Vienna Teng

“And what we could've been time will never tell

Because we never had your chances

The advantages that you've been handed

Girl, you'll never know how hard it was

So you’ve got to do this for all of us”

These lyrics are from the beautiful mind of Vienna Teng (aka Cynthia Yih Shih). Grandmother Song (an interpretation of a lecture from her grandmother put into song) begins with “you need a man and a plan” but then evolves into “you need to make smart decisions because there are so many opportunities for you where there weren’t before”. A lesson that can be seen throughout her musical and non-musical careers.

There are so many things I find inspiring about Vienna Teng. First and foremost is her command of music and the ways she manipulates it to produce brilliant art. She clearly understands music on many levels and avoids staying within defined forms. The Hymn of Acxiom from her album AIMS shows this well.  In fact the song has been composed for choral arrangements and covered on several occasions.

In addition to the pure artistry, Vienna seems to have a down to earth sensibility to her. This can be heard in her music and lyrics, but I have witnessed this in person when meeting her before a show. She cares about the world and approaches life with an analytical but compassionate mind. She also has a way of beautifully expressing the sadness, pain and joy of the human experience.

“But the one thing they can't take away from you is your mind and the education you've been through…”

In 2010 Vienna decided to leave music as a full time career and get a double masters in Business and in Natural Resources and Environment from the University of Michigan. Then proceeded to get a job in her field, doing non-music work in her now home, Detroit. Not that she stopped making music at this time. While in graduate school, she recorded the critically acclaimed AIMS and premiered a musical for which she wrote the music and lyrics, the Fourth Messenger. During this time, her worked seemed to take a focus outside of herself and her direct experience.

This woman seriously works hard and everything she does seems to be completed with extreme focus and intent. It’s always exciting to see what project she does next. Perhaps what I like most about her is that she makes me want to do more, to be the best version of myself too.

Alison Krauss

I am so excited about this post because I am going to include so many videos of an artist and songs I adore!

Throughout my youth I rebelled against country music. It was a time of Billy Ray Cyrus and Alan Jackson, and I wanted none of it. Admittedly, I later learned to distinguish between crappy country music and good country music, much like other genres, but in my rebellious teenage years I wanted nothing to do with any of it….with one exception. Alison Krauss really was and is more of a bluegrass musician but with much country crossover.  Something about the unapologetic twang and clear and transcendent (and later more sultry) vocals, made me fall in love from the first time I heard her. It also helped that my choral-inclined friends were into her and we would (try to) break into the four-part harmony for this song.

There is plenty of reference to god and religion in her songs, and although they don’t fall in line with my beliefs I still respect their absolute beauty. I even played this song for my very catholic mother, she cried when she heard it and we shared a connection through this song.

Because I listen to it, of course there is much angst and sadness in her music. When I last saw her in concert she even mentioned that her songs tended to be quite depressing. As I feel about music though, there’s beauty in the sadness. It may sound a bit overdramatic but her 2004 album, Lonely Runs Both Ways, has imprinted on my soul. Whenever I hear a song from that album I am just overcome with emotion. (Side note: I tend to have a strong connection with art and entertainment from the year 2004. Could be because I moved to New York that year and was extra emotionally sensitive.)

You may notice in some of these videos a reference to the Union Station. That’s her band and its chock full of talented musicians, including Dan Tyminski (of O Brother Where Art Thou fame “I am a man of constant sorrow”….that’s him) and Jerry Douglass (well established guitarist and producer). She’s also collaborated with some seriously amazing people outside of her band, like Dolly Parton, Emmylou Harris and Gillian Welch, Bonnie Raitt, James Taylor, to name a few.

These two together make me so happy.

But my most unanticipated favorite collaboration of hers was with Robert Plant. When they released a whole album together I thought to myself, “what is this about? huh?” Then I heard it and was like, "oh, okay!". This was clearly a collaboration in which both artists brought out strengths in each other. It was a new sound for both and it was sooooooo good!

By the way, I think “echoes of light that shine like stars after they’re gone” is possibly my favorite lyric of all time. This song was written by Sam Phillips in honor of Sister Rosetta Tharpe and I just love it all around.

You don’t have to take my word for how amazing she is.  She has won 27 Grammys and countless other awards in her 30+ year career. There's no sensation or vanity involved, its just very good music. An inspiration, indeed. 

Okay, here's another one....

Jessica Williams and Phoebe Robinson (aka 2 Dope Queens)

Until recently I have not looked forward to Tuesdays, days with more traffic and less parking (why worse on Tuesdays, I don’t know…). But now the commute home on Tuesday means listening to the 2 Dope Queens podcast, which translates to a calmer and less road ragey me. Yay Tuesdays!

This second post is back to the present day to recognize two smart and funny ladies, Jessica Williams and Phoebe Robinson. Their podcast 2 Dope Queens is not only amazing but gives the spotlight to fantastic stand up comedians. The premise is this: Phoebe and Jessica chat about their lives and have an amazing chemistry, and then they allow some comics to make us laugh.

I have been a fan of Jessica Williams after seeing her as a correspondent on the Daily Show.  The clip in the video below pretty much cinched my love of her. She has a way of highlighting the idiosyncrasies of racism and sexism in a way that is comical while still addressing the seriousness. This is the beauty of the podcast as well.

http://www.cc.com/video-clips/z2b627/the-daily-show-with-jon-stewart-the-fault-in-our-schools

This is a more recent favorite of mine.

http://www.cc.com/video-clips/qplr4o/the-daily-show-with-trevor-noah-breaking-down-the-vagina-vote

I admittedly have not known of Phoebe Robinson until this podcast but have since come to appreciate her comedic style.  Here is a sample.

https://vimeo.com/118540189

She and Jessica together are magical and giving voice to comedians from many walks of life, this podcast is an essential part of American culture. The podcast as a whole invites conversations about race and gender, especially the absence of black women in many public arenas, in a way that is comfortable and often funny. But don’t think this means that they are avoiding uncomfortable issues to appease those who don't want to hear it. They call out BS when they need to call out BS and are unapologetic about it.  And ladies, your fans are dying for more! Please don’t stop, we need you in our lives!

*End note: I have included links to the videos here and apparently Blogger only lets you embed videos from YouTube, on which these videos were not available.