COOLKIDLEYLA
Music
My digital footprint is littered with videos of my original music at various stages of development and ability. On Vimeo, you'll find two original piano compositions from 2012 that are greatly lacking in form and theory. On other parts of the internet, you'll find videos of songs I performed throughout middle and high school. My pride for all these performances vary, but they all represent a version of my talent and growth, all for which I am grateful.
Here, on this page, you will find snippets of songs I've posted recently on my Instagram (@coolkidleyla surprise surprise). I'm also in the process of recording and releasing some older works of mine. So, more to come soon...
Airport Beer
The first few lines of this song came to me randomly in the shower one afternoon as I ruminated on feelings I was having about a friend. I started picturing a crazy hypothetical of this person chasing their past through an airport terminal, in a rom-com-esque display of love and adoration. The rest of the song indulges in a similar hypothetical of what it means to love someone who loves someone else more than they love you.
That's What My Mother Tells Me
When I moved into my first apartment, five of my friends helped me carry my furniture up two flights of stairs. The day left me feeling loved and also invincible. It turns out that feeling invincible is dangerous—two hours later I badly fucked up the side of my car while pulling out of my garage spot with too much confidence. The one good thing to come out of my blunder is this song. While sitting in my new apartment, I started reflecting on how unkind I was feeling and how a younger me would feel about that.
Sorry State
When I was eighteen years old, I waited an hour for a very bad first date. In my delusion, I was convinced that if the date went well, it would be a funny story to tell our future kids. Unsurprisingly, men who show up an hour late to a first date are unpleasant partners. He didn't pay for my $4 sushi, and then he tried to steal my sunglasses. The next year, I discovered I'd accidentally moved right next door to him, and I had to pass him on my walk to class most mornings.
Lost in Time
Surprise! Here's a gift for making it to the end of this page. Leyla Fern King, age 9, 2012. I have no recollection of what inspired this song, but I do remember sitting down to write my own sheet music. Five crooked ledger lines next to a scribbled swirl in the vague shape of a treble clef.