Track Listing from the Session
"Good Fortune" by PJ Harvey (Erika B.)
"Turn Out The Lights" by Julien Baker (Damon F.)
"Diamonds And Rust) by Joan Baez (Christine G.)
"Me and Eddie Vedder" by Rugburns (Erika B.)
"The Backseat" by The Gaslight Anthem (Damon F.)
"The Right Thing" by James Supercave (Christine G.)
"Here Comes Your Man" by Pixies (Erika B.)
"It's Called: Freefall" by Rainbow Kitten Surprise (Damon F.)
"Mexican Dogs" by Cold War Kids (Christine G.)
Participants
Erika B.
Damon F.
Christine G.
Spotify Playlist
Apple Playlist
Session Summary
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Julien Baker is one of the best female singer/songwriters in the indie scene today. She has an otherworldly voice that is equally capable of expressing vulnerability as it is conveying strength. Her lyrics are heartfelt and authentic. I chose the song “Turn Out The Lights” off the album of the same title. The song is about how difficult it can be to be alone with ourselves and our thoughts. I have spend a lot of time with this song. Her voice just gets more and more powerful as the song goes on. It gives me the chills.
‘And I can’t tell the difference when I’m all alone. Is it real or a dream, which is worse. Can you help me? I just wanted to go to sleep. But when I turn out the lights, there’s no one left between myself and me.’
I love the Gaslight Anthem. And I admit that sharing the same home state of New Jersey has something to do with my extreme fandom. I’d describe their style as Bruce Springsteen meets meets punk. Their music takes me back to my days growing up in New Jersey and specifically my teenage and early adult years driving down to the New Jersey shore with my friends. If there were a soundtrack song to my teenage summer nights it would be “Backseats”.
‘But you know the summer always brought in that wild and reckless breeze. And in the backseats we just tried to find some room for our knees. And in the backseats we just tried to find some room to breath.’
A good friend introduced me to Rainbow Kitten Surprise earlier this year. Their sound blends folk, indie rock, and hip hop and their lyrics are both playful and full of insight. I chose the song “It’s Called: Freefall” of the album How To: Friend, Love, Freefall. The song has an infectious groove that has me bobbing my head throughout and attempting to sing along to the witty lyrics. If you are looking for a unique new sound, give this album a go, it’s a treat from start to finish.
‘Scratch, kick, let gravity win like Fuck this, let gravity win like you could leave it all behind- even the devil needs time alone sometimes. You could let it all go. You could let it all go. It’s called: Freefall.’
In college I studied a poem called ‘What He Thought’ by Heather McHugh. I was taking a class on poetry, I did not like poetry, I did not understand what made poetry important. There’s a line at the end that says “poetry is what he thought, but did not say”, ‘he’ being Giordano Bruno, a historical figure who dies for heresay, in anguish, and prevented from speaking https://poets.org/poem/what-he-thought It was an ‘aha’ moment for me—good poetry is about the images you see and the feelings you feel, without words. Same goes for art and music. Whether it’s the sounds or the colors or the material used to express an idea or a feeling or a story, good art succeeds by doing this implicitly. I really like Joan Baez’s “Diamonds and Rust” for the clarity and brilliance in which she evokes the story of a painful relationship and a particular era in American history. It’s so much more than a song, it’s an experience, and one that anyone who has had their heart broken can relate to. Similarly, I love the Cold War Kids’s “Mexican Dogs” because it too tells a story that I can see while I’m listening. There’s a moment near the end where the lead singer’s voice breaks a little, and I love that they left it in (so much of music is airbrushed these days) because it communicates so much more feeling that the words do by themselves. And finally, James Supercave’s “The Right Thing.” Although this song’s lyrics aren’t telling a story per se, there’s a buildup of sound and a piling-on of instruments by the end that makes you just want to turn the volume way up and get lost in the sound. It just feels good to listen. These are songs I love for the stories I can see and the feelings I feel in between the words and notes, implicitly!