naomiland

exciting news and gardening

what a way to start 2008.
i'm going back into the studio to record new songs.
i have spent the last 2 weeks locked in my room, writing more than ever before.
and i have written my best songs so far.

2007 was a crazy year and things happened really fast and i'm going to share that story with you guys over the next week or so...catch you up on everything that happened and didn't happen and give you some insight into the future. well, my future, that is.

basically, i couldn't be happier with the way things are going.

i have an entire album's worth of new songs.  my label is sending 4 songs to 3 different producers and we'll go from there. i have really searched my soul for these songs, as goofy as that sounds! for me, it's been many months of deep confusion and sadness and feeling removed from my music. things happened so fast from the time i was recording my videos on the youtube virtual summer tour  - suddenly there was a rush to release my album, i was playing at live earth in london, and no one really expected any of this. i think everyone i work with was caught a bit by surprise. and me, most of all.

but i'm sure i'll talk more about that in another blog.

last month a friend of mine said to me "you need to get back to the garden."
at the time, i was about to head out to the middle of the desert in mexico, which seemed like the perfect place to look for answers.  i really took his words to heart. thought about what that meant to me, personally, and also to my music, my career, my place in the world. it's so easy to get caught up in a whirlwind and lose yourself sometimes.

at which point i think it's time to stop everything and take an honest look around. change the things which do not feel right. that is what i am doing. and luckily i have people who believe in me enough to make those changes alongside me.

the most important thing i have learned in the past year is that i always need to trust my own instincts and intuition. not those of the people around me. it does not matter who has more experience in any given area. if it does not feel right, then i need to listen to that. only i know what is right for me. such a difficult lesson to learn sometimes. i think we are constantly doubting ourselves. i know i am. not anymore, though. what an amazing gift to start out this new year with a newfound confidence and belief in myself and my intuition. i have not been wrong yet. the only decisions i regret in my life are the decisions i made when ignoring my own intuition and trusting other people.

i cannot wait to record these songs.
and i'll be blogging a lot during this process.
will keep you guys posted and probably post some new music soon.
and hopefully play some live shows very very soon.
lots of love
terra

a good thing to read

I support Barack Obama because he doesn't seek to perfect the politics of Swiftboating -- he seeks to end it.

This is personal for me, and for a whole lot of Americans who lived through the 2004 election.

As a veteran, it disgusts me that the Swift Boats we loved while we were in uniform on the Mekong Delta have been rendered, in Karl Rove's twisted politics, an ugly verb meaning to lie about someone's character just to win an election. But as someone who cares about winning this election and changing the country I love, I know it's not enough to complain about a past we can't change when our challenge is to win the future -- which is why we must stop the Swiftboating, stop the push-polling, stop the front groups, and stop the email chain smears.

The truth matters, but how you fight the lies matters even more. We must be determined never again to lose any election to a lie.

This year, the attacks are already starting. Some of you may have heard about the disgusting lies about Barack Obama that are being circulated by email. These attacks smear Barack's Christian faith and deep patriotism, and they distort his record of more than two decades of public service. They are nothing short of "Swiftboat" style anonymous attacks.

These are the same tactics the right has used again and again, and as we've learned, these attacks, no matter how bogus, can spread and take root if they go unchecked.

But not this time -- we're fighting back.

And when I say "we," I mean that literally. I know Barack is committed to fighting every smear every time. He'll fight hard and stand up for the truth. But he can't do it alone.

We need you to email the truth to your address books. Print it out and post it at work. Talk to your neighbors. Call your local radio station. Write a letter to the editor. If lies can be spread virally, let's prove to the cynics that the truth can be every bit as persuasive as it is powerful.

The Obama campaign has created a place where you can find the truth you'll need to push back on these smears and a way to spread the truth to all of your address book.

Take action here:

http://my.barackobama.com/factcheckaction

So when your inbox fills up with trash and the emails of smear and fear, find the facts, and help defeat the lies.

Barack Obama is committed to bringing our country together to meet the challenges we face, but he knows that power gives up nothing without a struggle -- and to win the chance to change America, we must first defeat the hateful tactics that have been used to tear us apart for too long.

With your help, we can turn the page on an era of small, divisive politics -- but only if next time you hear these attacks on Barack, you take action immediately:

http://my.barackobama.com/factcheckaction

The fight is just heating up -- we won't let them steal this election with lies and distortions.

Thank you,

John Kerry

whoa.....CREEPY!!!

scientology scares me.
but i'm not sure if it scares me as much as THIS.

i think...

...i just wrote the best song i've ever written.

there - i said it. well, i wrote it.
i am very happy right now.
can't really explain what it feels like.
maybe if i had given birth to a human it would feel something like this.
instead i give birth to songs. less physical pain, or so i'm told, though the emotional component can do a number on you.

ah.......it's nice. this feeling. this is what it's all about. expression. in its truest form. newly born.
all the rest is just for fun. and sometimes not fun at all.

xoxoxox

one big linked up happy online world

i spent a whole lotta time online yesterday, creating more web pages. just in case you guys didn't feel that i had a strong enough presence online. in case youtube, myspace, bebo, facebook and my official website and blog were not enough.

here is a list of all the terra naomi sites and information:

myspace

youtube
facebook
bebo
iLike
virb
imeem
buzznet
official website

i feel like my mom when she sends that yearly updated emergency contact list for all of my family members.
chances are, if i'm not writing music or having some other sort of life, i'll be on one of the above websites.
tending to this little garden.

xo
terra

ah, winter in london....

and all i can think of is "the vomiting virus."
ew.
see, i have this little phobia which definitely includes "sudden projectile vomiting," either engaging in the act or witnessing.

i will admit to some minor hesitation when i read the news at the airport in new york. thought about hanging back in the states, waiting for vomit season to pass.

but here i am. about to leave the house for the first time since i returned two nights ago, and walk to tesco for some much needed groceries. imagining a scene from some b-movie zombie film.

"projectile zombies on the streets of london"
"night of the flying barf"
"vomitworld"
"28 days of vomit"

uggghhhhh.
i'm sure it's not that bad. i'm sure there will be no more than the usual amount of vomit on the streets.

and in other news, happy new year!!
i realize i've been away for a while. needed some time to think and clear my head and breathe and relax. get inspired. sort out my thoughts. (no, this doesn't mean i'm breaking up with you.)
spent some much needed time with my family in new york and then a few weeks in mexico. lots of time in the desert. if i ever disappear for a long long time, you might check for me there. riding a horse across some endless expanse of mountains and sand and cacti. you probably won't find me, of course, as the desert in mexico is pretty massive. but i thought i'd give you that little bit of info.

i love mexico. it is my new favorite country. i had some of the most inspiring experiences of my life. did an impromptu mini-concert for a group of 10 year old girls from saltillo. sat and talked to them, played some songs - it was awesome and they inspired me more than anything has in a long time. rode horses through the desert, climbed the highest mountain i've ever climbed (elevation was over 9000 ft.), spent time with some magical people, found my new favorite town on earth, which will remain nameless, ate so much of the tastiest food ever, drank the best beer (bohemia!!!), practiced my spanish with only a few majorly embarrassing mistakes, met some of the most beautiful people ever. and i can't wait to go back.

and now it's back to work.
i'm writing and writing. lots of new songs. we're going into the studio soon - i don't know when, but i'll let you know as soon as i find anything out. i'm so excited for this year. feel like i will create my best songs yet, express myself in a way that is beyond anything i have done before, and become more of the artist i am becoming.

above all, i will be true to myself, always and fearlessly. this is perhaps the biggest struggle i have faced in the last year. with all sorts of information coming from all sorts of people, all the time, it is difficult to remain centered. i know so much more now, and i am ready to move forward.

wishing everyone a most inspired year, full of love, health, happiness, and strength.
xo
terra