SOUNDTRACK: SUNNY WAR-Tiny Desk Concert #910 (November 13, 2019).
Sunny War says twice that she’s not going to talk. She saves all of her words for her songs.
Her voice is soft and gentle, but her words are strong.
The first song “If It Wasn’t Broken” features the chorus “how would you know you had a heart if it wasn’t broken?”
Further lyrics in this slow and simple song:
so you lost your baby
so you lost your job
so you lost all faith
in the one you call god.
Dang.
These are words from a young woman who has been homeless, busked on city streets and Venice Beach, left home feeling she was a burden to her distraught mother, had her life complicated by drugs, and yet still found a way to pick up a guitar and bring joy to others.
Her songs aren’t complicated, but they feature some really excellent fingerpicking. “Got No Ride” has a lot of beautiful interludes (including one part where she is fingerpicking and bending a string at the same time).
Sunny War began learning guitar from her uncle at around the age of seven. One of the early songs she learned was The Beatles’ “Blackbird,” an almost prophetic tune with the line, “Take these broken wings and learn to fly.” But it was the fingerpicking that was the attraction for Sunny War. She loved playing guitar that way as opposed to strumming and, as you watch this Tiny Desk, you’ll see what a fluid and remarkable guitar player she’s become.
The song also features some extra bass lines from Aroyn Davis (The first song didn’t really have noticeable bass).
“Love Became Pain” is a lot faster, with some really impressive guitar work. Clearly from the title, though, this isn’t a happy song either. I like the shuffle drums that Paul Allen gets using brushes on the cajón.
The final song, “Shell” opens with the lines:
“Before you rip your girl to shreds / Be sure you really want her dead.”
With such a pretty melody, too!
Much like her name, Sunny War’s music is a wonder of contradictions.
[READ: February 2, 2020] Rust: Volume 4
This book concludes the Rust saga.
Like the first book, there are a ton of pages with no dialogue. This story is wonderfully told with just visuals. And Lepp’s visuals are really amazing–what he accomplishes with such limited color palette is really impressive.
The book starts with a flashback to the war 48 years ago. It’s been awhile since I read the first book but I feel like this intro pages are exactly the same. We see Jet Jones rescue a man by creating a large shield. I’m not sure if there;s some more significance. I’m also not sure if we’re supposed to know who the man is.
But the story quickly jumps back to the Taylor’s farm. The really menacing robots are closing in. Oz has a shotgun in ready. And the engineer is carrying Jet Jones’ limp body away with him.
The robots arrive (why does it amuse me that they open the door) and Oz shoots, which awakens the family.
A terrible battle commences in the house with all of the people getting hurt, but with all of them doing a good job of harming the robots. Jet comes in at the last second and smashes up some of the robots. In the process reveals his mechanical arm. The family is shocked, except for Oz. Roman is furious that Jet lied. (more…)