SOUNDTRACK: HEM-Tiny Desk Concert #306 (September 28, 2013).
Hem i
s one of All Songs Considered‘s earliest discoveries. Back in 2002, we received a beautiful and unique album called Rabbit Songs. It was a homey, fireside kind of record, with a sound that could be called country or Americana, and the arrangements by Dan Messé made it feel quaint and warm. To top it off, there was singer Sally Ellyson, an untrained natural talent with an effortless yet breathtaking voice. Hem has gone on to make five more albums since Rabbit Songs; their latest, Departure and Farewell, finds the group still writing songs that feel as if they’ve always been there.
Bob is quite right about the feel of this band, the drums are actually foot stomping and piano tapping, and that makes the band sound like they are siting around cozy room with friends. And then there’s her voice. There’s nothing specific about it that stands out, and yet it really does. Her voice feels incredibly warm and welcoming, making you want to stop and listen. And perhaps it’s something about the recording which makes everything feel soft (but not muddy) and warm.
And even in the songs themselves, it feels like friends hanging out. During “Walking Past The Graveyard, Not Breathing” they say “go George” as the intro to the bass solo and then “go Heather” for the violin solo. “Tourniquet” has some great lyrics, between the alliteration at the beginning and the great metaphor of the song, I was so taken with the lyrics that I didn’t even realize how pretty the melody was:
Brooklyn, I’m broken — I’m breaking apart
Oh Brooklyn, your bridges are bound up in light —
Every artery’s clogged as you pull the belt tight —
And this tourniquet turns even tighter until
Traffic comes to a standstill
When the song suddenly takes off near the end (but only briefly) it really elevates the song which was already delightful. Introducing the final song, “Seven Angels” she says they are excited to be there, playing in this format. She says the song can be seen as a lullaby–she likes to sing it for her sister. She says she doesn’t write the songs but she can pretend this one is hers.
It’s hard to imagine this band playing a venue much larger than this one–they seems right at home in a small space.
[READ: July 31, 2016] Stop Forgetting to Remember
This is a fascinating story about the comics artist Walter Kurtz. I know very little about Peter Kuper, but I gather that this is sort of his life but written as an autobiography of somebody else. (For instance, Kurtz was born on the same day as Kuper).
The back cover blurb also states how daring it was for Kurtz to write all of this –showing the embarrassing details, etc.: “My spouse would have killed me!”
This book is a collection of “stories” (not sure if they were ever published separately) that are joined by the narrative thread of Kurtz telling us about his life. And the “occasion” for this reflection is the pending birth of his first child. He is freaking out a bit–when he was young he never wanted kids, and then maybe he was cool with it, but recently he’s become terrified again. He’s particularly afraid because he’s engaged with the world and he sees that as each month goes by, things get worse: AIDS, global warming, overpopulation, famine, wars (and that’s just 1996). (more…)
SOUNDTRACK: THE REPLACEMENTS-Tim (1985).
Many people consider this to be the best Replacements album. It features one of their best songs “Bastards of Young” (which has one of the best anti-videos ever created 
to like it all that much. (Although I think his original characters are all pretty cool–the Keep On Truckin’ guy, of course).