SOUNDTRACK: MILCK-Tiny Desk (Home) Concert #19 (May 7, 2020).
I only know of MILCK from NPR. They talked about her “movement-defining anthem ‘Quiet'” which she played in 2017 at the Women’s March. It was powerful and very moving.
Aside from that song, though, I hadn’t heard anything else from her.
And now, here she is at home singing “her most recent singles, ‘Gold’ and ‘If I Ruled The World.’ She also plays an unreleased song, “Double Sided” which she says is her most personal yet.
Many artists are sincere, but MILCK might be the most sincere performer I’ve ever seen. That sincerity comes across as she speaks between songs, but also in her lyrics. I love this couplet from “Gold.”
Don’t mistake my confidence for arrogance / don’t mistake my self-respect for disrespect.
Then she moves on to the brand new song
For this deeply moving Tiny Desk (home) set, recorded at her home in Los Angeles, MILCK performs those two recent singles, along with an unreleased track called “Double Sided,” a gorgeous tearjerker about the necessity of loving one another regardless of our faults and weaknesses. MILCK’s songs of empowerment, unity and understanding have never resonated more.
“Double Sided” is a powerful song and she is definitely moved by the end.
For the final song, “If I Ruled The World” she introduces it by quoting Gloria Steinem.
Gloria Steinem said that dreaming is a form of planning and this song is dreaming and imagining what our world could look like.
The song a capella for the first verses. This is significant because so far every song of hers that I’ve heard has been about the lyrics. But it’s here that you fully realize what a great voice she has.
Having said that, the lyrics are pretty great, too. As I said, they are very sincere. But it’s wonderful that there are serious ideas coupled with more lighthearted ones
Jenny wouldn’t hate her figure when she’s small, or when she’s bigger
She’d be kissin’ on the mirror, and the WiFi would be quicker
Everybody would recycle, fewer cars, and more bicycles
No more fighting for survival, you would hear this song on vinylYou’d see a doctor if you’re sick, Mary, don’t you worry ’bout it
‘Cause there’d be no crazy bill, no more thousand dollar pillsAll the sexist, racist, bandits would be sent off for rehabbin’
And instead of feeding fear, we’d be feeding half the planet, damn itIf I ruled, it would be less about me, more about you
As the blurb says,
I can always count on MILCK for a good cry. … the Los Angeles-based singer digs into and bares the ugliest sides of human nature, but leaves you feeling nothing but gratitude and awe at just how beautiful life really is.
If you’re not moved by these songs, you’re not really listening.
[READ: May 8, 2020] “Why Birds Matter”
At one point I subscribed to the print edition of National Geographic. There are so many magazines that I like but which I never have enough time to give attention to. National Geographic was one of them. Each issue is packed with amazing pictures and fascinating stories that go along with them. And every once in a while I would see a dozen or so yellow spines staring at me, accusingly.
I remember when this issue came in and there was a cover story from Jonathan Franzen, which I was excited to read. I didn’t have the time to read it when it came in. Later, when I remembered that I wanted to read this cover story I honestly couldn’t remember what magazine it came from. I was sure it as Harper’s, but searches proved otherwise.
Finally I did a search on his articles and this came up and that was it!
I found an online copy of the magazine through my library (it has since been published in a book) and finally got around to reading it. So imagine my surprise when it was actually quite short. There’s an accompanying (amazing) photo essay that makes the entire “article” some twenty pages. But his text is barely five picture-heavy pages.
Nevertheless, he makes so many point better than I could and better than I could even try to summarize that I’m quoting extensively because I think it’s that important.
