Like Depeche Mode, I just can’t get enough

So one day I was watching TV, and this Target commercial came on with a new rendition of the Beatles’ “Hello, Goodbye.” I liked the new rendition, so I Googled it and found out it was by a little-known artist called Sophia Shorai. She has a website and a MySpace page, but as far as I can tell, she has no store. I listened to all her samples, and I really like her music (even the non-jingle stuff). Where can I buy her CD? Nowhere. Bummer.

This past weekend, I happened to be listening to This American Life, which has a break-up theme. One segment about a woman—who is fascinated by break-up pop songs and decides to write her own break-up pop song, enlisting the help of Phil Collins and others—intrigues me. I love her narrative voice, her writing and speaking style, her whole way of thinking. It’s very reminiscent of Sarah Vowell (another regular on This American Life, apparently). I found out this new (to me, anyway) voice is named Starlee Kine and about all she has is a Wikipedia entry. Not much biography available. No pictures. No links to her books (she might be writing one now) or articles/essays/musings.

This isn’t how things are supposed to work. You’re supposed to get a taste of an artist (visual artist, musician, writer, actor, performer), search the web, and then purchase more of the artist’s works. You are satisfied as a consumer, and the artist feels rewarded psychologically (for being appreciated) and, at least a little, monetarily.

Well, at least it worked out for Sarah Vowell. I discovered her quirky charms on the extra features of The Incredibles and bought two of her books, checked out a couple of others from the library.

But sometimes… sometimes, artists just don’t let me get enough.

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