“I like the feeling that cereal brings, and I don’t really give a fuck about material things”

This is definitely a very special version of my lunch time listen series because this is an artist that I have watched grow, from a far, for a while now. My amazing boyfriend Kyle Woodworth, is also an incredible engineer, marketeer, and manager (yes, I’m bragging). He manages the very talented Alexander Granata (Granata for short– and for genius) who debuted his album, and book on tape, Alex in Wonderland last night (5/6/14 @ 7 p.m). This album is beyond the concept of genius and is incomparable to anything on the market today, or really ever. With his witty banter, playful play on words (no pun intended), and relaxing vibe, this project is nothing short of pure artwork.

Each track, or chapter, paints a picture for you as if they are being plucked from a novel and set to music. It’s as though you’re reading a compilation of sheet music that speaks to you. With an uncanny phrasing ability and his modern-day rhyme scheme, Granata raps over intricate piano progressions and saxophone solos. It is so hard to explain the vibe of this project, which I think is why it is becoming so popular; hitting the top 100 on Audio Mack and trending there as well. You have to listen to understand it, and then you have to listen again to decipher it, and by the third time you’re listening because you just can’t stop.

Every chapter makes you think. Every word has three meanings. Every hook speaks a message. There is something for everyone on Alex in Wonderland. 

Normally I try and express to you all my favorite track when I share a project with you, and it’s not because I think my musical opinion weighs heavy on your listening decisions, but because I feel that the music I favorite tells a great deal about the person I am, and the person I am is the reason (I hope) you enjoy reading these posts. But I can’t give you a favorite this time. It would be like choosing a favorite flavor of ice cream, or a favorite kind of carmel covered chocolate medium; they’re all amazing, they all leave you wanting more, and they all leave you heavy (with thoughts).

This post encompasses so many genres in one melting pot of a musical masterpiece… 

As someone who generally wears my heart on my sleeve, I admire artists like Granata who aren’t afraid to do the same with their music. They strive to reach others by way of their own personal expression, and I believe those kinds of people are the ones that make the world go ’round.

In one of my favorite songs, “Pondering” this line just stands out…

“Search the current for the lies, and the trail for the truth.”

That speaks to me. If not for the symbolism, then the imagery it creates. I’m not sure if it was even meant to be as prolific as it sounds, but when I think about it, it really plays around in my mind. The truth hurts sometimes, especially when it’s unexpected, but lies hurt forever, and there’s never a good way to rid the action of someone telling you one from your mind. A current catches things, they get caught up in it and twisted around, only to stray within a one mile radius (most of the time) from where they actually started. That’s just like a lie. The pain from it never really goes away, it just gets different emotions attached to it the longer it’s there. The truth though, although bitter sometimes, is like a rock on the trail of life. When you reach it, you may trip, fall, get hurt a little, but at the end of the day it doesn’t hold you there like a current. You’re able to get up and move on.

That’s how I see it anyway. 

I’m going to make a statement here. On this day at 12:47 p.m. and I want my words to be marked down very clearly. Alex Granata is the modern day John Lennon. A true imaginer of the written (and spoken in song form) word. He writes about the things that most fear to mention. He expresses the solitude and serenity in loneliness, and many people fear, if not, at least fear to say they love. With his poetic bravery, and dare-to-be-different outlook of, as he self-proclaimed, “rapping music to jazz,” this is an anything but ordinary collection of stories to music that takes the listener through a mystical journey.

https://soundcloud.com/itsgranata/sets/alex-in-wonderland

And since this is a lunch time listen and you probably only have a thirty minute break and a lot to eat and do… You can come back to the playlist later, but you must watch this now.