When today’s song popped up as my Random Weekend selection, my first thought was to write about Sara Bareilles’ Little Voice as a great debut album. I’ve been meaning to do a series of posts on my favorite debuts, and this one would certainly make the cut.
But when I called up Bareilles’ discography, I learned that while 2007’s Little Voice was the singer-songwriter’s major label debut, it is actually her second album.
Today’s track was chosen as a favorite by Madison. ‘Orpheus’ appears on Sara Bareilles’ 2019 Amidst the Chaos and features a lyric that gave the album its title.
Amidst the Chaos was inspired by the 2016 election and its aftermath, and this song is an aching plea for optimism and love in the face of all that Trumpian ugliness. It feels great to feature ‘Orpheus’ a week after Trump slithered away, smaller than ever, and the country celebrated the inspiring inauguration of President Biden.
Sara Bareilles wrote this song, from her 2010 album Kaleidoscope Heart, to herself after she moved into a new house on her own.
About halfway through, the track samples a BBC interview with Alfred Hitchcock. Bareilles included the clip because she felt it fit with the “sinister” air of the song.
Sara Bareilles is so good I feel a little guilty for not listening to her more.
The truth is I hear her songs quite a bit, especially tracks from her 2007 debut Little Voice, because my daughter plays the hell out of them on long drives. But Bareilles’ second album, 2010’s Kaleidoscope Heart, is very good as well and I never play that one. And I’m ashamed to say I didn’t even know she had a third album, 2013’s The Blessed Unrest, which was nominated for an Album of the Year Grammy (it lost to Daft Punk’s Random Access Memories).
Top Ten Songs of 2011 – #10
If I had to pick one word to describe singer-songwriter Sara Bareilles, it would be ‘endearing.’
She has an endearing personality, as she demonstrated in her adorable stint as a judge on The Sing-Off.
She makes endearing videos, such as the one for today’s SOTD, in which she hides herself until the last few frames and instead depicts gleeful lip-synching by Ben Folds, Adam Levine, Sugarland’s Jennifer Nettles and others.
Meet Me In Montauk 