Lhasa

This is the perfect music to brood to on a rainy day or reflect over when the world seems a grisly place. Some people say "listen to happy music to cheer yourself up," but I think it's more cathartic to listen to something somber.

I'm not feeling particularly somber today, just working and enjoying the simple strum of the guitar and Lhasa's soulful voice. (Well, this live performance has an upright bass -  yes!, and a harp!)

Sadly she died last January of breast cancer at only 37.

She embodied the kind of female spirit that I think we all admire: free, loving, creative. Her father was a photographer from Mexico and her mother was an artist. She grew up in gypsy fashion, traveling the US in the back of a converted school bus. She started singing from a young age, moved to Canada to be with her sister, released an album, quit music to join a theater company in France, then returned to recording. A short life, but a life well lived. Viva Lhasa!.

She has the sweetest smile. Doesn't she? Still inspiring from the other side. Viva Lhasa.