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MUSIC
HUFFINGTON
02.09.14
Dog Ears: Born in February
In which we spotlight music from a diversity of genres and
decades, lending an insider’s ear to what deserves to be heard.
BY THE EVERLASTING PHIL RAMONE AND DANIELLE EVIN
MELODY GARDOT
CONOR OBERST
MAYER HAWTHORNE
Jazz chanteuse and songwriter Melody
Gardot’s clarity and reserve is something to take in. Born in New Jersey in
1985 and raised in Philadelphia, she
tracked her path of music starting at
the age of 9. Piano and fashion studies were interrupted at 19, as Gardot
was hit by a car whilst riding her bicycle, and left for dead on the side of
the road. During the arduous months of
recovery, music became her healer and
her third hand. The injurious trauma
left her sensitive to noise and light, yet
ever resilient. The Grammy-nominated
songbird’s highlights include the VSA
International Young Soloists Award,
featured tracks for the film An Education, and a batch of releases to date. Her
gentle voice is a soaring force. “Worrisome Heart,” from her 2006 release
Worrisome Heart, is pure grade-A.
Singer/songwriter Conor Oberst was
born in Omaha, Nebraska, at the hit of
the ’80s, the youngest of three children to a musical family. In boyhood, he
picked up the guitar and started writing songs. By the mid ’90s, as a teen,
Conor founded Bright Eyes, setting his
trajectory that included Monsters of
Folk, Desaparecidos, Conor Oberst &
The Mystique Valley Band, and a solo
career. His collective work comprises
over two dozen releases to date. Among
his collaborations are Gillian Welche,
Andy LeMaster, Taylor Hollingsworth,
Nik Freitas, Macey Taylor, Nate Walcott,
and Jason Boesel. Oberst’s storytelling voice makes way with heart and a
little nerve. Download “Cape Canaveral,”
from his 2008 Conor Oberst.
Los Angeles