I love Kimya Dawson. I know, in a technical sense, she has almost no talent. She’s a simple songwriter and a terrible singer. But she’s charming. And she’s honest. She doesn’t try to be too deep or too serious, but she achieves a level of seriousness even through silliness. She taps something with her amateurish little songs that often escapes even the best artists. Perhaps there are hundereds of Kimyas out there, but so few of them actually get heard. Perhaps their music just doesn’t seem like a “hit” to the bigger labels, but I think they’re missing something crucial: Music is so much more than music. It touches us in ways we can’t explain. On the surface, I wouldn’t think Kimya Dawson has any song that would make it as a single, but then I come away touched in a way that few songs touch me. I think that’s what a lot of people who evaluate music for its hit potential just fail to see. Another thing that’s interesting is that I make a CD of the best stuff I hear each year and give it to friends. Last year (and this year), there was a Kimya Dawson song on there. I found myself apologizing for the qaulity of the song in the liner notes I wrote last year. As it turns out, that song got the most positive remarks out of 19 tracks. This year, I didn’t bother apologizing, because I think other people see the same thing I do. Too bad record execs are blind though.
Check out “Heroes 2002” from Kimya’s site. It makes me laugh and cry more often than not. More importantly, it reassures me.