Eamon - "Fuck It (I Don't What You Back)". Doubtless familiar to my British readers, here's a cup of slinking angry soul, a man in a cool suit and kohl-dabbed eyes. Though Eamon sounds a little squeaky, he's also charmingly forthright - unflinching in the simple expression of what's on his mind. "Fuck you ... I don't want you back." All this over a sighs, strings, and a drum machine beat that would make Babyface proud. Don't misunderstand, though: it's a venomous comedown track that'll be among the best singles of the year. As if the New Radicals went R&B.
Another song for a tough week -
The Boggs - "Hard Times". Arena Rock signed The Boggs in 2000 or so. They must have been expecting something of them. That indie bluegrass might explode, I suppose. That the moosh-haired Strokes, Stripes and Vines would be replaced with moosh-haired, washboard-wielding, oldtimey hooligans. But it didn't happen. Instead, I guess, Interpol did. Or OutKast did. I'm not sure. But I think that I can safely say that neither Interpol nor OutKast suggest market demand for a Brooklyn sextet of twentysomething bluegrass revivalists.
Which is too bad. Because We Are The Boggs We Are was a pretty excellent record, full of shambling, cracked, quiet or riotous tunes. "Hard Times" is an excessively simple stretch of folksy blues, a man with a dog's voice singing out over round-and-round guitar picking. "Been hard times for so long / that I forgot / the good Lord above me / shines down with love." There's a glimmer of resignation, of regret, but stronger still is the feeling of hope. "This too shall pass," and so it does, ending with an abrupt and humble silence.
The Internet Archive's astounding Live Music Archive. Featuring more than 150,000 tracks from 10,000 shows and 500+ bands, including Pinback, Damien Rice, Soul Coughing, Antibalas, and, inevitably, the Grateful Dead.
Also, the very finest biography of Walt Whitman that I have ever read. And I've read more than one. (via clap clap).
