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“Love Like Everyone”
“I realized at some point that everyone experiences love and loss, heartbreak and happiness in similar ways,” muses singer-songwriter Maggie Kim. “That’s why I called the album ‘Love Like Everyone.’ Though the songs are based on my own love affairs, I wanted them to convey something universal to everyone who’s been in love, or thought they were, or had their hearts smashed to bits like I have several times!”
So began Maggie’s labor of love on her first full-length album, Love Like Everyone. In a departure from her previous two releases, Lesson 1.5 and Rocktease, the artist veered toward a more eclectic sound by tapping producer and multi-instrumentalist Brent Arnold (Modest Mouse, Built to Spill) to round out the straightforward guitar, bass, drums and keys approach of her earlier EPs. Chris Fudurich (Nada Surf, Britney Spears) took on mixing and additional production duties, giving the album its pop/rock sheen. “There’s accordion, horns, piano, viola, clarinet, banjo,” says Kim about the production and arrangement. “Thanks to Brent and Chris, this album is sonically the most interesting I’ve done.”
It was also the most difficult. In between recording the album, Maggie moved to Paris, got married (twice) and broke her leg!
“Oh God, I definitely suffered for my art this time,” she laughs. “We recorded as much as we could before I packed up my whole NYC life, relocated to France and had my first wedding. A month later, I came back to New York to record some more. A few months after that, I went to Los Angeles to mix the album before heading back to Paris for my second wedding ceremony.” Final mixes were just completed when Maggie fractured her tibia in a skiing accident over Christmas. It would be three months until she could walk again, much less think of releasing her record.
However, the slow and steady approach seems to have worked for the artist and the album. The opening track “Uh Oh Na Na” is an homage to her new Gallic roots—via accordion and a vitriolic French bridge—as well as to her former swinging single life. “I’m sure I wasn’t the nicest person to date,” Maggie admits ruefully. The unapologetic pop anthem has already been tapped for the soundtrack of the film “Fire and Ice,” starring the “Britney Spears of France,” Lorie. The song has proven so popular that it’s also being used as the theme music for the television program, “Les Aventures de Marine.”
“Stupid Man” is a sardonic, tongue-in-cheek jab at “all the stupid men I’ve dated, of course!” with its Prince-like horns and girls-on-the-playground chorus. “Greatest Mistake” takes on a darker tone, promising a careless lover, “I will be your greatest mistake.”
Legendary bassist Mike Watt (Porno for Pyros, Iggy Pop) guests on the bedtime story, “Lullaby,” while Maggie’s father, a classical clarinetist and former principal chair of the Seoul National Philharmonic, plays on the heartbreaking anti-war ballad, “Brother.”
“I.C.B.Y. (I Could Be Yours)” appears to be a sunny pop tune but the lyrics reveal the heartache of falling for someone who isn’t even aware of it: “Don’t you know/I could be yours.”
Maggie rounds out the nine-song album with the title track, “Love Like Everyone.” It’s the most hopeful of the bunch, with the artist finally finding real love—love like everyone deserves. “I wrote this song as a gift to my husband for our wedding,” says Maggie. “It was the first song we danced to and it expresses what I believe unconditional love is. It’s taking a risk, it’s having faith, it’s knowing someone is there for you no matter what. I like ending the record with this because every other song is about unrequited love or the aftermath of an affair gone bad. This is the light at the end of that endless dating tunnel!”
An Acoustic Performance of "Uh Oh (Na Na)" for MTV Iggy:
The infamous IATV video that got plenty of nasty commentary. And yes, I had a champagne hangover.
