kimya Dawson; Deserving of Recognition

The music world is upside down and inside out. The soundtrack for the movie Juno featuring seven tracks by a little-known DIY songstress, is at the top of the Billboard charts. Through subliminal exposure, Kimya Dawson’s recordings are featured predominately on the soundtrack. Kimya Dawson is in a unique position.

She has been creating great music for years with her first band, The Moldy Peaches, her solo projects on K Records, and a new side project, Antsy Pants released on Plan-it x Records.

About seven years ago, I remembered a family car trip listening to the Moldy Peaches. We are an open-minded lot, and we sang along to “Whose Got The Crack” from the Moldy peaches 2001 release with giddy delight. Not to worry, anyone listening to the Juno soundtrack is not savvy enough to find this little-known gem, and what would they think of it?

Kimya Dawson is well-known in DIY circles. It is great to see a talented, hardworking musician songwriter like Kimya gain deserving recognition. She has given and shared with her fans and other musicians and will not take her success lightly. She will bring others along.

It is out of the ordinary when DIY culture meets the mainstream. When music artists, directors, screenwriters, and filmmakers on the fringe meet the mainstream culture. What happens? People like the movie and the soundtrack. Exposure is an interesting concept!

Non-commercial entities are now being positioned next to commercial properties. The Placement for Indie bands on commercials, TV placement in dramas and movies.

Listeners who think they hear all the latest in Indie music by tuning into college radio or hearing a playlist from KCRW would not have been familiar with Kimya Dawson’s music. To know about Kimya and the many musicians she tours and collaborates with, you must be a proactive music listener, familiar with the DIY culture, a Web board surfer, and a house show participant.

Web boards like Plan-it X, Absolute Punk.net, and Punk News.org support local DIY scenes all over the country. Word-of-mouth mixed tapes and house shows, doing it DIY style in full. This does not mean just booking and arranging shows. It is about communities where music is the focus, and everything else revolves around it.

Music is about sharing. If your only sharing with a chosen few, that is OK, but reaching the broader culture is a more interesting scenario.
Kimya Dawson MySpace