Posted on

My Emm Gryner Top 40! #’s 20 – 16

Emm GrynerWe’re cracking the Top 20, and the pop wonders are just going to get better and better. This is where we see Emm’s true mastery of songwriting come to the fore. We also get the first appearance of her duets album, Gem and I, and her only appearance from her albums, Goddess and Song of Love and Death. It also gets harder and harder to apply any sort of ranking system when we get this high, because on any given day, I like one song slight better than the other. At any rate, here are #’s 21 – 16.

#20 – Shining Light (Songs of Love and Death)

https://youtu.be/SZGcNx8nV8U

Taken from Songs of Love and Death, her 2005 album of songs by Irish acts, , Shining Light is a cover of a song by the band, Ash. But Emm, in her way, takes this rock-driven, slightly flat love song and turns it into an emotion-laden piano ballad. The lyrics are a little corny, but Emm sells it, and the bridge gets me choked up every time. The sad part is, I can’t find a recording of Emm’s version anywhere online, so I’ve included the far less interesting original version instead.

#19 – Boy with an Affliction (Gem and I)

Here is the first of three tracks, all in the Top 20, from Emm’s 2010 duets album, Gem and I. Talk about a batch of terrific pop gems, these are some of Emm’s best numbers. This first to appear, Boy with an Affliction is a duet with American singer/songwriter Matthew Nathanson, whose blend of folk and rock music complement Emm’s Canadian pop nicely. Matt is incidentally, from Lexington, MA. The lyrics seem to be telling the story of a boy chasing after success, and the more he gets the more he sacrifices his heart. The electric piano intro sets things up nicely before the acoustic guitar gets things moving. Emm’s background vocals over the chorus are just delightful, and Matt’s voice is a great compliment to Emm’s. And what a fantastic bridge! It just makes me smile.

#18 – Good Riddance (Science Fair)

Here’s another break-up song from Emm, but it’s also a nice “fuck you” number as the protagonist knows she’s better off without her deadbeat boyfriend. “If I’m nothing to you know then that’s the way I’d like to stay.” It’s the third song to appear on this list from Emm’s first DIY album, Science Fair, and there is more to come from this terrific album.

#17 – All-Time Low (The Summer of High Hopes)

It’s kind of amazing how Emm can apply the catchiest of pop tunes on some of the darkest or saddest lyrics and make a nearly perfect pop song. All-time Low, taken from her 2006 smash, The Summer of High Hopes, is the second song to appear on from that album. It tells the tale of a relationship that is hitting rock bottom… and we’re talking really bad, “Where everything we know keeps letting us down.” But it’s not necessarily the end, with the very slightest of hopes hidden in the bridge, “My tortured wonder, It’s a slow burn suicide. They’ve named the thunder, but God loves the world.” Maybe if God loves the world there’s still a chance? Plus, we’ve got another cool Canadian reference, “My tortured wonder, with the great lakes in your eyes.” I love how Emm tosses those lines into her lyrics.

$16 – Die Evergreen (Goddess)

Nice build on this gorgeous acoustic guitar driven pop number to a soaring chorus, Emm uses the full instrumentation well, with piano accents, nice percussion texture and great, subtle backing vocals and terrific use of her upper register. The lyrics, as usual, are a little hard to decipher… is it a break up song? Does die evergreen mean to vanish but still live on somehow? There are two cryptic reference to Rilke, a mention of the poet himself as a descriptor (“Your Rilkean heart should know…”) and a reference to one of his poems, “Blank Joy.” It all adds up to a terrific song from Emm’s 2009 album, Goddess… the only song from that album to make the list and it’s knocking on the Top 15!

Posted on

My Emm Gryner Top 40! #’s 25 – 21

Emm GrynerHere’s a nice assortment of pop songs, from gorgeous ballads, both piano and acoustic guitar, to easy pop rock, and clever lyrics. It’s a great lead-in to my Top 20… and now it’s getting harder and harder to rank them because they’re all great!

#25 – Billy Hang On (The Great Lakes)

Another one about survival, perhaps of a relatioship… “We’re at an all-time low, but some of the stars still glow. So Billy hang on, Billy hang on for me,” Emm sings. It’s heartfelt and beautiful. It’s the only track to make it to my Top 40 from The Great Lakes, Emm’s home-made album. It’s a classic Emm Gryner piano ballad sung and played with such emotion and beauty. Sadly, I can’t find a single source online for this beautiful song!

#24 – Survive (Northern Gospel)

Emm channels the smooth soft-rock of the 70’s in this easy-going pop confection about making it through life. Some nice rollicking piano and lush, soaring vocals on the chorus really propel this number along beautifully, complete with a fuzz-guitar solo, so effectively used by other 70’s pop staples like The Carpenters. Emm mines another Canadian reference, “The word came down like Victoria rain” and things look pretty bleak, especially in the romance department, but Emm challenges, “The trick is to survive, yes survive, but you gotta wanna keep yourself alive. Do I, do I?” This is the third and highest charting number from Emm’s 2011 album, Northern Gospel.

#23 – Young Rebel (Asianblue)

Stop start of the drums. Awesome Electric piano.  Recurring eastern-influenced intro. Second of 5 appearance from 2002 album, Asianblue. This still seems like one of Emm’s earlier albums, but the maturity is definitely starting to show.  One of my favorite of Emm’s albums. Emm sings about a guy who breaks rules and soars above the rest of us… he’s a bad boy, but she’s transfixed. It’s a theme that will show up again higher up on this list.

#22 – Sundown On Us (Torrential)

Man, this is a heartbreaker about a young woman who realizes that her long-term relationship is nearing its end. A gentle acoustic guitar-driven ballad. The first line, “It’s my birthday and you still haven’t kissed me,” just breaks my heart. Then the chorus, “Big day feeling small, is this the end of perfect love, feeling six feet tall. It can end just like it began. Is it sundown on us? Sundown on everything that was…? And where did that church organ come from at the fade out? If Torrential isn’t Emm’s break-up album, I don’t know what is.

#21 – Math Whiz (Torrential)

And knocking on the Top 20 is the last number from 2014’s Torrential, another break-up song, the delightfully geeky Math Whiz. In fact, it starts and ends with the same cascading synth that Sundown on Us ends with. If it wasn’t so god damn clever, it would be almost annoying as Emm crams every math metaphor to describe her breakup. But Emm’s pretty masterful with her lyrics, whether in their poetry or the simplicity… and the lovely acoustic guitar that drives this song is just perfect for the melancholy mood overlaying the pop melody. And as much as I hate auto-tuning, Emm’s use of the sound adds a nice background during the coda. Check out the promo video for the song above, and a lovely solo acoustic rendition below.

https://youtu.be/cfG4L0RacgM

And now we’re headed into my Top 20 Emm Gryner songs!

Posted on

My Emm Gryner Top 40! #’s 35 – 31

Emm
Emm Gryner, bassist

Sorry for the little break. Things got a little busy as September rolled around. But I’m back with my next batch of songs in my Emm Gryner Top 40! Here we countdown #’s 35 – 31. Emm’s latest album, Only of Earth: Days of Games sees two more cuts appear. It’s doing pretty well so far!

#35 – Doomsday (The Original Leap Year)

I’m sad to say that I can’t find a video or a sound file for this song anywhere on the web so you’ll have to be content with just reading the beautiful lyrics.

“Do everything that you’ve never done, “ said the man on the radio. So begins Emm’s mournful piano ballad heralding the end of the world and the loss of someone she loves. When she wails, “More than anything, I need the last minute of your time,” years of heartbreak and longing overpower the looming apocalypse. This one should have been part of the soundtrack of Don McKellar’s stunning film, LAST NIGHT.

#34 – Something Tells Me (Only of Earth)

Channeling late-70’s David Bowie, with guest singer/guitarist David Rhodes, Something Tells Me is the second track to appear in this Top 40 that is taken from her latest album, Only of Earth. The easy swing of the beat, and the soaring saxophone that interplays with vocals brings something joyful to this cut.

#33 – Summerlong (Dead Relatives)

Summerlong was the first single released to the world from Emm’s major label debut, Public, but it’s the originally recorded version taken from her Dead Relatives album, complete with crunchy, distorted electric guitar that perfectly offsets this pop gem about a summer romance. “The city smiled when you were around,” is such a great lyric.

#32 – North (Northern Gospel)

Emm sings about Canada a lot, and North is a beautiful mid-tempo ballad that mourns a love lost, “In my heart you’re north of the border, shining down like the aurora,” with the “rain coming down like a eulogy.” The live solo version included here captures the spirit of the song perfectly.

#31 – Silent Steps (Only of Earth)

Pushing her voice to the extremes of her upper register, Ermm sounds otherworldly over the Goldfrapp-like synth runs firmly serving us 80’s space opera. Such a cool, cool song. The third of four tracks from her latest album, Only of Earth: Days of Games, to appear in this top 40. You’ll have to wait a good 25+ tracks to get to the next one.

Posted on

My Emm Gryner Top 40! #’s 40 – 36

Emm GrynerAs I stated in my last post, Emm is a very prolific songwriter, and as a way to revisit all of her catalog, I’ve gone through to chronicle my favorite of her songs. Emm’s strength run the gamut of blissful, heady pop to emotional power ballads, with some 80’s prog-influenced rock and roll. I think this list reflects her range well and slightly surprised me with its final ranking.

#40 – The Spark (Only of Earth)

Anchoring my Top 40 Emm songs, comes a track from her highly ambitious, newest album, Day of Games, the first in a trilogy of albums titled Only of Earth. Propelled by birth and loss, Only of Earth sees Emm really stretching her musical creative skills, borrowing from progressive story-telling and musicianship from the 70’s and 80’s to find new inspiration. The Spark kicks things off with some crunchy rock and roll that really opens up her songwriting to new heights.

#39 – Boy Races (Science Fair)

If I’m being honest with myself, after creating this list, I would have to say Emm’s 1999 homemade album Science Fair remains my favorite as a piece. There’s a sense of youthful bravado, while at the same time an earnest poetry that resonates beautiful across generations. Recorded on an 8-track, it outsold its major label predecessor, Public, in just two months. Boy Races is a complex, epic-feeling love story, with lyrics I don’t really understand, but with a complex musical structure that shows off Emm’s skill as a songwriter.

#38 – Home (Northern Gospel)

A mid-temp soulful piano-driven pop song reminiscent of the best Elton John, Home is taken from Emm’s 2011 album, Northern Gospel. As many of her songs, it tells a rather melancholy story, but there’s something comforting in the lyrics despite its seeming regret.

#37 – Hello Aquarius (Public)

Lush and over-produced, Hello Aquarius is the opening track to Emm’s first-and-only major label release, introducing a young, multi-instrumentalist, singer/songwriter to a public that largely ignored her. It’s filled with youthful heady concepts, indecipherable lyrics, and pop hook after pop hook that this listener found impossible to ignore. The album was called Public, and it was released in 2008. Several of the songs were first recorded on her indie album, The Original Leap Year, and Emm re-recorded the album in its entirety as a bonus album for her fans in 2006 called PVT. I love how many of Emm’s vocalizations have continued thoughout her recording career. This was my first Emm experience and I’ve been hooked ever since.

#36 – Lonestar (Asianblue)

A lot of Emm’s songs deal with heartbreak, and Lonestar is one of these. It’s also a classic example of the poetry of Emm’s lyrics that often stick in my brain (and I’m not a lyrics person). In this case the opening pair of lines, “All the stars above, I named for you — Constellations spun like a sea of aquablue.” Sound promising, but unfortunately, the “you” mentioned leaves Emm behind, much to her confusion. It’s all wrapped up in an unerring melody that evokes the longing of young love. Lonestar is the first of 5 great songs from her 2002 album, Asianblue.

Posted on

My Emm Gryner Top 40! – The Covers

me and emm
Emm and me at the Boston Public Library

One of my favorite artists currently producing work is the multi-talented, Canadian artist, Emm Gryner. Hard to believe, but I’ve been enjoying Emm’s music for over 20 years now. I’ve had the honor of meeting Emm a few times, enjoying her live performances and even hanging out with her!

We are very lucky that Emm is a very prolific songwriter and releases a lot of product, both under own name, but as part of many other projects, most notably Trent Severn, her outstanding Canadiana trio. At any rate, Emm is so prolific, and I am such a bad music listener (I rarely take the time to sit and just listen to music so I can learn titles and remember individual songs) I decided to go through Emm’s entire catalog and note my favorite songs — imagine my surprise when my listed ended up numbering 40! It’s my own personal Emm Gryner Top 40!

I’m going to do a series of blog posts sharing my favorite Emm Gryner songs, probably 5 at a time so you can all experience her outstanding pop songwriting skills and wonderful musicianship. And this is just her solo stuff! But you’re not getting any of her top 40 yet. I decided to leave her cover songs off this list. Emm is famous for her amazing cover songs, and how she reinterprets them in her own style. For this first post, I’m going to share my favorite Emm Gryner covers (of those she has officially recorded). Four out of five came from her amazing 2001 album, Girl versions, and the fifth from her 2012 EP of Hall & Oates covers, She’s Gone.

#5 – The Day We Hit the Coast

Released in 1999 by Nova Scotia band Thrush Hermit, The Day We Hit the Coast is a surprisingly tuneful, grungy rocker. Of course, when Emm gets her hands on it, she turns it into a haunting piano ballad about the cycles of life and love. Like many of Emm’s song, I love how it reference sCanada with it’s Lake Louise mention.

#4 – She’s Gone

Okay, I might be biased. This is without a doubt my favorite Hall & Oates song, and Emm kills it. And as a gay  man, I do love hearing Emm sing about losing the love of another woman.

#3 – Straight to Hell

With Straight to Hell, Emm takes a hard-hitting, quirky, political diatribe from punk band, The Clash and turns it into a hard-hitting, gorgeous, political diatribe, piano ballad. Got to hear her do this one live in the Courtyard of the Boston Public Library a couple of months ago. That was quite a thrill.

#2 – Pour Some Sugar On Me

Perhaps Emm’s most well-known cover, and certainly the one I use most often used to entice non-Emm fans to give her a chance, this beautiful rendition of Def Leppard’s bubble-gum, hair-band rock ‘n roll caught the attention of lead vocalist Joe Elliott who later recorded a duet with Emm, and had her pop metal band Tapper open for Def Leppard.

#1  Straight to You

Emm has done more than one of her own apocalyptic love song, in fact, one appears on my Top 40 from her very early days. But this gorgeous song by the dark, goth, poet himself, Nick Cave (along with the Bad Seeds) is skillfully interpreted by Emm, maintaining the longing and doomed romance so well-captured (like the singer) in the original. Bravo, Ms. Gryner!

https://youtu.be/CYbOHXMtelU

Come back to check out my personal Emm Gryner Top 40 over the next week or so!