Photo by JR Korpa on Unsplash
Kimya Dawson is probably best known for her songs in the movie Juno, which was a pretty awesome movie, definitely worth watching. The most popular song from that movie, Anyone Else But You, gained her considerable recognition.
I was first introduced to her music when I was in graduate school by a postdoc who worked in my research group. The song he played for me was Chemistry and I was enchanted by it’s geeky science references and distinctive style.
But recently I played that song and youtube suggested some others. My 6 year old daughter and I really enjoyed some of the songs.
I Like Giants
Something about the style of this song reminded me of The Major General’s Song from The Pirates of Penzance by Gilbert and Sullivan another song that I adore for all it’s Mathematical and Historical and references including one to Pythagoras.
Here is a lovely quote form the I Like Giants song
She said "I like giants- especially girl giants
Cause all girls feel too big sometimes, regardless of their size"
I Am The Wanderer’s Wandering Daughter
My daughter and I listened to this song together. It’s lyrics are thought provoking and the melody evokes the appropriate mood. This one’s my Kimya favorite, and the lines from the song that resonated with me are:
She said I'm Miss Muffet I'm very afraid
But something inside me is making me stay
I know deep down that if I run away
I'll just meet more spiders and still feel the same
The spider he smiled and said how is this true
When I am so terribly smaller than you?
Simple, yet profound.
My Rollercoaster
My Rollercoaster, the song together with the innovative, simple and elegant video makes this one my daughter’s favorite. I particularly liked the Mario drawings. My favorite lines from this song are:
And before I had a mini van I rode the Greyhound bus
My mom would say, "I hope some day you get paid for being Kimya Dawson"
And now I do and it's not much
But it's enough
I've got my Scrabble game, food on my plate, good friends and family
Kimya Dawson's songs have a distinctive style that may or may not appeal to you. Personally, I love it. Either way, the lyrics are thought provoking, loaded with geeky references, and worth checking out.