5 Songwriters To Walk In A Park With
Posted: by Sean Gonzalez
Photo by Thom Woodward
Spring is very much on the rise. The air has a different aroma to it. Winter and its grip are starting to lessen (save for the fact it might snow in Colorado at the end of April). The weather can have a drastic change on people and their moods. People start to venture outside to take walks. Nature is exhilarating. The trees are starting to develop leaves again, the color starts to brighten and flowers start to blossom. Here is a list of five singer/songwriters to take walk in the park with.
Tom Waits
Tom Waits has been making music for a longer period of time than many of your favorite artists’ age. A solid four and a half decades of a rather peculiar style and the singer still has found ways to create interesting and thought provoking music. Stylistically, Waits’ music features jittery pianos and a professional attitude that is very much like the narrator of a life. In a movie Waits would be the alcohol infused narrator playing the piano in the corner with the 1940’s styled hat and a spotlight. He’s just smooth. I would love to take a walk with Tom Waits, if only to awaken my inner self and become hyper aware of my feelings, thoughts and overall, myself. Actually, I would be very okay pacing awkwardly along behind as Waits sang “Hell Broke Luce” and witnessing birds swarming around him only to become his personal cloak and be carried away into the atmosphere of eccentric people where he belongs.
Doe Paoro
While a moniker, Doe Paoro is brilliant in context of songwriters. Helmed by Sonia Kreitzer, the music breathes in its own atmospheric space that enhances the surrounding beauty of the planet. The sonic sphere of Doe Paoro is very meditative. It’s a sixth sense of therapy to listen to After and all the layers that come with it. A walk through any piece of nature with the embodiment of Doe Paoro would be a grace of purity that I may not be ready for. I’d probably just end up lying down and staring at the sky, left in a trance. Sonia Kreitzer has a very aware outlook of the Earth and healing, something we all could benefit from.
Fiona Apple
I do not remember who told me to listen to The Idler Wheel… that was released in 2012 but I need to go back in time and thank them. From then I went down a path that I missed in the late 90’s that is Fiona Apple’s oddly erratic yet beautiful music. When The Pawn… not only holds the title as one of the longest album titles ever, but showcases a singer writing vivacious and booming hooks with power. As the years have gone on the writing has become more focused on acoustic sounds and trying to grasp how to “feel” within the context of a soundscape. Needless to say, walking with Fiona Apple would bewilder me and my curiosity would become focused on figuring out how this individual thinks, because it is pure goodness and probably full of gorgeous, flamboyant thought bubbles.
Elliott Smith
Eliott Smith’s music is a whisper in the wind itself. The melodies are arranged rather beautiful, like the very own orchestra to peculiar moments of life. It’s why the music made the soundtrack of Good Will Hunting that much more sensational. Across the singer’s many releases there are a gratuitous amount of intricate harmonies that are unforgettable. Whether it is the cute pop of “Say Yes” or the grandiose spirit of “L.A.,” there’s no doubt that walking in the park with Elliott Smith would hold a very therapeutic and eye opening experience. To even dream of things that would be spoken of, or to be encompassed in the silence while sitting on a bench; well I guess that is why one can dream.
Sheryl Crow
Something about Sheryl Crow is so damned inviting. “Soak Up The Sun” is a summer anthem for the rest of its creative life. The formula of Crow’s music may not be the most dynamic or challenging, but her songs will forever be recognizable from her charm alone. Also, she just released a new record. Be Myself is full of new iconic images and lines about life that has been in her music since the start of her American journey. Put the sunglasses on, start spinning the record player and enjoy a day in the park with Sheryl Crow, I am sure she would have some interesting stories to tell (I like a good beer buzz in the morning as well Ms. Crow).
– Sean Gonzalez
