Sailing Away With Enya

I confess- I went through a major New Age Music faze in the '80s.  It was so soothing, so mind-expanding...

And now when I go back and listen to it, most of it's so boring.

One artist that stands the test of time, though, is Enya.

"Orinoco Flow" is the first song by Enya that I ever heard, and MTV (they were still showing videos then) played the video over and over.  Still think that video is one of the most artistically creative ones ever.

She followed that with other hits, like "Carribean Blue" and "Book of Days".  Many of her songs have been featured in movies, like The Age of Innocence and The Lord of the Rings.

Enya creates her unique sound by layering her own voice over and over to create a virtual choir of herself.  This is why she doesn't perform concerts (although she does occasionally perform "semi-live" on TV).  Her lyrics are written in English, Latin, and Gaelic, with occasional forays into other languages.  Enya also performs almost all of the instruments in her recordings.

If you're looking for an artist whose music will allow your mind to drift away to imaginary lands, Enya should be at the top of the list.  Each album is a musical fairy tale.

Personal Faves:

• Orinoco Flow
• Caribbean Blue
• Angeles
• Marble Halls
• Once You Had Gold
• On My Way Home
• Wild Child
• Only Time
• May It Be

The Archandroid - Janelle Monae

A concept album in 2010!  That's a rarity in today's "I just want to download my favorite single" music marketplace.  But singer Janelle Monae not only released a concept album last year, she released a great concept album.

Prior to 2010's The Archandroid, Monae released an EP - Metropolis, Suite I (The Chase) in 2007.  While the EP didn't make much of a commercial splash, it set the stage for the story The Archandroid tells.   Set in the future, it's the tale of Cyndi Mayweather, an android who falls in love with a human and is therefore sentenced to be disassembled.  Cyndi goes on the run, and becomes something of a messianic figure to her fellow oppressed androids.

Monae does a great job of painting a picture of this futuristic world through her music.  The first single on Metropolis, "March Of The Wolfmasters", features an announcer telling the listener that android Cyndi Mayweather is "scheduled for immediate disassembly", and lists the rules for the bounty hunters chasing her.  The story continues on, telling us of Cyndi's journey and her love for Anthony Greendown, a human, and her decision in the end to keep running so she can stay free.  It's a tale of the outsider, oppressed but fighting for her rights.

As you can see in the video, this singer sure has tons of energy to go along with her wonderful voice.  She has said she intends to make a video for every song on both these albums- sure hope she does!

Personal Faves:

• Many Moons
• Smile
• Sir Greendown
• Mushrooms And Roses
• Say You'll Go