It’s been another couple weeks (I think?) — rather tumultuous weeks, actually — and that has given a little more variety to the stay-at-home stasis. As the coronavirus continues to rage (we doubled the confirmed case count again this week — from 1M to 2M, this time — and did so in just 45 days... But sure, most places are good to open back up — it’s summer! I’m sure the heat will take care of it…) it’s been inspiring to see the global protests demanding police reform and an end to systemic racism. (Or at least a non-half-assed attempt to significantly fix key pieces if we’re not able to sustain our focus/effort/will long enough to fully eradicate it — it’s summer!)
Seeing thousands of folks around the globe — as well as plenty of places you wouldn’t expect in our country (Cedar Rapids?! Boise?! Rural West Virginia?!) — taking to the streets to demand change has been pretty amazing, and it restored some hope in me for my fellow citizens. (Hope that had previously been eradicated as people packed into bars, beaches, and other spaces the past few weeks as states began to reopen. Oh and that whole systemic racism thing…)
Another restorative piece has been my diving into John Prine’s songs, which was sparked by his unfortunate passing early on from the virus and has continued unabated in the months since. I’d always known about him — knew he was from back home and always seemed to have a smile on his face whenever I saw him (it’s how we all are, coming from the greatest place on earth…) — but never really got too into his music for whatever reason. It’ll be one of the things I’m most thankful for once this pandemic has passed, though, that I finally had the time/reason to do so, as he’s been a frequent soundtrack to my mornings on the porch — the cruel reality being it took his passing to make it happen.
There was a really wonderful tribute to him last night — one of many the past few months — put together by his wife and family. It had the usual mix of covers of Prine’s biggest songs by some of his biggest fans (Dan Auerbach, Jason Isbell, Sturgill Simpson, Reba McEntire — even Kevin Bacon showed up, proving yet again he is connected to literally everyone on the planet), along with stories told by friends (including Bill Murray) and old footage and interviews of John. It was pretty great — funny, moving, sad, and happy. Just like Prine’s songs.
It’s worth a watch/listen if you’ve got time — if only to get to know more about a really good songwriter (and seemingly genuinely good guy) who’s sadly no longer with us. There’s some really great stuff in there… In conjunction with the tribute, his wife/label released the last song he recorded, the lovely “I Remember Everything.” As always in these situations, the song takes on an extra gravity knowing what comes next, but would have been moving even if Prine was still with us. Just one more piece of evidence regarding his immense talent. Give it a listen here (and really — listen to Prine. You’ll be thankful you did…):
It’s been pretty quiet otherwise in the midst of all the tumult — lots of the livestreams have quieted, and even the dependable daily stalwart Tweedy Show has gone dark for large chunks of time. (Partly in solidarity with the protests, partly because he’s apparently writing another book.) Two minor items of note that popped up are the lead track from the upcoming Jason Molina album and an unreleased song from Beach Fossils that I thought were worth sharing.
First the upcoming album from another departed talent, this one from Jason Molina, better known (at least to some) as the man behind Songs: Ohia, the strangely named (but lovely sounding) act he helmed for fifteen years and almost as many albums. (Start with The Lioness if you’re looking to jump in.) It’s an entire solo album, recorded when he was living in London in the late-2000s and subsequently shelved for some reason. Assuming it’s as good as the lead single, that will be a good thing for us. Check out “Shadow Answers the Wall” here:
Next comes the aforementioned Fossils song, an unreleased track from the time of their excellent self-titled debut, which somehow is already 10 years old and getting an anniversary reissue this month. The track is in line with the rest of the band’s sound — shimmery, soft, and super soothing — a recipe in high demand these days. Glad we’ve got another entry to bliss out to while we wait for a new album. Check out “Time” here:
Speaking of calming, chill affairs, two other albums I’ve been listening to on repeat are the latest from Muzz and Mt Joy, as they both serve heaping helpings of that coveted recipe. We’ve highlighted a few tracks for the former here before — it’s Interpol frontman Paul Banks’ new side project with former Walkmen drummer Matt Barrick, to give a quick reminder– and it’s a pretty great little album. Really pretty melodies, suuuuuuper chill vibe, which as I mentioned goes down reaaaaaaaal easy these days. “Patchouli” is a current fave — give it a spin here:
As for Mt Joy, their new album is also pretty fantastic, one that evokes the emotion of their name many times over on its thirteen tracks. I’d first discovered these guys back at Lolla a few years ago and immediately fell for their jubilant, full-throated songs, which sounded perfect in the early day sunshine. Their 2018 debut was really good (the self-titled Mt Joy), but somehow I appear to have never written about these guys before. Thankfully the arrival of the new album is causing me to correct that, as Rearrange Us is similarly packed with pretty, uplifting songs.
One of my initial faves is this one, “Witness,” which flashes some unexpected fury (“shut off that stupid song, I should cut out your tongue”) before breaking into a beautiful, swooning refrain. It shows some range from the band, which could easily have kept singing feel-good anthems in the summer sun. Instead, this album shows them tackling heavier subjects (infidelity, death, etc — the previous lyric coming after walking in on an unfaithful spouse, for instance) while maintaining their lovely melodies and optimistic spirit. It’s a really good listen — I suspect it, and Muzz, will end up here at the end of the year, based on initial listens — but in the meantime enjoy this one here:
That’s it for now, amici — stay safe/strong… –BS