The moment I heard her music, I just felt like she was my friend. And I think I speak for millions, and more to come when I say that. There’s something just so beautiful about Maggie Rogers and the music she makes.
Maggie sees her music as an altruistic gift to someone else, it started as some faces behind a computer screen and now they are faces in crowds. She’s even said it herself, once she makes it it’s not hers anymore, it’s for someone else to own, interpret, and move to.
While she’s already on tour and on the rise to mainstream culture — with appearances on SNL, Jimmy Fallon, Ellen, and even my last flight with American Airlines... she’s still relatively new. And what’s new needs friends, and something this pure and wonderful deserves our ears and encouragement. As fans, we have to ask her to keep making music.
Spotify it, drop it on an iTunes playlist, YouTube it, plug in mid flight. However you do, just listen. It’s some of the best music I’ve heard in a long time and if you dig into her story, you also realize she’s a sweet, humble, deserving human. If anything could possibly be annoying about her, it’s that she sincerely thanks her audience with genuine gratitude too much. And I sincerely mean that as a joke.
I thank you, Maggie.
For every time, I wanted to escape from something stressful, or felt an urge to get on dancing by myself in my apartment. Lately, I fill the room with your album, Heard It In A Past Life. You sweet soul you, you’ve got all the sounds.
I enjoy the album from end to end, but for blog purposes, here are some of my favorite tracks from the album:
Fallingwater
Alaska
Light On
Back In My Body
Her Dance Moves
As a note of advice, you must watch the videos so you can experience Maggie Rogers in dance mode. She’s visually stunning and the way she moves genuinely makes me giddy with joy. In her past life, perhaps she was a firefly at Woodstock. You’ll know what I mean when you see it, her own music flows through her body and soul like a force of nature. She rocks out like no one is watching. Make sure to check out the Fallingwater video to witness what I’m talking about — like a Jedi in a red dress, she seems to control the position of the sun from desert sands. Whatever is happening, it’s raw human emotion and a powerful artistic expression. Plus it’s contagious in the best way, never failing to make me want to jig and step around my apartment like an undomesticated tribal man.
Her Sound
A song writer beyond her years, her words stick with me as I stroll around to clear my head. The lyrics from her hit track Alaska, “I walked off you, and I walked off an old me.” slides into my head nearly every time I step out for a walk and try to reset.
And her voice, it’s smooth and graceful, with an angelic yodel that seems to seep out from her background in folk music. All together, it’s poppy, peaceful and at times emotionally powerful. Music that makes me want to shake out good energy into the world and the people around me.
There’s something so human and soulful in her songwriting. Particularly on this album, it tells the story of her emotional rollercoaster ride, the unexpected start of her career, and her conscious commitment to being an artist. Filled with depth and authenticity, her album reveals her as a true talent, and an artist with a heart of gold. Someone who just feels and understands what music is and recognizes the beauty in what it does for other people.
Her Story
Knowing her story and emotional ride makes every note sound sweeter. If you haven’t already, take a peek at the video where Maggie Rogers meets Pharrell at her NYU class.
With Pharrell's validating head vibes and facial expressions, it’s certified cool right here. And you can sense his hairs standing up on his neck as he feels the music, trying to show immense appreciation but also not to act overt and kill the energy for the rest of the class. You kinda feel bad for the other kids, but that moment is amazing. Her life just changed. Right there.
And there’s something special to be said about her confidence, that she just knows she’s an artist, she knows what she wants to do and she spells out that’s she’s just going to keep making music and keep going. Clearly, it’s what her soul is made of.
When you see it. You gotta respect that. And I don’t know about you, but her makes me want to challenge myself to dig out my own artistic work too.
So in the spirit of showing too much gratitude. Thanks again, Maggie.