The surprising Amy McDonald

Time permitting I make it a point to listen to every CD that comes my way. I believe in giving every album a chance. I try to keep in mind that I will never be rewarded with surprises if I don’t. I’ll never forget how I got this sad looking cassette with the bad picture of an unknown band on the cover. Could have ditched it but I am still glad I didn’t. It was electromagneticpop by the Eraserheads and it blew me away.

 And that is what every new CD should be, a surprise that hopefully will blow you away. You never know what is in it until you listen. I have been disappointed a lot of times but I plod on because along with the lemons come the great ones that I end up listening to again and again.

I put off listening to This is the Life by Amy McDonald for a long time. Unknown artist. Unheard of title. No presence in the hit charts. Nondescript cover, too. So the CD lay there gathering dust, getting buried under new arrivals by bigger stars with exciting popular titles. That is until the other day when I thought I’d give it one spin before deciding if it will go into the recycle bin. And what do you know, I got a surprise. A very good one.

 Amy McDonald’s vocals are sweet, intimate but has a tinge of the abrasive that makes it interesting. She writes songs with the wisdom of an old soul and her social commentary can be scathing. She could be talking about David’s Victoria in Footballer’s Wife. She presents her material with confidence and makes no bones about what she wants. Let’s Start A Band. But what really stands out in her lyrics is the pathos she expresses in clever twists. Check out Poison Prince and Mr. Rock & Roll.

So I looked her up and found out a lot. What makes her writing more remarkable is the fact that McDonald is very young. She is only 20 years old. She recorded the album when she was 18 and some of the songs were written when she was all of 15. I guess that explains why her music, a kind of acoustic folk rock sounds current, very pop and why she never lost her sense of fun even while tackling serious themes. Youth of Today.

And then as though to tie up all these facts together with a bright bow, I also found out that this guitar-toting singer/songwriter Amy McDonald is British, Scottish actually. As every music lover certainly knows those Brit girl singers like Buffy, Adele, K.T. and that other controversial Amy do make very special CDs.

This is the Life by Amy MacDonald also includes This is the Life, Run, Barrowland Ballroom, L.A., and A Wish for Something More.

Meanwhile, the hits of the moment in the US as per Billboard Magazine are as follows. The Albums: Hannah Montana: The Movie Soundtrack by Various Artists led by Miley Cyrus; Forever in a Day by Day26; Unstoppable by Rascal Flatts; Twilight, the movie soundtrack by Various Artists; Now 30 by Various Artists; The Last Kiss by Jadakiss; Swoon by Silversun Pickups; The Fame by Lady GaGa; Wide Open by Jason Aldean; and Fearless by Taylor Swift.

The Singles: Boom Boom Pow by The Black Eyed Peas; Poker Face by Lady GaGa; Right Round by Flo Rida; The Climb by Miley Cyrus; Kiss Me Through the Phone by Soulja Boy Tell’em featuring Sammie; Day ‘N’ Nite by Kid Cudi; Blame It by Jamie Foxx feat. T-Pain; Dead and Gone by T.I. feat. Justin Timberlake; We Made You by Eminem; and You Found Me by The Fray.

From around Asia, MTV Asia’s Chart Attack lists the hits of the week as the following: Poker Face by Lady GaGa; My Life Would Suck Without You by Kelly Clarkson; Circus by Britney Spears; Gives You Hell by The All American Rejects; Dead & Gone by T.I. feat. Justin Timberlake; You Found Me by The Fray; Thinking of You by Katy Perry; Right Round by Flo Rida feat. Ke$ha; Takin’ Back My Love by Enrique Iglesias feat. Ciara; and Jai Ho! the infectious tune from the movie Slumdog Millionaire as performed by A.R. Rahman, The Pussycat Dolls & Nicole Scherzinger who looks absolutely ravishing in the video.