Miss Maya "Red Dress" mp3

Considering how often I whip up playlists on my iPod (or Zune, thanks Matchstick!) and how much I enjoy making mixCDs, its kind of bizarre that I tend not to talk about individual tracks. I mean, typically I don't have that much to say about a single song, but, I feel like there's a lot of stuff that I'm ignoring because I don't really have anything to say about the album as a whole (although you should note that this does not apply to Maya, and the This Refers to You EP -- Pick of the Week #32).

I suspect the snobbier, more douchey readers, might not appreciate Maya's brand of pop music. After all, "Red Dress" doesn't reflect on current events, its not about hard hitting news stories, and for some of you all it may not be "indie" (see the previous post here) enough... if you are one of those people I have likely alienated you already, and if I haven't, get a haircut. But, if you can get over yourself enough to enjoy music that's fun, catchy, and that you can roll down your windows and listen to while we still have a little bit of summer left, "Red Dress" is your jam... its kind of sexy... "Baby when you get home I've got my red dress on/No turning off those lights, I'll keep you up all night"... sorry, I'm sweating a little here... I should go...

[mp3] Miss Maya - Red Dress

Hilarious Sidebar: If you google "Miss Maya" the first link is this. That is NOT this Maya...

Pick of the Week #32: Miss Maya - This Refers to You EP

I think there are two reasons I'm going to have a tough time selling you on Miss Maya, neither of which have anything to do with the quality of her first solo EP, if you were wondering. The first is that Maya and I are friends, and by friends I mean we've met a handful of times, but she's going to be one Liz's bridesmaids. So, I suppose I probably lose a little credibility there. The second is that Maya doesn't exactly produce blogger friendly music. It's not weird, genre-bending music that most people are going give you a WTF look when you put it on.

Instead Maya has put together 4 incredibly catchy dance-pop songs (plus one acoustic jazzy number at the end) which, as a whole are the This Refers to You EP. Certainly, part of the reason that I'm dig the EP is my penchant for the odd radio friendly song (in moderation) -- I mentioned the Birthday Sex song the other day, I love the new Sean Kingston '911' song, and I have documented my affection for Lil' Wayne, JT, and Lily Allen on my Best of ____ posts. So, if you're not into that sort of thing, I'm probably not going to convince you.

But, if that's what you're into, Maya's songs have everything that all those artists have (and then some) great production, catchy hooks, and lyrics that tweenaged girls can sing along to. And, while I feel like that might automatically turn you off - as it likely would me, were Maya and I not BFFs - I think that Maya's background as a jazz singer, violinist, musician, eliminates the possibility of her putting out that usual radio drivel.

In fact, if I had one complaint about This Refers to You its that it probably doesn't show off Maya's vocal range enough. Maya has a pantheon level voice - like Beyonce, Amy Winehouse, Adele - and her EP doesn't really show case the full range of her abilities. So, here's to crossing our fingers that we get to hear that range on a future (soon) full length (which someone pays her to record)... and that she finally get's to do a cover of "Valarie" for me...

[mp3] Miss Maya - Let It Go
[mp3] Miss Maya - Take My Time

Maya covers Lily Allen's "Smile"


Pick of the Week #1: Ketch Harbour Wolves
Pick of the Week #2: Rah Rah
Pick of the Week #3: Glasvegas/Animal Collective
Pick of the Week #4: Bruce Peninsula
Pick of the Week #5: The Antlers
Pick of the Week #6: The Darcys
Pick of the Week #7: Ohbijou (Swift Feet for Troubling Times)
Pick of the Week #8: Gentlemen Husbands
Pick of the Week #9: Chris Whitley
Pick of the Week #10: Alela Diane
Pick of the Week #11: K'naan
Pick of the Week #12: TOR/Sufjan Stevens
Pick of the Week #13: Timber Timbre
Pick of the Week #14: Justis
Pick of the Week #15: Hibiscus & Rosehips Compilation
Pick of the Week #16: Patrick Watson
Pick of the Week #17: Olenka and the Autumn Lovers
Pick of the Week #18: The Liptonians
Pick of the Week #19: Sunparlour Players
Pick of the Week #20: Black Hat Brigade
Pick of the Week #21: Howie Beck
Pick of the Week #22: Pink Mountaintops
Pick of the Week #23: Still Life Still
Pick of the Week #24: Hayden
Pick of the Week #25: Snailhouse
Pick of the Week #26: Dog Day
Pick of the Week #27: Ohbijou (Beacons)
Pick of the Week #28: Dog is Blue
Pick of the Week #29: Parkas
Pick of the Week #30: The Wooden Sky
Pick of the Week #31: Bowerbirds

NuJazz Festival - King Sunshine @ the Opera House, Nov. 15

When we left the house on Saturday night I had really no idea that Liz and I were going to end up at the 1st Annual (can you really use that if your event has been running for less than, say, 5 years?) NuJazz Festival. I did know that the weather was Shitty, I was pretty comfortable sitting on the couch at home, and that free concert up at the North York Public Library was much, much, closer - thus making it between 100 and 1,000 times more appealing. But, Liz's friend Maya is (or was) the lead singer of the 'NuJazz' band King Sunshine, who were playing down at the Opera House... ahhh what we do for love.

So, given that this (NuJazz) scene really wasn't (and really isn't my bag) I had a pretty awesome time. I mean, not a get-smashed-carve-up-the-dancefloor kind of good time, but I enjoyed the music a lot more than I thought I would. I've heard Liz rave about how good Maya's voice is, and I'd seen her once before a couple years ago in a much more subdued setting, and she was very impressive. Like, she has one of the - if not the most - impressive voice I have ever heard live. She has a Miriah Carey-esque range, which doesn't really translate on any of the recorded King Sunshine or the stuff I've heard or Maya's myspace stuff.

Anyways, this was Maya's last gig with King Sunshine, which is a shame, one because the rest of the band didn't take the time to thank her. Also, because without her King Sunshine is just another house band (I've expressed my distaste for jam-band-type stuff before), and it seemed to me that she really carried the band. I mean, you could hear the crowd talking and generally not paying attention through the jam sessions, but when she was on stage everybody was having a good time. But, I suppose I'm a little biased. Hopefully things will work out well for everyone.

King Sunshine @ the Opera House, Nov.15 "Monkey" feat. a dancing gorilla




Miss Maya 'Smile' (Lily Allen cover) - Outstanding -



And now that I've found this video of her doing a cover of Lily Allen I will begin my quest to get her to do a cover of 'Valerie' (who knew Wale was in the video?)... expect a few more updates on Maya in the future.