My sweet and fantastic guitar teacher Michelle was over at my house, looking over the Forty By Forty board the other week and exclaimed, "I have a recording studio at my house...come over and record a pop song!" I accepted her invitation right away, as this one was one I had really hoped to get to, but wasn't sure how to execute.
La la la...la la la...the lovely Linda
To make it even more fun, my friend Linda Santiago flew in from Sweden and was just as excited as I was to get in the studio, so we headed over to Michelle's on the eve of my 40th birthday. We hadn't decided on a song but were mulling over some Swedish bands like Abba, Roxette and The Cardigans, in the car on the way over.
Michelle lives with her lovely husband in Highland Park, an area of LA I've never been to before, but that I'd be glad to visit again, should I get asked back. It's a sweet neighborhood and Michelle and Chad's house is DOPE. Beautifully remodeled and decorated in that Rock 'n Roll way that shows you people with style live here, but they don't try to impress anyone. Michelle made tea and then we went into the studio which has some incredibly beautiful guitars on the wall, a grand piano, a professional microphone, some equipment with dials, and Michelle's computer.
Channeling Swedish royalty...
After going through a few ABBA songs, I felt really strongly that the song I should sing should be "Thank you for the Music." I love the song, and one of the reasons is, Agneta, who sings it, has one of the thickest Swedish accents in history, and it just makes it such a funny song to me. I also felt that since Michelle has given me the gift of music in the most extraordinary way this year, it would be the perfect song to dedicate to her.
As we started to record, I realized it wouldn't be as easy as just singing a song into a microphone. First of all, it was pretty late and I was tired so my voice wasn't as smooth as I would have liked. Also, "Thank you for the Music" is just on the cusp of what I actually can sing, note wise, so it was important to open my throat, which I haven't really practiced a lot, having not seen Calvin Remsberg (Number 9: Take an Opera Lesson) in a while.
I started singing and I really wanted to duplicate the Swedish accent, so I tried my best to, and I think it came through quite well. It made Michelle, Linda (who was behind the camera, before passing out on the couch from jetlag) and I giggle. We did a few takes of the song all the way through, but there were a couple of high parts I couldn't seem to get to, so we decided to record those parts separately. I still couldn't hit the high notes, so Michelle had me do some vocal exercises, in the midst of which I kind of snapped at her. I don't remember exactly what I said, but it was sarcastic and something way too harsh to say to my sweet music teacher Michelle, who was kindly spending her night recording with me, trying to make me sound good.
Michelle...ma belle...enhancing my vocals
I of course apologized, which lead to one of the more interesting conversations I've had in a long time. There's a thing I do sometimes, more so when I've just come back from Sweden, and it's using a tough jargon when joking around or even just talking. And it hurts people's feelings. It's like sarcasm times a thousand. Not to blame my family, because I love them so much and we are so very close, but we tend to relate to each other in a very harsh jargon, and it's been known to be a bit difficult for the people around us, like spouses and friends.
I've gotten quite good at catching myself doing it, and can usually stop right before it comes out, but having spent a fair amount of time with my brothers in Sweden last week, it just came out. No filter available. I was mortified.
What's great about Michelle is, she's open, compassionate, and gracious beyond belief. A true Yogi. We also have an amazing friendship, even though we haven't known each other long. Our music lessons are filled with deep, interesting conversations about life, love and music and I don't know a lot of people who say "I love you" to their music teacher on a regular basis, but I do. So, given all that, we worked it out in a couple of minutes, and were back in harmony, wrapping up the recording session on a high note. Pun intended.
So, without further ado, please click below for Abba's "Thank you for the Music" sung by yours truly, and dedicated to Michelle, who's love of music and generosity of spirit inspires me so.
this is fantastic! truly. beautiful job on a very tough song to sing. you aced it!
Posted by: seth swirsky | 12/03/2011 at 05:54 PM
i love it marika! what a nice job. reminds me of walking about our nation's capital together! xoxo
Posted by: leslie | 12/11/2010 at 06:42 PM
Great job!! I'm so glad we did this. And sometimes a little tension is a good thing for growth. Love you back!!
Posted by: Michelle | 12/11/2010 at 12:18 PM