JulieLeung.com: a life told in tidepools

For some reason, if I think about Edie Brickell and her song “What I am”, all of a sudden, as the tune and her voice – even her lyrics, what I remember of them – return to my head, I also begin to see myself walking across my college campus from my first dorm room, past the brick and columns, through the green, going down the steps to the post office. Why this song makes me think about college and in particular my post office box – was that the epitome of being a first year student, going to the P.O.?! – I’m not quite sure. I can even begin to remember that freshman feeling, excitement combined with uncertainty: who am I? Her song was a hit the year I graduated from high school. Perhaps someone I know, maybe my roommate, had a copy of her album.

I do remember that my roommate had some of Edie’s husband’s albums – her husband being Paul Simon. And with this faint memory of this singer with long brown hair, I enjoyed reading an article in the paper the other day Kids inspire Brickell’s break, return to music

As a mom now myself, I was encouraged to read how Edie Brickell has taken ten years away from music, returning now as her children are ages 10, 8 and 5, to release an album of songs she had written during the past decade. It sounds like her music may have changed in some ways, and she appreciates the creative outlet she finds in her songs.

And I liked some of her quotes about her family life and motherhood:

... She’s going to keep recording and isn’t sure whether she will tour. “During the school year we have piano lessons and school, and no matter what, our family is the most important thing.”

“Becoming a mom made me more contentious about expressing my true taste,” she said. “It made me not be afraid of being who I am.”