Remember That I Love You

Kimya Dawson

Product Details

• Audio CD (May 9, 2006)
• Original Release Date: May 7, 2006
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: K. Records
• ASIN: B000F3AJCQ
• In-Print Editions: Vinyl  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #22,046 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

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Editorial Reviews

Product Description

The follow-up to the critically acclaimed "Hidden Vagenda" represents not only Dawson's continued personal adaptation to the tumultuous world around her, but also the growing relationship between fans and friends. Using humor and sorrow as a personal healing device, on this twelve-song CD, Dawson continues to expose the subtle and sometimes serious pains we all face, in order to temper them with understanding and laughter. "It's not what Kimya says, but how she says it. She's got a knack for playing with words. In the end you want to laugh and cry and probably hug someone. Kimya delivers deeply personal, uncompromising songwriting tucked into intelligent and clever lyrics" - Under The Radar.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

19 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Continues the legacy of Hidden Vagenda, May 8, 2006

By	Craig Clarke (New England) - See all my reviews (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)

Kimya Dawson's second album for K Records continues the legacy displayed to such great effect on its critically acclaimed predecessor, Hidden Vagenda. Two of its songs were previously released on a self-titled EP with Matty Pop Chart. With some of the most engaging and genuinely emotional songwriting available, Remember That I Love You is the kind of album that you listen to with a group of friends, or with people who will soon become your friends. When you listen to it alone, it will simply remind you that you, indeed, are loved.

"Tire Swing" begins Remember That I Love You with the kind of light-hearted reminiscence at which Dawson excels. She has an amazing ability to assemble a string of seemingly stream-of-consciousness phrases into a memorable narrative with a catchy hook. Lines like "I never met a Tobey that I didn't like" (one of them, Matt Tobey -- Matty Pop Chart himself -- appears on several songs) simply cannot be found on any other artist's albums. Paul Baribeau's sparse supporting vocals lend something special.

"Loose Lips" is a ditty full of terrific (often rude) rat-a-tat wordplay (you can occasionally hear Dawson gasp a breath) with a fun protestational chorus, "We won't stop until somebody calls the cops, and even then, we'll start again, and just pretend that nothing ever happened," the title of the album, and a good deal of politics. "I Like Giants" was inspired by a conversation with Genevieve Elverum (Woelv), and its narrative style includes a good portion of that talk, along with Dawson's response to it. Lines like "I am just a speck of dust inside a giant's eye" and "I like giants, especially girl giants," accompanied by Matt Tobey on ukulele and Erin Tobey on bells, result in a fairy-tale sound that could be its own nursery rhyme.

"France" is "mostly about what a good friend, musician, and dancer [David-Ivar Herman D?ne] is" and is based on his song "Sheer Wonder." It is a sweet reminiscence with a beautiful mandolin underline (again from Jake Kelly) and YouTube has a film of Kimya and David duetting on the original. Some parts of the melody are a little out of her range, but the genuine feeling comes through.

Darker themes rear their heads on Remember That I Love You, as well, but always in a form that makes them a little less scary. Some of the lyrics, like in "Better Weather," are really obscure on the surface, but they still manage to get their meaning across through the feeling. "My Mom" is an amazing melange of nightmares, Kimya's ill mother, and Sesame Street. Her initial frantic delivery softens later for effect, showing that it's not just the words and music that matter here, but how they're heard. (Similarly, Jake Kelly's violin provides a nice accompaniment to Dawson's gravelly singing on "Caving In.")

"The Competition" was written in response to a request by Esopus Magazine for songs about imaginary friends. Dawson's inspiration was a description sent in to the magazine by Mia Gomez ("Type A at the age of 5!") and the song first appeared on the CD enclosed with the Spring 2005 issue. The description was merely a springboard for her own ideas, though, and if you read the linked description (also called "The Competition"), you'll see how different the voices in Dawson's head are from Gomez's. "I Miss You" is thirty-seven seconds of longing. The shortest song by far, it practically requires a second listen, just to make sure you heard what you thought you heard.

M.J. Geier and Kimya wrote "12/26" in response to the 2004 tsunami disaster and, among other things, they compare it to America's own date-related tragedy. It's pretty intense lyrically ("everyone she's ever loved is gone, gone, gone"), though the Matt Tobey's ukulele lightens things up a bit, but only as far as making the subject a more tolerable listen. If the music were droning, the emotions would be unbearable.

Luckily, this is followed by "My Rollercoaster," an ode to touring, and the happiest, most upbeat song on Remember That I Love You, reminding us that actually "[gets] paid for being Kimya Dawson." Also included are several songs that Dawson lists as her favorite sing-alongs (like Willie Nelson's "On the Road Again," Metallica's "One," and Third Eye Blind's "Semi-Charmed Life") and the album ends with a big mixed chorus of "Life is a highway and I'm gonna ride it, and everyday's a winding road, yeah! My rollercoaster's got the biggest ups and downs. As long as it keep goin' round, it's unbelievable."

And, then, just when you're about to join in on the chorus yourself, the album is over, just like that, with no closing other than a final guitar strum. It seems short, anyway, at only thirty-five minutes, but the abrupt ending makes it moreso. Luckily, it's easy to start over from the beginning and enjoy Kimya Dawson's particular brand of folk-rock (and the art by Jeffrey Lewis) once again, as she states repeatedly to each and every listener, "Remember That I Love You."

11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Dorky Yes, but Unquestionably Great, August 17, 2006

By	byrner (The South) - See all my reviews

I've discovered Kimya Dawson only a few months back, having heard "Caving In" and "I Like Giants" on a local station. I confess to being baffled at first by her sing-song delivery and her overly earnest themes, but I'm always on the lookout for someone with a different approach to music and her songs certainly catch the ear. After a few more chance encounters, I picked up the album and was quickly won over by her enthusiam and unique sound. The songs on 'Remember That I Love You' may at first remind you of the dorky girl you went to church camp with who played campfire guitar; but it would be misleading to say the charm of this album is only its unassuming sound. After a number of listens I have found myself filled with considerable admiration for Kimya's arrangements, in their colorfullness and spareness. They are perfect little origami songs with everything in place in just the right proportion. Folksy and idiosyncratic, but quite fun and sometimes quite moving (the song "12/26" is an example). I can think of a number of rather more famous bands who could benefit from listening to this album and dissecting what Kimya has done here. Who knows where her ideas come from, but she's on to something. No question about it.

Highly original.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars leaves you smiling, June 16, 2008

By	O'Neal (from a land Down Under) - See all my reviews

I can assume that I am one of many that hadn't heard of Kimya Dawson until Juno, and "Remember That I Love You" features most of the songs she contributed to the soundtrack. I expected that these songs would all be the standouts, and though Loose Lips is possibly still the best song on the album with a catchy-as-hell chorus and cheery tune, the whole album is strong start to finish.

I'm usually one to go for punk, hardcore, metal and the like, but the fact that this is acoustic and more pop than the Moldy Peaches wasn't a factor - I enjoyed especially "My Mom", "Underground" and "I Like Giants", as well as Tire Swing, Loose Lips and the full version of My Rollercoaster, which even features a little Metallica reference.

This isn't music that I'd typically listen to, but I loved it. Definitely worth the purchase.