post-Punk, Post-Dance Sound

R.E.M., Wilco, Modest Mouse Highlight Bumbershoot Fest

Set Fires To Flames' Sleep-Deprivation Sound

Southern Gothic Past Shadows Verbena's La Musica Negra

The Subtle Evolution Of Yo La Tengo

Spring Tour For Jolie Holland (Plus A Live Album)

Liz Phair Still Pushing The Limits

Gold Chains Wants You To Dance And Think

Young People's War Prayers On The Way



peruse archival
 



-
-snippetcontactsnippetcontributorssnippetvisionsnippethelpsnippetcopyrightsnippetlegalsnippetterms of usesnippetThis site is Copyright © 2003 Insider One LLC
-