Songs of the Week #20- Editors Pick
“recorded by the leader of a murderous commune”
STEPHEN:
"The Sing" -- Bill Callahan
I know heat expands, but look, going outside when it's really cold somehow makes the world feel larger, everything crisped and scrunched up so there's this vast space around you, the way that heat will make the air press down upon you so everything feels too close. Of course, when it's super cold outside, and then you find yourself inside, the heat just wraps around you quicker than you can adjust to, and you just sort of sink inside a place that no longer feels as large as it used to, because being outside in a frostbitten world seemed to stretch forever. "The Sing" is like that, drifting in and out of rooms and temperatures. Collapse and expand. Warm and cold. After you hear it, everything is just the opposite of what you expect, and yet it all makes total sense.
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ROY:
"Elephant" -- Jason Isbell
Maybe the best storytellers aren't Southerners (it will be hard to convince me otherwise, but I'm willing to debate it with you), but by far, they sound the best doing it. The only thing I'd wish for when I die is a chorus of Southern voices singing me to sleep; and despite my loyalty to my former home of Georgia, I'd want those voices to have that sweet Alabama sound. Jason Isbell melts words in the soul of his throat. He could be singing nonsense and I'd want more, but he just so happens to be singing some of the best songcraft to come out of anywhere, let alone the American South. "Elephant" is the kind of regular-folks character sketch that could easily get hammy and sentimental (e.g. every other song on Top 40 Country radio for the last 20 years). Instead, it's the perfect blend of familiar blue-collar details and sincere but muted emotion. On top of that, it manages to elegantly address the realities of watching a friend die alone from cancer. Maybe the best storytellers aren't Southerners, but they're telling the stories I want to hear.
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JOHN:
"Ol' 55" -- Tom Waits
Sometimes I simply need genius running through my veins to remind myself I am alive.
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REYNA:
“Look at Your Game, Girl” -- Charles Manson
I don't care that this song was written and recorded by the leader of a murderous commune, and appears on an album which was sold in order to fund the defense during his trial. It's a good song. He has a nice voice. Try not to think about the X (which later became a swastika) carved into his forehead, or the disturbing emptiness in his pitch-dark eyes. Just sit back, close your eyes, and listen to that boy croon. I promise all of your fear will fall away.
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SHENYAH:
"Darkness" -- Kalle Mattson
This song is a pre-release (7") to his upcoming 2014 album, Someday, The Moon Will Be Gold. Where has this beautiful voice and trumpet been all of my life? I feel like the music of this Ontario singer/songwriter is a gem. Music to fall apart to, music to collect to...with my wood-burning stove, chamomile tea, and his music, I'm pretty fucking content!
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