Track Listing from the Session
"This Year" by The Mountain Goats (Damon F.)
"Can't Take It With You When You Go" (Live @Sugarshack Sessions) by Mike Love (Dan S.)
"Happy Little Thoughts" (featuring Vic Mensa) by Freedom Fry (Jason S.)
"Tqm" (feat. Elsa Y Elmar & Ximena Sarinana) by Little Jesus (Johnie F.)
"F.C.P.R.E.M.I.X." by The Fall of Troy (Matt K.)
"Dear God 2.0" (feat. Monsters of Folk) by The Roots (Damon F.)
"Is It Okay If I Call You Mine?" by Paul Mccrane (Dan S.)
"Bottles&Cans" by Rehab (Jason S.)
Participants
Damon F.
Dan S.
Jason S.
Johnie F.
Matt K.
Spotify Playlist
Apple Playlist
Session Summary
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damon_ferrara
I needed this session. It became quite clear when I got tearful listening to the first song shared. At the time, I really didn’t know how to make it through and this song captured it for me. Not only the chorus, “I am gonna make it, through this year, if it kills me…” but the other pictures painted – of getting in the car and flooring the gas, the rumble of the engine….a burst of freedom perhaps. I remember speaking to the group about needing love and nurturance that night. Not only did my song choices illustrate that but I received love and support from the others in the session.
I first came across The Mountain Goats and the song “This Year” (on the album, The Sunset Tree) sometime in the middle of the 2000s when I was really digging into the indie rock scene. I remember being struck by the detailed and autobiographical story telling nature of lead singer and driving force, John Darnielle. I think life is amazing, but I also think it can be challenging. II think a lot of people feel similarly. John Darnielle’s lyrics tells stories in his songs that I relate to. While I didn’t stay up on The Mountain Goats over the last dozen years or so, they’ve released several well received albums and cemented their (his) status as indie rock icons.
“This Year” had one meaning to be as a single guy struggling in his mid 20s. It took on a renewed meaning as a married middle aged guy with two kids (a lot to be thankful for) dealing, like the rest of the world, with the coronavirus pandemic. This song and the repeated ‘I am going to make it through this year if it kills me” might as well be the rallying cry for 2020.
Jim James (My Morning Jacket) and Conor Oberst (Bright Eyes) are two of my favorite musicians. Jim James, Conor Oberst, Mike Mogis, Will Johnson, and M. Ward formed an indie rock supergroup called Monsters of Folk. They released an excellent self titled album in 2009. The album included a song called “Dear God” which I considered to be a brilliant and tasteful meditation on the unsolvable mystery of God. I have a surface level appreciation of The Roots music, but/and I know how well regarded they are. In 2010, The Roots released “Dear God 2.0” The song features rap verses asks the same questions of God, but from an urban, minority perspective much different than my own. And includes the same chorus sung by jim James otherworldly voice…
“Dear God, I’m trying hard to reach you. Dear God, I see your face in all I do. Sometimes it’s so hard to believe it.”
A beautiful, beautiful song addressing a universally personal exploration of the nature of God.