These last couple of solo shows, Peterborough and Kingston, have made it abundantly clear to me why Sarah's music resonates so deeply for me.

In short, it�s her voice.

Yes, I know that�s rather obvious. But my point is that there are many elements of her music, her art, her personality, her presence that we all admire and adore.

But tell me one thing, explore one element of all those wonderful components that make up what the Slean is.

Let�s deconstruct the Slean, as it were.

But back to the voice.

It�s not just her perfect pitch and miraculous clarity of tone. There are many amazing singers that have that. But there�s something magic going on with Sarah�s voice. Some synergistic alchemy of pitch, tone and frequency that, for me at least, speaks directly to my soul. It�s other-worldly the sound this woman can create and it resonates so deeply within me, just the thought of it causes goosebumps.

Over to you, passioneers�.


...jim

well Jim since you took the voice, I'll have to choose her imagination/creativity.

I can't say that I've ever listened to an artist with such vivid storys in their songs. She is able to grab me from my seat and whirlwind me into a peekaboo world where I can see the music acted out in front of me. It almost pains me to think of all the songs we have never heard, all the stories and characters. Don't hold back Sarah!

nice topic jim...

there are so many of her elements that grab me. Her voice, her imagination , her passion..and etc. I think for me it's her writing and her "sad" songs. I'm big suckers for those. Songs like I know, Eliot, Blue Parade, John 23rd have such a strong connection to me because it's so beautifully written and so sad that sometimes it makes my heart ache. That line [i:8cb6a5d33a]"All the faith that one can deserve, it's Enough to wonder why you punish your girls[/i:8cb6a5d33a]" always get to me. Also in I Want To be Brave "[i:8cb6a5d33a]we watch the houses on fire, she says to me, I want to be Brave, I want to be Brave[/i:8cb6a5d33a]", that line is so powerful because the picture she paints is exactly how I feel sometimes. I mean I can go on and on quoting slean lines but you get the idea.

I also love the over the top dramatic songs like "the score" and "drastic measures". They're so passionate and so awe inspiring. They always seem to perk up my spirit.

Gosh... voice and creativity already taken. This'll be tough.

Well, kinda like what sandonthebreeze was talking about, for myself its the sheer emotion that I hear, which somehow creates an uncontrollable emotional response within me. Especially her sadder songs, songs in which there is a great longing, where you hear such pain mixed with desire (like in "my invitation"), that makes me feel so much. And no one else has done this for me. Musically, and lyrically its all so beautiful, but there is something more with Slean, something transcendent that travels from her to you and I - something that is carried by her voice and her music, but something more than that.

Her stories are beautiful, but its the way she tells them - the way we are sucked into their magic, and the way she is able to make us feel her stories, and her passion that I love most. Its the way I feel like crying, laughing, screaming; all of those raw emotions after a concert, or listening to any of her albums, how her songs invoke day dreams of beauty and love, and most of all, pure human pain and frailty - her ability to remind us that pain is human and that its all so worth it (duncan, universe...) - it is this connection with her own humanity, her desire to keep us in tune with our own, and her unique ability to draw out our emotions and our humanity simply by allowing herself to feel so much, being for us a mirror in which we hear our deepest desires that I think I'm so enthralled with her music...


[quote:059ee3608e]Some synergistic alchemy of pitch, tone and frequency that, for me at least, speaks directly to my soul. It�s other-worldly the sound this woman can create and it resonates so deeply within me, just the thought of it causes goosebumps[/quote:059ee3608e]

Jim, thats just awesome... exactly what happens to me too.

Okay, this is a great topic, and I've been thinking about it for a few days now.

I think one thing that resonates a lot with me about Sarah Slean is the fact that she makes me think big thoughts. Through her music and art and poems and writing in general she really challenges me to think about life in different ways. It's like a philosphy class... but one where you're gently encouraged to explore new ideas rather than sit down and write papers on someone else's thoughts.

I also of course agree with what the people who posted before me have said, there's so much about Sarah's performances and art that I love but I think the reason why it really hits me is because it's something that makes you think as opposed to something you just look at or listen to in passing.

somehow, someway, her heart bleeds watercolor and as she thrashes around in a world that i've never witnessed, somehow splashes on me enough to briefly understand.

she is a storyteller with submerses me in the story.

very nicely put wootam.

Wow. Can I quote some of this? I need to do an essay on someone I admire, and I've pick Ms. Slean. ops: :P You guys have said some things that I agree with, and couldn't put any better.

feel free Rach....

but where's your contribution to the thread? :wink:

...jim

Oh, I see how it is...

Alright, I'll try to come up with something.


Her ability to articulate everything that pops into her brain is truly amazing to me. And to do it so beautifully is extremely impressive. I love the fact that she can make things so touching, while still being delightfully childish. There are also those lines in her songs that can change your mind set in an instant. She is very inspirational to me, and great to listen to while sculpting. And also, her voice is an obvious choice. It's haunting, and thunders through your brain. But, probably the one thing I love most about her, is the fact that I can't put my finger on the one thing I love most about her. It's not one thing. She's baffling.


There. Satisfied?

[quote:e35b744f29="Rachel"]
There. Satisfied? [/quote:e35b744f29]

hehe...

But seriously Rach....you're way too articulate for a 15 year old...you SO do not need to quote us...

...jim

Oooo, this is a good one. You've all inspired me to put down in words why I love Sarah as an artist.
I love that she seems to live in another dimension, she sees things totally different than most. And her songs allow us to see part of what she sees and then create our own "world" with bits and pieces from her imagination. I love the way she sees the world around her and that she has developed these characters that live all at the same time. I love how she is able to channel these characters for inspirtation in her songwriting. She makes everything look beautiful. Even despair, even war, even poverty.

[quote:1ef1bb4502="Jewel"]Oooo, this is a good one. You've all inspired me to put down in words why I love Sarah as an artist.
I love that she seems to live in another dimension, she sees things totally different than most. And her songs allow us to see part of what she sees and then create our own "world" with bits and pieces from her imagination. I love the way she sees the world around her and that she has developed these characters that live all at the same time. I love how she is able to channel these characters for inspirtation in her songwriting. She makes everything look beautiful. Even despair, even war, even poverty.[/quote:1ef1bb4502]

Very well put. And I find that hewr music draws you so much into that world that it's easy to forget the problems and struggles you face, if only for a few minutes, while you sort of see through that Slean lens where everything is oddly beautiful. Or maybe that's just me...

One of the main things that pulled me into Sarah when I first heard her was her lyrics and her piano.

The first two songs I heard where "Sweet Ones" and "Lucky Me"

The piano caught my ear the second I heard it in Sweet Ones. It really had a catchy tune but also had beautiful lyrics that can be related to on so many different levels.

Lucky Me was smilar. The music pulled me in and the lyrics bound me to her. Just the way she presents her ideas and stories in the art media of music is sheer brilliance. She's a unique artist that I've yet to hear another replicate. I can't believe I hadn't heard of her sooner.

To all you people who've known of her from the start, I tip my hat to you. Good Job and wonderful taste in music.

The first song I ever heard of Sarah's was 'I Know' from the Women and Songs CD ... I'm not even sure what prompted me to buy that CD in the first place, but I only ever listened to the first few songs and never made it to the end (where Sarah resided). One day I was doing something while listening and the CD ran all the way through and I was just blown away by this seemingly simple song. It was beautiful to listen to, what with the string intro and the delicate piano and Sarah's voice was different than anyone else's on the CD. After that I listened over and over and over again and I bought Universe. Then I was hooked. I'm not sure how many times she's been here, but I've seen her maybe 5 or 6 times and I've bought all her CDs, the Universe cassette, some posters, some paintings, a T-Shirt and I continue to play (and transcribe!) her music. Even at some of my shows I've played her songs - a friend and I played at the Druid in Edmonton and we closed the show with Eliot - we've also played Sweet Ones. At my CD Release party we played Sweet Ones and it was so much fun, and then the next night we played it at another club in Edmonton and after complaining so much about the set up (you had to be there to understand what a travesty that was!) we played the tune and everything came together perfectly. Since then I have been absolutely in love with Sarah and her music and she inspires me to continue to play.

*sigh*

-K