Meaghan Smith is decidedly not a mega selling artist. Of her three LPs and two EPs, exactly one has charted--it was her latest album and it didn't exactly rip up the charts in her native Canada (she's had but a whimper here in the states). She did, however, manage to win a Juno Award (Canada's Grammys) for best new artist in 2011. Other than that, there really isn't much to be said of her career other than if you're an aficionado of Christmas music her song "It Snowed" is absolutely delightful and has become one of my yuletide favorites over the past couple of holidays.
Fun Fact: Smith did a cover version of the Pixies' classic "Here Comes Your Man" (well worth a listen--here) for the soundtrack of the film (500) Days of Summer, for which she played an omnichord. Yeah, I had to look it up, too--it's basically an electronic accordion if you ask me....
Released in 2009 on her whimsically titled LP, The Cricket's Orchestra, "Poor" was never released as a single, but if you're a regular shopper at any number of retail outlets (Kroger, Meijer, Target, et al) there's a good chance you've heard it since it's in the regular rotation of piped in music at any number of big box retailers. I read a review of the album, and the reviewer said it was obvious that her label was trying to turn her into the next Norah Jones which, surprisingly enough, wasn't all that obvious to me. If I had to compare Smith, I'd say she's more like Rickie Lee Jones' extremely dorky younger sister....
Opening with what I think is an acoustic guitar (though it could be any of a number of stringed instruments) wherein a single note is rhythmically plucked again and again, "Poor" becomes a jazzy pop (or is it a poppy jazz?) once Smith begins her vocals, which tells the the tale of a woman telling her lover not to sweat having no money because they've got each other. Keeping in mind that emaycee has noted often that he loves him some female vocalists, Smith's voice has a whimsical quality to it that drives the song--it's a syrupy sweet love ballad, but because of the song's sparseness and Smith's subtle sense of humor it doesn't become saccharine sweet. Smith has a fine way of turning a phrase, and the song closes with a whimsical (it's late and I'm tired and I'm not checking the online thesaurus for synonyms for whimsical--the song is whimsical, goddamn it, and that's all there is to it) la da da da over the wah wah wah of a whimsical (arghhh) trumpet. It's probably not for everyone, but I've fallen in love with it over the past couple of years and it never fails to bring a smile, and makes for a fine if quirky addition to the annals of Friday Night Jukebox.
Lyric Sheet: "I don't need no mansion home/to get lost inside/there's no room to feel all alone/with you by my side..."
Enjoy:
Fuck Donald Trump,
emaycee
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