Dedicated to MaryAnne Ysabella Brave and Friends

• Favorite Ysabella Brave Song 2008 •

Originally Posted 1803 H PST  02 JAN 09

- A response to Uppsalaanders ' topic Best of 2008, Posted 01 JAN 09 -

Greetings:

On September 11, 2007, Community member BellaBrave posted the topic, “Favorite YB song,” on the Ysabella Brave Message Board.  After lurking about the Ysabella Brave Community for several months, I finally became a full-fledged citizen July 13, 2008.  On July 15, 2008, a date that will live in infamy in your legend, I responded to BellaBrave's topic.  It was my first post to these message boards.

In retrospect, I may have been a little overbearing on poor BellaBrave.  I confess my point of view on the matter has not necessarily changed that much.  But that was in July.  We are now just ankle deep in the new year.  I am so much wiser now, and six whole months older.  So I shall address your topic, most honorable community member Uppsalaanders.  This time I have learned how to tackle what still qualifies as an “inherently unfair question.”  I shall limit myself to Ysabella Brave’s original work.

A word or two before I begin.  Prior to the Ysabella Brave Birthday Celebration on December 4, 2008, I had the unwitting foresight to compile a complete Ysabella Brave discography.  It includes the case sensitive title, release date, and run time of all her work on YouTube, including ysabellabravetalk.  I shall publish the discography to the message boards within the next few days.  Hopefully it will serve as an aid in refreshing everyone’s memory as to which Ysabella Brave songs were released in 2008.  Unfortunately it will also serve as a reminder of all we have lost since YouTube unceremoniously suspended its two finest channels.

NOTE:  Clicking on the thumbnail photograph will take you to the video on this site in a separate window.  Clicking on the link (in blue) will take you to the YouTube site of the video and play it in a separate window.

On May 13, 2007, after releasing some eighty videos covering music, comedy skits, and advice, Ysabella Brave treated her fans to her first independent musical composition, Such a Quiet Man (original song!).  A respectful homage to her father, it is an haunting tune where finger cymbals, drums, and minor chords lend a Middle-Eastern air.  To accentuate that haunting aura, the video portion is cleverly run in reverse.  This is one of Ysabella Brave’s best works.

James (new original song! ) (July 5, 2007), is notable for its seeming lack of instrumentation.  With a brief introduction by the string section, most of the instrumentation is percussion.  It is Ysabella Brave’s voice that fully conveys and delivers the melody and harmony throughout the song.  The lyrics tell of the fears and insecurities of childhood.  They extol the value of close siblings who lovingly support one another during those tumultuous, seemingly treacherous times.  It is a beautiful expression of the love and familial bond Ysabella Brave shares with her brother, James, as only a loving little sister could.  It ranks among her best work.

A landmark video, Baby One (new original song by Ysabella Brave) (August 26, 2007), introduces earth-shaking bass and percussion with a driving rock rhythm.  Add artistic cinematography and editing to the fray and you have a video that rivets the viewer’s attention from the thunderous opening notes to the multi-layered split screen ending.  As an heartfelt tribute to her parents, there is no question this composition easily qualifies as one of Ysabella Brave’s best.

As a response to less than ethical business practices in the American recording industry, Machine (new original song by Ysabella Brave!) (November 3, 2007), minces no words or emotions.  It is a clear message tastefully delivered in music, lyrics, and images.  Vibrant rhythm and complex orchestrations help drive home the theme that art is the triumph of the individual, rather than industry.  Machine is arguably one of Ysabella Brave’s best efforts.

Pater Noster by Ysabella Brave (November 7, 2007), is a reverential expression of the awe and adoration Ysabella Brave holds for her Creator.  It radiates through every note.  A beautiful score is delivered in stunning simplicity and perfection by a true angel.  It is three minutes, seven seconds of heaven.  There can be no denying that Ysabella Brave is in top form here.  It has to be one of her best.

I’m A Cat! - new original silly song by Ysabella Brave (November 15, 2007), marks an Ysabella Brave foray into jazz.  It is quite pleasingly successful!  The catchy little tune is the type that could have jazz trios and quartets trading eights ’til the cows come home.  A sassy feline vocal delivery adds to the fun.  Ysabella Brave labels the song, “Silly,” but it is so cleverly and masterfully executed it clearly stands as one of her best productions.

Please note that the last three original Ysabella Brave compositions listed above were consecutively released over a twelve day period.  Are we spoiled or what?  I was relatively new to her music when this happened.  My impression at the time was I had died and gone to heaven.  With Pater Noster I was almost certain I had.

One of the prettiest songs ever written . . . anywhere . . . anytime. . . .  All You Have To Be Is You (December 11, 2007), brings out some of the sweetest qualities of Ysabella Brave’s dynamic voice.  The optimistic lyrics encourage individuality and self-assuredness, coaxing the listener to rise to the level of the innate potential bestowed within all of us.  This masterpiece is, hands down, one of the best songs she has written.

This closes out Ysabella Brave’s original work for 2007.  Now I am well aware, Uppsalaanders, you specified her 2008 work in your topic.  My defense?  It is akin to the parable of the three blind men and the elephant — if you are unable to observe the entire pachyderm, you have missed the boat.  That mixed metaphor should have the pundits scratching their heads for decades.  In the meantime, and as originally instructed, I shall advance to 2008.

Man’s inhumanity to man comes under Ysabella Brave’s scrutiny as she pleads for world peace in the Truth (January 27, 2008).  Lilting harp solos accentuate her noble wish that we enhance our deportment by practicing and living by the Golden Rule.  Likewise, we are admonished not to be hypocritical in our thoughts and actions.  All in all it is a most benevolent theme, and undoubtedly one of her best songs.

Who could ask for a nicer Valentines Day present than Daxalusshiliik [Go Ahead & Run] (February 14, 2008)?  Ysabella Brave has performed in English, Latin, Portuguese, Spanish, and with this a sensational performance, in her ancestral indigenous American Apsáalooke/Crow.  Beautifully adorned in traditional garb for the performance, she presents us with a musical tour de force and a deeply spiritual theme.  There is no doubt in what is left of my feeble  mind:  This is one of her best compositions and performances.

Nice I Guess (New Original Song By Ysabella Brave) (March 29, 2008) is highly infectious.  As I have reported in the past, I often awaken in the middle of the night humming this tune.  It is unbelievably catchy.  For all you Dick Clark fans, it has a good beat and it is easy to dance to. . . .  I would be remiss if I did not mention this is also one of the best of Ysabella Brave’s songs.

Eleven days after Nice I Guess, we are treated to a masterful treatise on aesthetics with the release of Princesa Inocente (new original song by Ysabella Brave) (April 9, 2008).  Written to honor her grandfather, Ysabella Brave romps from cloud to cloud, through the heavens, in a daydream.  This to the accompaniment of complex yet soothing percussion and a sweet, ethereal background chorus.  Every frame of this production is an individual work of art.  I nominate Princesa Inocente as one of her best.

We now arrive at The Moon Was Red (an Original Ysabella Brave!) (June 16, 2008) — yet another historic landmark.  I have been trying for the past six months to classify this song.  It is my sad duty to report I have failed.  It is not rock, nor is it classical, jazz, new wave, old wave, surfer music, a march, baroque, impressionist, romantic, folk, klezmer . . . there is no pigeon hole for this one, let alone a pigeon.  Ysabella Brave tore up and threw away the book this time.  There has never been anything like this, period.  It is an undeniably innovative composition that sets a new standard in music.  The best categorical statement I can make regarding the piece is it represents some of her best work.

Goodbye (new Ysabella Brave Orig) (August 14, 2008), is a neo-disco treat.  Let me put it this way.  If you are not out on the floor dancing after listening to ten bars of this music, send for the defibrillator paddles because you must be clinically dead.  It just grabs you and makes you start to sway.  The rest is as easy as falling off a log:  Dance until you drop!  This gem must be included as one of Ysabella Brave’s best.

Undercover (new Ysabella Brave song!) (September 11, 2008), withstands the same visual scrutiny as Princesa Inocente.  Every frame is a viable, free standing artistic composition.  I see this occurring more frequently as Ysabella Brave refines her craft.  What strikes me about this is how rarely we get to see such high quality work today.  Usually, to attain that type of artistic control and finesse, a director needs a surname such as Fellini, Bergman, Kubrick, Cocteau, or Lang.  Our girl makes everything work with a Kodak Easyshare Z760 Zoom Digital Camera (MSRP:  $ 299.95!).  Wow!  Take the challenge.  Watch Undercover and freeze-frame at will.  If you find any bad images, please notify me.  I have been trying without success.  I could go on for quite a while regarding this piece.  I have not even touched upon the musical end.  Do you have an hour or two?  Simply put, Undercover is one of the best videos Ysabella Brave has produced.

As of this writing, the last song composed and produced by Ysabella Brave is Keep Me On Your Mind (October 13, 2008).  It is an acknowledgement of the omnipotence of the Deity, and a soulful plea for loving guidance.  She is in top form here as she demonstrates some of the most extraordinary qualities of her voice.  It is a powerful devotional testament of Ysabella Brave’s faith in God.  It goes without saying, this is incontrovertibly one of her best works.

So there you have it.  Clamchucker’s favorite original Ysabella Brave songs.  The more observant of you may have detected an emerging pattern.  If so, you are correct.  Every last one of them is my favorite.  Here is why.  Ysabella Brave can only produce her music and accompanying videos in one way.  She must immerse herself in her art, then deliver the best she is capable of delivering.  The only way she is capable of doing her work is by fervently doing the best she possibly can.  No holds barred.  Mediocrity does not exist in the Ysabella Brave lexicon.  Who am I to judge one of the above better than another when each and every one of them contains an irretrievable piece of her heart, her mind, her body, and her soul?

There is no substitute for such creative originality.  We are so fortunate to be blessed with such genius in our midst, and one who is as dedicated to us as we to her.  We have so much to be thankful for. . . .

Your pal, 

Clamchucker