Nova is the granddaughter of an epiphone-playing traveling evangelist; her father was a National Accordion Champion and her mother a classical organist. Having a family of wanderers who migrated across the U.S. every few years, the landscape and the musical influences were constantly changing: Spanish tangos, Sunday morning gospel, classical and jazz were the accompaniment to her home life. Her first song was recorded when she was three years old, and by the age of eight she was studying piano and performing in community musical productions.
As a teenager in Michigan, Shara honed her musical prowess singing along to Whitney Houston music videos and Mariah Carey albums. When pop music wasn't enough, she enrolled in the music program at the University of North Texas, immersing herself in the songs of Henry Purcell and Claude Debussy. After college, she moved to New York City and fell in love with its cold winters and busy streets. She continued to study opera on the Upper West Side during the day, but at night she frequented downtown clubs such as Tonic, Knitting Factory, and The Living Room, catching performances by Antony and the Johnsons, Nina Nastasia, and Rebecca Moore. She began to spend less time sight-reading Mozart and more time de-tuning her Gibson electric guitar to play her own newly-written songs. Coaxed out of recital halls and onto the small stages of bars and clubs, Shara assembled a coterie of musicians to accompany her with bass and drums, music boxes, wine glasses, and wind chimes. She released two full albums in 2001 (AwRY and Quiet B Sides) as well as a remix album with her band entitled AwRY.
In performance she showed unusual versatility, channeling the vocal theatrics of Kate Bush, the soulful seductiveness of Nina Simone and the gothic pop of Portishead. Her infatuation with theater and costumes inspired her to wear superhero capes, ball gowns, or Tudor corsets on stage, depending on her mood. Her deeply personal songs transcended the histrionics of opera; Shara was at last singing about what was closest to her heart. She began to see her own music as the most precious gift she could give to the world - as reflected in her namesake, "My Brightest Diamond".
Of course, opera never really left her, and Shara's performance blurred the lines between rock show and recital, setting baroque love songs alongside French carols and Prince covers. Her vocal lines reached for Puccini, but her guitar was pure PJ Harvey. The center of gravity here was the workmanship of a woman whose imagination had no limits. To sharpen her skills, Shara studied composition with Australian composer Padma Newsome (of Clogs) and began to incorporate a string quartet in her live show. The influences of Nat King Cole and Henry Mancini rounded out the edges. A few years later, she met Sufjan Stevens at The Medicine Show, a variety show hosted by New York City's incendiary poet, Sage, at Arlene's Grocery. This, in turn, led to a yearlong sabbatical from her work, doing splits and round-offs (not to mention the human pyramid) as one of the notorious Illinoisemakers. Shara was quickly promoted as cheerleading captain.
All of this led to an impressive resume, but My Brightest Diamond still had no album to show for it. So in 2004, she began work on two records: one featuring songs accompanied by a string quartet titled "A Thousand Shark's Teeth", and a more standard rock album featuring a full band (featuring Earl Harvin on drums, Chris Bruce on bass, and, on one song, her father Keith on accordion) titled "Bring Me The Workhorse", released to critical acclaim in August 2006 on Asthmatic Kitty Records.
Her songs distil stories to their most distressing points of contact: a phone call, an injured horse, a dragonfly caught in a spider's web. She doesn't share all the information - just the stuff that matters. The effect is a sensational compression of time, in which an entire event is summarized in a single note. This, of course, is the essence of opera. But My Brightest Diamond is much more than that. There is also the humor one might find in an old TV episode of Wonder Woman or Lewis Carroll's Alice in Wonderland. Shara's songs reconcile all the complex emotions found in each of us: she can grieve as comfortably as she can laugh, sometimes in the same breath.
Sites: BandCamp
Bass Player
My Brightest Diamond Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
All alone
Makes a sound
Most wouldn't call a symphony
As he plays
Thinks of a maid
Sad and shuffling
Blow me a kiss
Before I drown
In sorrow me a kiss
Before I drown
He saw her
By the moon
Dress in hand
Her hips were swaying
Melancholy tune
Broken buckles
Tired lips, ooh
She was singing
Blow me a kiss
Before I drown
In sorrow me a kiss
Before I drown
[Incomprehensible]
She said I wanna be with the stars tonight
So I can fly above the earth
I wanna be with the stars tonight
So I can fly above
I wanna be with the stars tonight
So I can fly above in laundry
The song "Bass Player" by My Brightest Diamond is an emotional and poignant piece of music that explores the inner thoughts and feelings of a lone bass player. At the start of the song, the bass player makes a sound that most people would not consider a symphony. However, as he plays, he begins to think of a maid who is sad and shuffling, and who sings a melancholy tune about drowning in sorrow.
The bass player recalls seeing the maid by the moon, holding her dress and swaying her hips to the music. Despite her tired lips and broken buckles, she continued to sing, hoping to be with the stars that night so that she could fly above the earth. The bass player is moved by her words and gives her a symbolic kiss before she drowns in sorrow.
The lyrics of "Bass Player" tell a powerful story of loneliness and the desire to escape from life's struggles. The bass player and the maid both find solace in music, each in their own way, and their shared experience brings them closer together, if only for an instant. The somber melody and poetic lyrics of the song combine to create a moving and memorable piece of music that is sure to resonate with listeners.
Line by Line Meaning
Bass player
The subject of the song, a musician who plays bass.
All alone
The bass player is playing solo, without accompaniment.
Makes a sound
The bass player is producing music with his instrument.
Most wouldn't call a symphony
The bass player's music may not be considered classical or formal by most people.
As he plays
Continuation of the previous thought, describing the moment when the bass player is playing.
Thinks of a maid
The bass player's mind wanders to a woman as he plays.
Sad and shuffling
The woman's state is described as being depressed and moving slowly.
She sings
The woman is expressing her emotions through music.
Blow me a kiss
The woman is asking for affection from someone, likely the bass player.
Before I drown
The woman is overwhelmed by sadness and wants comfort.
He saw her
The bass player is remembering a previous encounter with the woman.
By the moon
The woman was visible under the moonlight.
Dress in hand
The woman was holding onto her dress.
Her hips were swaying
The woman was moving her body to the music she was singing.
Melancholy tune
The woman's song conveys a sense of sadness or gloominess.
Broken buckles
The woman's clothing is old or damaged.
Tired lips, ooh
The woman's face shows signs of weariness or exhaustion.
She was singing
Continuation of the previous thought, emphasizing the woman's musical expression.
She said I wanna be with the stars tonight
The woman expresses a desire to be among the stars in the sky.
So I can fly above the earth
The woman wants to escape her current reality and see the world from a different perspective.
I wanna be with the stars tonight
Repetition of the previous line to emphasize the woman's desire.
So I can fly above
Continuation of the previous thought, describing the woman's longing for freedom and transcendence.
I wanna be with the stars tonight
Repetition of the previous line to emphasize the woman's desire.
So I can fly above in laundry
This line is ambiguous, but it may suggest that the woman wants to rise above the mundane or monotonous aspects of life, even if it means doing laundry among the stars.
Lyrics © DOMINO PUBLISHING COMPANY
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Jerusha Vox
Honestly--"goosebumps" don't even come close to describing what I get when I listen to this song. Incredible.
Anda Polyraki
Bass player
All alone
Makes a sound
Most wouldn't call a symphony
As he plays
Thinks of a maid
Sad and shuffling
She sings
Blow me a kiss
Before I drown
In sorrow me a kiss
Before I drown
He saw her
By the moon
Dress in hand
Her hips were swaying
Melancholy tune
Broken buckles
Tired lips, ooh
She was singing
Blow me a kiss
Before I drown
In sorrow me a kiss
Before I drown
[Incomprehensible]
She said…
烈夫
another excellent one!
Zenlutra
she said i wanna be with the stars tonight, so i can fly above the earth
Mother InTheSky
i dream about this song in the night..
sakurabastheman
yay pandora