JOURNAL: Danielia Cotton

A recent installment of NPR's Weekend Edition featured a soul rocker named Danielia Cotton, who doesn't fit neatly into any box.

"She's an African American, from a nearly all-white town in New Jersey. She's a singer and songwriter who can sound like a blues balladeer on one track, and a hard-rock wailer on the next. She's influenced by gospel music, but she's also a convert to Judaism." (source: Weekend Edition Saturday, May 24, 2008)

Listening to the interview, what impressed me the most about her was her maturity and how she had a good handle of the experiences that she was speaking of -- very collected and peaceful. For instance, the interviewer asked her if perhaps one of the purposes of her music is to, in a way, communicate with the father she's never known. She steadily replied that it wasn't the case. Then when asked to comment about the importance of her involvement with the music/lyrics for each of her album's tracks, she responded that she felt that she has to relate to the story that the song communicates to be able to sing it the way that she would like to be able to give back to the audience. She continued, and said that she "doesn't really write about things that [she] hasn't dealt with in a healthy way [herself]."

I find that to be such a powerfully mature statement, and it's a viewpoint that is very often overlooked. That inspired me to take that more into consideration when I contribute to this blog -- to try to process experiences more-fully before trying to writing about them. It's a lesson that goes beyond the blog-realm; it's one that can be applied to other experiences and to relationships.

Anyways, so the pacing and rhythm of my posts may be in transition (and we'll see if I relapse). I appreciate your patience.

:)