Reminded of Feist
Feist’s appearance on the Apple commercial has sale prices rising and fans adoring
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From the small screen, the singer in the tight elastic shimmering jumpsuit shuffles onto the setting with her high heels clicking against the wood floor. Her eyes look up from under her lashes and as she begins to sway her hips and sings: “One two three four tell me that you love me more.” Canadian singer, Leslie Feist, had her debut into the American musical recognition that came in the small slice cubicle package of an i-Pod nano. Feist’s music video for “1234” became part of the advertisement for the commercial that introduced i-Pod nanos. The song did its job. The rhythm was hummed while driving in the car, the beat constantly dribbling in a person’s head during math class and then being belted out in the shower with a soap dish as a microphone.
Feist began paving her path as a musician early in life. She first took center stage as a guitar player for a high school punk band called Placebo. After high school, Feist continued her musical pursuit touring Canada for five years. Reluctantly, Feist went home in 1998 with a strained voice being chided by the doctors to save her voice. For six months, Feist would go to her cool damp basement and strum her guitar waiting for her voice to heal. It was only after the months of healing that she went back to the stage. Feist first spent a few months in the band, By Divine Right and also made time to create her first solo album in 1999 dubbed Monarch (Lay Down Your Jeweled Head). Feist then shifted onto a different scene with the band Peaches in 2000 and then Broken Social Scene. After the hopscotch from different bands, Feist finally began to rely on her own solo albums, for which she received tokens of fame. In 2005, Feist won both “Best New Artist” and “Best Alternative Album” for the Juno awards. Feist’s new album, Reminder has already taken notice after its debut of this year and sales have become an explanation point of progress after the Apple commercial.
Awards and fame can only say so much about a musician. On Feist’s MySpace page she has 192,090 friends that all write little notes of obsession on her wall. On YouTube, her fans still watch her every step and revere her voice. One comment gushed saying “she is the oasis in this music desert.” Its true “1234” is a fun song to sing but the album as a whole is hardly plush gardens of melody in a barren land deprived of musical talent. The songs are a far cry from her former genre of punk rock and instead are a sweeter melody intertwined with her rich vocals. Reviews describe her music as “indie pop” and her voice as rare. Her vocals never hold the final gusto ballet but her talent is still undeniable.
The two most popular songs from Reminder are “1234” and “My Moon My Man.” Both songs are faster-paced and the most fun loving. “1234” has the beginning strums of the guitar that continues to Feist’s echoed smooth voice. The blend in the background of “1234” is the soft pluck of the chords of the guitar and the occasional low horn blow of a softened trumpet. Re-occurring styles in “1234” and within other of her songs include the background chorus swaying in the same melody. In “My Moon My Man” the song is taken up a few notches in the octaves during the chorus and almost in a breathless whisper she sings: “Take it slow take it easy on me and shed some light shed some light on me please.” One fan posted on youtube that 1234 was “comfy” and in a sense it is. Both "1234" and "My Moon My Man" are songs that are fun-loving. In the music video as Feist shuffles her way through the leaping dancers in rainbow shades she suppresses a smile as she falls back into the arms of the dancers. Feist’s songs aren’t gratified with heavy metal or with a strewn of curses. “1234” is the kind of song to play in the car with the window down and homework in the backseat.
Most of the other songs on Reminder are much slower and more depressing in melody. "The Water" starts with a somber deep tone and continues in a slow steady march of melody. The words too are disturbing as she softly sings: “Pale as a pile of bones you hope for your babies and this how they grow wind battered, knocked over the teeth by the shoulder watching the grey sky that’s acting like a good guy.” A majority of the songs have similar somber tunes and the few others are sweeter but still slow in pace. The songs are still credible to their flow and creativity, but are not the best songs to listen to in the car. Songs such as “How My Heart Behaves” and “So Sorry” seem to be better suited for the soft sad parts of a movie. The parts where the crying actress leans her head up the rainy window pane and the popcorn gets stale.
In the music world today, most songs range from a seductive slurred melody to a drawl about suicidal attempts and drugs. Feist’s music does not lend to being candy pop cliché nor heavy guitar solos. In songs like “1234” it is a softer, richer tone with integrity and an upbeat bounce of style that makes her unique. The content of the songs are interesting, but what makes Feist so unique is her voice. Pitchfork reviews said of Feist: “Hardly the first singer-songwriter to love, live, lose, and emote, Feist once again elevates herself above countless other diary-keeping tunesmiths with a voice that could make even Dick Cheney weep.”
Her music videos also stand out distinctly amongst others, but not in a good way. Even her most loyal fans can admit to Feist not being able to dance. In the music video for “1234”, Feist awkwardly swayed around in her chunky high heels with her eyes glancing behind her looking for the right step. The video seems to be a blur between an 80’s classic and the embarrassing footage of a middle school dance. The gestures and moves are usually overly simplistic and awkward. There are the few creative moments with color schemes and design, but nothing that couldn’t be achieved with your mom’s video recorder. The video is still fun though. The rainbow pattern dancers that swirl around her just add to the good nature of the song and the video. It seems as though every dancer in mid twirl is trying to smother their own laughter. They all seem to be in a happy bliss. Other of Feist’s music videos just confirms her inept ability to dance and others are just simply ridiculous. However, when comparing Feist’s music video to ones of Britney shimming up a pole and a rapper cursing in a smoky room there isn’t much of a gap in ability.
To summarize Feist in a few short words and a dash of pencil marks would be to dub her as a unique and talented tomboy musician. With her guitar in hand and her soft voice she has created a memorable album. The songs may seem simplistic when first hearing them, but they are unique in quality. On the arts and crafts webpage they described Reminder as being “more Feist than anything she’s done before” and as “the lost and found-without the slightest bit of compromise.” Feist has not changed her unique style to abandon her talent to the coffee lounge waiting area of sex-crazed and over drugged musicians. Feist remains unique in her songs as being simply “comfy.” She never looked to change her style or her self to please the music industry. Leslie Feist just had to remind others of her talent.
