River's Radio 9/5/2022: Labor Day

my life ain't back to normal yet, classes start tomorrow. But heyo. Guess what. Gonna. Heckmin. Make. Three song. Post. Because. I'm tired.

If Only, from Disney's Descendants.

Too romantic for its own good. This is from Descendants. It should not be this good. But it is. So y'know what, I give up. This song is fun, it's perfect, and I really enjoy it. Especially out of context. It hits so much differently. And it's just good. Go feel like a little kid and listen to some Disney Channel Movie music.

Pushing Me Away, by Linkin Park.

*headbangs aggressively* this was my teenage angst phase and I appreciate it to this day. Also. This is just a fun, angst-filled song. It's very. Teenage and no one understands me like this song. Vibe. And sometimes I think that's okay. Sometimes it's okay to remember how at age 15 you thought that you were the only person in the world who thought music like this was cool. And sometimes it's okay to smile remembering who you used to be, too.

Mother Of God, by Patty Griffin.

My mom used to listen to this song. A lot. And now, to me, it just sounds like home. Maybe it's just a song that sounds like home, like leaning your head against the glass of the window, watching gray clouds go back and forth. I always wanted to be that person who stares at the picture, and sits with her cup of coffee, and talks with the Mother of God. I've always wanted to have a place to do that and the strength to get up in the morning. I've never had it, yet. Never had a worn wood table. Never had a picture to stare at. Never had a kitchen. I want to. Someday. I wonder if that's the day the house will start feeling like home. At any rate, I'm not there, yet. And, anyways. I'm more of a tea person, really.

I love when my fandom worlds collide... 🤓 Like Robert, Cillian Murphy also is a fan of Low, the band.

Didn't know that Mimi Parker passed away... RIP. Their music was lovely.

Bonus: my Robert people may know that he covered some of Low's songs with Patty Griffin and the more recent Band of Joy:

She pulled out an album styled in black and white. On the cover stood a person dressed in a rumpled white button-down shirt, black suit jacket tossed over the shoulder, and what looked like a skinny black necktie. I couldn't tell if this person was a man or a woman. Square jaw, direct gaze, dark mess of unbrushed hair. I thought, for a second, it might be Sylvia, but this was Patti Smith. I felt something inside me flicker and throb, a sudden hunger to hear everything she had to say. On the turntable, Horses crackled to life. Jesus died for somebody's sins, but not mine. Sylvia lit a joint and handed it to me. I took a hit, looking up at dying Jesus and thinking about my sins. Did it count as a sin when I humped the floor with Jules' leg on mine? Did it count right then as I thought of kissing Sylvia, enticed by the softness of her plush lower lip? We sat on the rug and listened while Patti sang about doing it with another woman, a sweet young thing in a pretty red dress, leaning on a parking meter. Her name is G-L-O-R-I-A. I knew that girl. She'd been around. She took Van Morrison first. Went into his room around midnight to make him feel alright. Then she visited Jim Morrison. Wrapped her body around his and did it hard and fast. In both versions, the man was seduced, passively following. Not so with Patti. More man than the men, she's bored and proud, moving in her own atmosphere. She sees Gloria and puts a spell on her. "I make her mine," she screams, the words pushed through the wood-chipper of her throat, outstripping any boy who sang this song before or would dare to sing it since. "Play it again," I said, and Sylvia did. And again. The song killed me, in the best way. It wasn't the weed. It wasn't the magic brain chemicals of youth. It was that song. When I listen to it today, it still kills me. At the time, however, it was more than a killer song. It was a blast of dynamite, cracking open stone. Listening to that song and being with Sylvia, I felt like Alice tumbled through the rabbit hole into a new dimension, one in which another life was possible. This is why the leaders of small places are afraid of music and books. And queers. They offer another way. But they don't convert. They awaken. Sending a signal to dormant cells, they rouse what's already there. "It's time," they say. "Wake up."

—Griffin Hansbury, from Some Strange Music Draws Me In (W.W. Norton & Company, 2024)

Thanks for tagging me @jadedloverart!

10 songs from my on-repeat playlist. (I don’t use Spotify, so I’m winging this. These are songs I know I listened to repeatedly while I wrote or read or just got stuck on a thought. There’s a LOT of Indigo Girls because they are the soundtrack of my life.)

Cello Suite No. 1 in G Major - J.S. Bach, performed by Yo Yo Ma (This is entirely @ekingston’s fault. See this fic chapter for reasons. 😏)

We Get To Feel it All - Indigo Girls

You and Me On The Rock - Brandi Carlile

Impossible Girl (Clara’s Theme) - Meridian Studio Orchestra

Honey on My Grave - Red Molly

Heavenly Day - Patty Griffin (I love that she wrote this about her dog!)

Mystery - Indigo Girls

The Kiss That Counted - Catie Curtis

Starkville - Indigo Girls

After All - Dar Williams

4 tags (if you want to play too): @badcures @livesvicariouslythroughfiction @fulcrum-art-fox @sssammich

This, to me, is a Yu Shisan song.

Lyrics:

Ain't no talkin' to this man Ain't no pretty other side Ain't no way to understand the stupid words of pride It would take an acrobat and I already tried all that So I'm gonna let him fly

Things can move at such a pace The second hand just waved goodbye And though the light has left his face But you can't recall just where or why So there was really nothing to it I just went and cut right through it I said, I'm gonna let him fly

There's no mercy in a live wire No rest at all in freedom Of the choices we are given It's no choice at all The proof is in the fire You touch before it moves away But you must always know how long to stay and when to go

And there ain't no talkin' to this man He's been tryna tell me so Took awhile to understand The beauty of just letting go 'Cause it would take an acrobat and I already tried all that

I'm gonna let him fly I'm gonna let him fly, fly, oh I'm gonna let him fly, fly, oh I'm gonna let him fly

May you dream you are dreaming in a warm, soft bed And may the voices inside you that fill you with dread Make the sounds of thousands of angels instead Tonight where you might be laying your head

(New West Records)

Patty Griffin & Neko Case were dream co-headliners, and they didn't disappoint. Friday night’s show was perfect. 💖💖

I don't use spotify and my wrapped would be trash because I listen to a lot of lofi mixes when I'm working/writing/want to chill.

But the favorite artist I started listening to this year is Patty Griffin. Just some nice simple folk/americana that's fun to sing along to.

Patty Griffin

Happy birthday, Patricia Jean Griffin!

Patty Griffin & Parker Millsap Live Show Review: 1/27, Old Town School of Folk Music, Chicago

Patty Griffin

BY JORDAN MAINZER

Patty Griffin’s songs are true folk songs, in the sense that their studio arrangements can be pared down to befit any number of instruments, and that their stories are ever-present. Performing Friday night at the Old Town School of Folk Music, Griffin told these stories, sometimes their context, too, other times letting the words do the talking. Accompanied by virtuosic guitarist David Pulkingham (whose flamenco licks on set opener “Mama’s Worried” recaptured the magic of hearing it for the first time) and percussionist Michael Longoria, Griffin rejected the pattern of touring off of an album release cycle and delivered a set of her most beloved back catalog highlights. Sure, a concert based off of songs from Tape, last year’s self-described “home recordings & rarities” collection, would have been a tad esoteric. But that Griffin chose to mostly play the heavy hitters from Children Running Through, Servant of Love, and 2019′s self-titled LP (perhaps her best) made Friday night’s set one for the ages.

Griffin and David Pulkingham

A song like “250,000 Miles” encapsulated what Griffin and her band did best. Introducing it as being inspired by a story of immigrants moving from Nepal to Dubai to build skyscrapers, Griffin’s framing and performance shone universal themes of homesickness and alienation atop shaky, dual percussion to match the song’s nerves. The PJ Harvey-esque blues stomp of “Flaming Red”, Griffin on acoustic, Pulkingham on blistering electric, Longoria on thumping snares, mirrored the physical strength of the circumstances under which the song was written, Griffin training for a marathon, wanting to get in shape after snatching a record deal. She deftly balanced humor and terror on “Coins”, one of the “weirder” songs she left off of setlists when opening for The Chicks last summer. Inspired by her experience waiting on creepy, cheap Harvard Business School bros at a Pizzeria Uno, the song was funny until it wasn’t; the descriptions of a “young man with all the answers” leaning into the side of himself “hungry for power” foreshadowed the dire consequences of toxic masculinity we witness every day.

Almost eerie in its prescience was “The Wheel”, particularly in its references to Eric Garner. “Here’s a song about a man / About a man I never met / Here’s a song about a man / About a man I can’t forget,” sung Griffin. “Can’t” carried dual meaning: she’s unable to forget the tragedy of his murder, and she’s also not allowing herself to forget his story because similar ones keep happening. A few hours prior to the start of the show, the body cam footage of Tyre Nichols’ murder at the hands of the Memphis police was released. That Griffin performed “The Wheel” on Friday was, in all likelihood, coincidental, but it nonetheless reminded the crowd of the power of music to make us remember.

Parker MIllsap

Opening for Griffin was Parker Millsap in a solo acoustic set, which allowed him to continue his transformation from boisterous, clean-cut pop rocker to bearded, beanie-laden singer-songwriter. It wasn’t just his look: Millsap performed mostly new songs from an album coming out later this year, and even the older songs he did sing, like “Your Water” and “It Was You”, transformed into languid blues ditties. “Front Porchin’”, Millsap’s “Keep on Chooglin’”, was an undeterred ode to weed haze and chillin’ out, while “Before the Curtain Closes” allowed him to show off his always impressive vocal chops, increasingly sounding like a mix of Roy Orbison, Jeff Buckley, and Hamilton Leithauser. At one point during his set, Millsap joked, “I should apologize for tuning so much, but if there’s any place to put on a capo and tune, it’s here.” Judging by the new songs, he’ll be tuning a lot more in the near future.

I'll fly over a rainbow I'll be sun kissed Sail around the planet Venus And send a long letter Way back home That says all that I know All that I know is the blue sky High in the blue sky

🎶🎶🎶

Song Lyrics That Remind Me of Arthur Morgan

Nobody asked for this, but I listen to A LOT of music, and this boah is constantly on my mind 24/7. So I thought I'd share some lyrics that remind me of him and his relationships <3

━━━━━༻❁༺━━━━━

Hard Believer - First Aid Kit

"So you ask for my opinion. Well, what is there to say? To be honest and just foolish, won't make you wanna stay. You've got to go on and get moving. And I can't do that for you. Got so many plans and so much you wanna do. Love is tough, time is rough on me."

To a Poet - First Aid Kit (Mary & Arthur)

"You said, 'Don't give me nothing you don't wanna lose.' I said, 'Darlin' I'll give you everything I got, if you want them to choose.' Though unwillingly I left and it was so, so hard to do. Now I miss you more than I can take and I will surely break. And every morning that I wake, God, it is the same."

Afraid of Heights - Boygenius (Dutch & Arthur)

"I know I fucked up when I told you I'm afraid of heights. It made you wanna test my courage. You made me climb a cliff at night. You wanted me to jump and I declined. You called me a coward, I replied, I don't wanna live forever, but I don't wanna die tonight."

My Silver Lining - First Aid Kit

"I don't know if I'm scared of dyin', but I'm scared of living too fast, too slow. Regret, remorse, hold on. Oh no I've gotta go. There's no starting over, no new beginnings, time races on. You've just gotta keep on keeping on."

Sun Bleached Flies - Ethel Cain

"If they strike once, then you hit 'em twice as hard. But in the end, if I bend under the weight that they gave me, Then this heart would break and fall twice as far. We all know how it goes, the more it hurts, the less it shows. But I still feel like they all know, and that's why I could never go back home."

Saviour - George Ezra (Mary & Arthur)

"Time was young and you were mine. Take me back to that midnight moon. Cradle me, at that midnight moon. All of me is all for you, and what I got to give is not enough. It's a dark night. Being your own savior, is it saving you?"

Cowboy, Gangster, Politician - Goldie Boutilier (Mary & Arthur)

"We said goodbye, but it never ends. 'Cause you can't get away from a woman who loves you. 'Cause you can't run away from feelings that haunt you. No, you can't separate a fire from a flame that already burns. Every saints a sinner, we all have our past. Forever is a fiction, nothing lasts."

Let Him Fly - Patty Griffin (Mary Gillis-Linton)

"Ain't no talking to this man, ain't no pretty other side. Ain't no way to understand, the stupid words of pride. It would take an acrobat, and I already tried all that so, I'm gonna let him fly. You know the light has left his face, but you can't recall just where or why. So there was really nothing to it, I said I'm gonna let him fly."

The Chain - Fleetwood Mac (Dutch & Arthur)

"And if you don't love me now, You will never love me again. I can still hear you saying, we would never break the chain. Run in the shadows. Damn your love, damn your lies."

Devil's Resting Place - Laura Marling

"I've been with the devil in the devil's resting place. Water won't clean you, you only hold yourself to the things you do. Come up here to speak to me and hold your face to mine. Any man can hold my gaze has done his job just fine. You sold your life away to be with me tonight. Hold your head against my chest, I think you'll be just fine."

Through the Valley - Shawn James

"I walk through the valley of the shadow of death. And I fear no evil because I'm blind to it all, and my mind and my gun they comfort me. Because I know I'll kill my enemies when they come. Surely, goodness and mercy will follow me all the days of my life. And I will dwell on this earth forevermore. Well, I came upon a man at the top of a hill. Called himself the savior of the human race. Said he'd come to save the world from destruction and pain, but I said, how can you save the world from itself?"

Youngest Daughter - Superheaven

"It's useless, I tried, but to no avail. To tell you how much I know, how much I care. Breathe until your lungs fail, you can sing 'til you go deaf. I am sick, I am horrified at everything I hear. Everyday repeats itself again, the cycle of our misery, It drives us all insane."

The Fall - Gregory Alan Isakov (John & Arthur)

"You heard blood was thick, brothers and sisters. But ya don't know where anybody's at. Time was a bust, you thought you'd better be tough. Nobody gets past the trembling wire. All eyes on you now, on you. We're all holding our breath."

Second Chances - Gregory Alan Isakov (John & Arthur)

"I'm running from nothing, no thoughts in my mind. Oh my heart was all black but I saw something shine. Thought that part was yours, but it might just be mine. I could share it with you, if you gave me the time. I'm all bloody knuckles, longing for home. If it weren't for second chances, we'd all be alone."

My Mind - Paris Paloma (Dutch & Arthur)

"What did I do wrong? Will you tell me what I did wrong, what did I? Was it a first offense? How long had you been harboring that vemon? You could have used your words then, you wanted them to hurt and so I let them. Never would I beseech you, to endure what you put me through."

Patty Griffin - No Bad News

This was written at the time of George W. Bush, but I saw her in concert yesterday and she made reference to Trump and also (obliquely) Boris, and it's kind of tragic how many influential people that these lines apply to:

You're a sad little boy, anyone can see you're just a sad little boy That's why you're carrying on that way Why don't you burn it all down, burn your own house down Burn your own house down Try to kill your own disease And leave the rest of us, there's a lot of us, leave the rest of us Who wanna live in peace to live in peace

But anyhow, today's mood isn't that part of the song, it's this:

And we won't be afraid, we won't be afraid And though the darkness may come our way We won't be afraid to be alive anymore And we'll grow kindness in our hearts for all the strangers among us 'Til there are no strangers anymore, yeah