With plans to release two albums in the first half of the year alone, Norah Jones expected to be busy this spring playing for live audiences. On Valentine’s Day, she put out “Sister” with Puss n Boots, her easy-rocking trio featuring Sasha Dobson and Catherine Popper. Its tour was, of course, canceled. And on June 12, Jones will release her eighth album as a leader, “Pick Me Up Off the Floor”; that too was supposed to be accompanied by concerts throughout the spring and summer, this time alongside Mavis Staples.
Instead, the nine-time Grammy winner has been livestreaming weekly “micro-sets” from her home, usually about 15 to 20 minutes each, accompanying herself on guitar and piano as she sings a mix of originals and covers. “We all want to connect with each other right now,” she said. “It’s a nice way for me to do it without having to respond or be all over social media in that way.”
“Pick Me Up Off the Floor” has more songs written by Jones alone than any previous album, not to mention more than a couple of hooks — sung in her famous, dusty-rose sigh — that rest gently on the ear, then wriggle inside your head. And at home with her family (and a couple of close friends who became quarantine roommates), she’s been leaning on some new musical discoveries of her own.
In a May phone call, Jones, 41, discussed the 10 cultural items, people and pastimes that are keeping her grounded during the pandemic. These are edited excerpts from the conversation.
1. Emahoy Tsegué-Maryam Guèbrou
I was at a party and somebody was playing something from the “Ethiopiques” series. And I’m like, OK, I have to go find that. It’s this whole catalog of music from Ethiopia, mostly from the 1960s and ’70s. It’s this incredible compilation of music, all by different artists. And one that really stood out to me was this piano player. This album is one of the most beautiful things I’ve ever heard: part Duke Ellington, part modal scales, part the blues, part church music. It resonated in all those ways for me.
2. “Song of the Highest Tower,” by Cut Worms
This is a song I discovered in quarantine — I think it was on some playlist I was listening to — and I’ve basically been listening to it on repeat. It’s interesting how music really hits you in a different way when you’re in situations like we’re all in. You find meaning in lyrics that is super relevant. These lyrics are so beautiful, the song is very hypnotic, and I just love the way he sings. I believe the lyrics are based on a poem by Arthur Rimbaud, which I read online, and it’s opened me up to that poetry as well.
3. “In the Heart of the Moon,” by Ali Farka Touré and Toumani Diabaté
I have been listening to this album for 15 years. I listen to it every morning. I’ll probably do yoga as I listen — maybe just for five minutes — but then I’ll usually just keep it on. Any time I put it on, my kids say, “Aw, I like your yoga music.” It’s got a real morning energy, to me. It puts me in a really specific mood, which is a good way to start the day.
4. Ryan Heffington’s Sweatfest
My friend sent me this Instagram account, and I just loved it. It’s been a great way to move your body during this isolated period. When I was feeling down or having a bad day during all of this, I’d do a Sweatfest, and it turns right around. The very first one I did, he had a sort of slow-dance section and we danced to “Fast Car” by Tracy Chapman, and it kind of blew my mind.
5. “Elf”
The best movie ever made, right? I try to watch this movie a couple times every Christmas. Will Ferrell’s just so earnest and so lovable, and it’s such a well-made movie: There are all these nods to the Christmas movies we all grew up with. I always cry at the same part, which is when they start singing the Christmas carol at the end. I can’t wait to cry at that part, every time I watch it. I’m not a frequent crier, but that’s a good cry.
6. Christmas on Sundays
This is a family tradition that we started recently. It was about Week 3 of isolation, it was still chilly in New York, and it was lightly snowing one Sunday morning. From then on, every Sunday, we’ve tried to make pancakes and put on Christmas music and sort of pretend it’s Christmas. It’s brought a lot of joy into this situation. My kids are 4 and 6. They understand that it’s just pretend, and that there’s no promise of presents, but we’ve really enjoyed it. I love putting on Elvis’s Christmas, James Brown’s Christmas — you know, great Christmas music. It lasts about 45 minutes and then we move on with the rest of our day.
7. “High Maintenance”
I watched both the Vimeo and HBO versions of this show. It’s a really great slice of people’s lives in New York City: the loneliness of New York, and also the connections. It has some darkness, but it definitely has that beautiful, hopeful thing. It walks the line well. It’s realistic.
8. “Talk to Her”
It’s one of my favorite films in life. I love everything about it. It is a strange story, but the way it’s told, the music and the dancing in it are all just so beautiful. I didn’t even know who Pina Bausch was until recently, and I didn’t realize that’s who I was loving in one of my favorite movies. And that scene with Caetano Veloso is like the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen. Everything about the film: the relationships, the way he shoots it. It makes me want to move to Spain!
9. “Calypso,” by David Sedaris
David Sedaris is probably one of my favorite writers, ever since I was young and I was listening to him on NPR doing “Santaland Diaries.” He’s so funny — but this book, which came out a few years ago, is a little bit darker. I found it really poignant. And right now, I like stuff that feels very personal. I want to connect like that, probably because we’re all holed up in our homes.
10. Tara Brach’s Podcast
I’m new to her, and I’ve really come to lean on her podcast in the last eight months or so. I’ve been bludgeoning all my friends with it, everybody I know, driving them crazy. But I just think this podcast is very helpful, especially when you’re in this quarantine situation, or especially if you don’t meditate, or if you don’t take time for yourself, or if you don’t have time to think about things in this way. You can get off the treadmill of life — she calls it the trance. You’re stuck in the trance, always thinking about the next thing you have to do. So just pause and reframe how you’re thinking about these things.
Source: Music - nytimes.com
