Branching Out

I have had it up to my neck with the music by people like Britney Spears, Jessica Simpson, and the like. I’m not saying they are evil people, or that I have anything against people who do like them. I just don’t like their music and, more often than not, their videos.

When my sister, a fan of Christina Aguilera, started ranting and raving about the new pop wonder Michelle Branch, the first thing that entered my head was: Not another dancing teenybopper turned sexy-feeling pop star. So in order to avoid listening to another annoying last song syndrome causing melody, I avoided hearing her every chance I got. This went on for about a week or so. Then, as I was channel surfing, I saw a TV feature about her. Since there was nothing else to do, I decided to just brace myself for half an hour of her. Plus, she was kind of cute.

Apparently, she enjoyed music even as a kid. She grew up with the Beatles, The Sound of Music, and Oklahoma, a few of her first loves. She would sing along, perform, and love it. For the longest time, she had wanted to be a Broadway musical actress. Then she won tickets to a New Kids On The Block concert. Michelle said, "I would look around and see all the girls just screaming and pushing and swooning. I was like, this is so cool! I wanted to be able to reach people like that." She wanted to be a pop star. By 14, she had learned how to play the guitar and had already written a few songs. Was I ever surprised to hear her say that she could never, ever dance. And that she made her own songs. I was impressed. She came out with an Independent Record ("Broken Bracelet") two years ago which came to the attention the Hanson brothers. They chose her as their opening act for two of their shows on the west coast. Some people from Maverick Records happened to be at the first show in LA, and they loved it and followed her to the show the next night in Phoenix. They offered her a (record) deal then. By March 2001, the album The Spirit Room came out and by January this year, it was a certified Gold in the US of A.

She never allowed herself to sell out. She always laid down the fact that it was always just her and her guitar. She could not move like most pop stars; she was not blond; and she could not let someone else write her songs for her. She said at an interview that she found it quite silly that some people (She did not name names. I guess they know who they are.) were singing songs about teenagers written by 50-year-old Swedish men. "I am a teenager writing about being a teenager, and I hope that as I grow older and more mature, so would my music," or so she says.

When asked what drives her to make her music Michelle answered, "It is the music that drives me, not the other way around." It is the medium of her spirit to reach out and connect with other kindred spirits who can listen to her music and just… relate. Her melody is a mix of pop, rock, folk, and lots of her own soul. Despite the slightly cheesy description, it is claimed to be true. Her music may control her, but it could not exist without her and it is manifested by what she knows and who she is. She writes songs anywhere and everywhere, saying that she "has guitar, will travel."

And she has been doing that, going around to different countries and spreading her music, and her love for it. In such a short time, she has accomplished so much. Her life has just begun and as she grows, so will her music. She is a shining example, doing what she wants and being true to herself. She is a person to look up to and admire. To think, the self-proclaimed dork is just an ordinary person like you and me. Wow.