Roughly twelve years ago (my god that is forever ago) as an eighteen year old boy I took classes at Fullerton Junior College. I don’t remember why but I met a girl named Christina who introduced me to a girl named Amy (that I would go on to foolishly fall in love with).
Amy introduced me to a song called Worn me Down by Rachael Yamagata.
Tonight, I saw Rachael Yamagata live.
It took me twelve years to see her. I didn’t go to war, I didn’t study abroad. I just never did.
She has released four albums in twelve years.
I was introduced to her first and most successful album.
Tonight I saw her after she released her fourth.
Her second album is my favorite.
Her second album is gentle and strong and vulnerable and raw.
It's called Elephants.
Her first album was on a major label.
Her second was as well.
Her third, wasn’t, and her fourth either.
Tonight I saw her at the Independent in San Francisco.
Tomorrow night she is playing at Chain Reaction, a tiny dirty punk rock club right by a noisy freeway ramp and a mattress warehouse in Anaheim where I saw my first concert fifteen years ago in 2001 at the age of fifteen.
Her songs have featured in forty major tv shows and movies.
Her second album wasn’t upbeat, it wasn’t over produced, and it has a strong instrumental piece.
It’s my favorite and I can’t help but wonder if she despises it, because it robbed her of that major label money, because it wasn’t successful enough to keep her there.
Tomorrow night when she watches the 57 freeway go by outside Chain Reaction in Anaheim I hope she knows Elephants is a gorgeous album, and all is not lost to it.
Amy introduced me to a song called Worn me Down by Rachael Yamagata.
Tonight, I saw Rachael Yamagata live.
It took me twelve years to see her. I didn’t go to war, I didn’t study abroad. I just never did.
She has released four albums in twelve years.
I was introduced to her first and most successful album.
Tonight I saw her after she released her fourth.
Her second album is my favorite.
Her second album is gentle and strong and vulnerable and raw.
It's called Elephants.
Her first album was on a major label.
Her second was as well.
Her third, wasn’t, and her fourth either.
Tonight I saw her at the Independent in San Francisco.
Tomorrow night she is playing at Chain Reaction, a tiny dirty punk rock club right by a noisy freeway ramp and a mattress warehouse in Anaheim where I saw my first concert fifteen years ago in 2001 at the age of fifteen.
Her songs have featured in forty major tv shows and movies.
Her second album wasn’t upbeat, it wasn’t over produced, and it has a strong instrumental piece.
It’s my favorite and I can’t help but wonder if she despises it, because it robbed her of that major label money, because it wasn’t successful enough to keep her there.
Tomorrow night when she watches the 57 freeway go by outside Chain Reaction in Anaheim I hope she knows Elephants is a gorgeous album, and all is not lost to it.
