Artist: Jess Hill
Song: Poppy, Poppy and a Black Crow Calling
Recommended by: @oddmonstr

@oddmonstr is the person responsible for randomly stumbling across Ms. Fridrich (one of my favorite albums of 2011), so basically I love seeing suggestions pop up from her. I also know that she, like me, seems to have a random selection process that could result in some of the most beautiful luck or in total trainwrecks. I have no fear with these matters and will choose to ride shotgun in her car as she navigates the complex maze of videos and artists and songs and gimmicks.

Tonight, she threw a few bands at me, and for whatever reason, none of the names captured me the way that I hoped to be captured. That is, until she dropped this on me in 140 characters or less–

“Not technically a band. Kind of a person. Also a creepy hostage-like captivity video” with a link.

No band name in her suggestion. No song title. Just a little jacket copy that made it sound like a can’t miss prospect. Will we see an early demo from the stunted music career of Patty Hearst? Perhaps a harp concerto played by Elizabeth Smart (she was the one who played harp, right?)? Maybe the Lindbergh Baby grew up to play in some obscure R&B Band and @oddmonstr found rare concert footage from a Baby Lindbergh and the People’s Pilots show that was recorded in St. Louis in 1953. I don’t know. I just don’t know.

When I clicked on the link, I was able to learn the artist’s name “Jess Hill.” I think the name of the song is “Poppy, Poppy and a Black Crow Calling.” And if my powers of internet deduction are worth anything (and this is a matter of considerable debate) I’m guessing that Jess Hill works a gimmick where she plays songs in different rooms of her house/apartment because some of the other related videos name different parts of a house.

That’s all I have to go on. And that is likely not enough.

Who it sounds like before I listen to the very first note:

Lauryn Hill: At one point Lauryn Hill was the pop star of the day. And then, as is the case with some folks, all of the fame seemed to do a real number on her and she disappeared deep into religious texts and started re-evaluating everything in the world. The disappearance wasn’t completely without stages. She went from being this smooth and polished singer on the Fugees albums and then her debut solo album, who, by all outward appearances was happy and positive, ebullient. I even got to see her and the rest of the Fugees along with Goodie Mob (a young Cee-Lo Green stealing the stage) and the Roots for $6 in Madison in the summer of 1995. Then one day these whispers started popping up that she had recorded an episode of MTV Unplugged (MTV, for those of you too young to remember used to actually play music) and it was rumored that she’d had a complete mental breakdown on stage that night, complete with crying and incoherent ramblings. When the show finally saw the light of day, it was as promised. A lot of people hopped off the Lauryn Hill Train (now dubbed Crazy Train (not to be confused with the Ozzy Osbourne song of the same name)) and wrote her off. I might have been one of those people.

But then a few years later I listened to that album (MTV Unplugged 2.0) again, and it damn near broke my heart. Sure the musicality wasn’t hyper-polished. She cried during songs and her voice broke. But damn, it was this staggeringly honest performance and a fascinating study in…I’m not sure what. Every few months I piece the show together, song by song, on Youtube and watch it again. By the 6:00 minute mark of “Peace of Mind” she’s totally crying and it grinds up your guts a little bit. Maybe Jess Hill is a distant cousin of Lauryn Hill and she”will have the same energy in her performance.

Lianne Vernell: A few years ago when I was looking for a song by the band Azure Ray, I came across a cover of the song by an unsigned artist named Lianne Vernell. It was a girl playing a guitar in her room. She exuded “it.” Whatever that star quality is that some folks just have. I’ve talked about her before in other reviews that I’ve done. Unfortunately, she died tragically early. As much as anybody can know these things, I’m sure she would have been a star. I often watch her cover of the song “New Soul” by Yael Naim. It’s a song that I’d heard, I’m sure, before I heard Lianne’s version, but not in the same way. I just clicked on the link now, and it’s on in the background while I write this and it fills me with a genuine sadness that, for whatever reason, she isn’t making new music today. Maybe Jess Hill can be a girl with a guitar making everlasting music for those who can’t.

Wesley Willis: Like I said, it sounds like Jess Hill is working a gimmick where she plays concerts from different rooms of her house. And I like that idea, in theory, because maybe there are acoustic issues or maybe the songs are themed. I don’t know. But I do know that Wesley Willis used to sing songs like “I Whuped Batman’s Ass” and then two songs later on the album you’d get “I Whuped John Wayne’s Ass.” The songs wouldn’t really be all that different, just some of the lyrics changed (slightly). Wesley Willis was a diagnosed chronic schizophrenic. Perhaps we’re entering similar territory here. It’s worth noting that it wouldn’t be hard to change “Jess Hill is a musician” to “Jess Willis a musician.”

I’m turning off the Lianne Vernell (R.I.P.), and hoping for something good. Let’s go!

:05 I think Jess Hill is a dude, and I’ve totally run bad ESP for tonight’s review. He’s also from Canada. My favorite band is from Canada.

:13 Acoustic guitar. Minor tones. I’m leaning towards fan.

:22 I’m hearing echoes of Eliot Smith.

:32 Nope, Jess Hill is, in fact, a woman. I stand by the Eliot Smith guitar sounds. And my favorite band is still Canadian.

:37 Vocally, I’m hearing what I love most about Cat Power. A fact that is probably dependent upon the sparseness and the stripped down guitar (You Are Free era Cat Power)

:47 @oddmonstr has done it again–I LOVE THIS.

1:05 There’s a really soulful quality in her voice. It reminds me of somebody else that I can’t put my finger on. Part of me wants to say Florence and the Machine, but I’m not really familiar with the catalog, so I’m not sure that’s who I’m really thinking about. It might also be one of the two people from My Terrible Friend, but I don’t know their names.

1:07 You want your heart broken, listen real close starting here. There’s a timelessness to it that alternately sounds like it came out today, or it was played over an AM radio sixty years ago.

2:12 This is driving me crazy. I’m a huge fan of Jess Hill and it reminds me of something that I can’t remember right now. I’ve gone through my iTunes list twice and nothing is striking the exact right chord. I’m thinking this might be the universe’s way of saying this is what you’ve always wanted to hear.

Final Thoughts:

I know I’m going to not only listen to this song, but that I’ll be exploring the Jess Hill catalog as it exists on Youtube. I will follow her to each room of the house as needed to hear whatever it is she’s playing. It is criminal that I was the 795th view on Youtube.

The Patty Hearst thing was way off (though the anonymous voice at the beginning saying, “Ok, sing us a song” does sound a little sketchy given the lighting and @oddmonstr’s set up.) I could make an argument for the Lauryn Hill comparison (if only vaguely) as could I with the Lianne Vernell, too. The only important thing you to need to know is that Jess Hill is the real thing and “Poppy, Poppy and a Black Crow Calling” is a song you want to hear. Right now this would be in my Top Five of the Fist Listen, First Thoughts standings.

You listen to it and let’s discuss!