I find that there are a lot of older songs, especially country songs, that have really fun, upbeat tunes and rythyms, but have depressing-as-hell lyrics (Johnny Cash's "Train of Love" comes to mind). Maybe it's spurred on by a desire to find the silver lining in the situation. Maybe it's more of a desire to mask one's feelings. Maybe it stems from a musical tradition--- traditional Irish folk? Blues? Whatever the reason, a LOT of singers have mastered this marriage of sad lyrics + happy tune. And, Justin Townes Earle, one of my favorite alt-country-folk-rock-whatever-genre-you-wanna-box-him-in singer, has revealed the fact that he is pretty darn good at this as well.
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| He's feelin' down. I'm feelin' his style. |
His new album, entitled "Harlem River Blues" is amazing, and the title track is what kills me (no pun intended). It's a really fun song, and if you ignore the lyrics, quite uppity. But, of course, when you listen to what he's actually saying, it's kind of a downer. The opening lines?
"Lord, I'm goin' uptown to the Harlem River to drown/
Dirty water gonna cover me over and I'm not gonna make a sound."
Here is the GOOD SONG: Harlem River Blues
It's clearly about a guy about to go drown himself in the Harlem River, although it's a little unusual as he seems to think that what he's doing is actually *good* for his soul. He wants to avoid trouble in the future by simply killing himself off right now while he's still "good in his grace." Interesting. Doesn't convince me, though, that it's the best idea.
Honestly, this sort of song doesn't really surprise me, coming from Justin Townes Earle. A little background: He's the son of the famous country singer Steve Earle. His middle name is a nod to another famous country singer, Townes Van Zandt (who is so awesome, by the way). He was raised in Nashville, although now he lives in the East Village (near where I was raised, which is I'm sure the reason for his move up north). He got super into drugs in his youth and then got clean. He's on tour right now, although part of his tour had to be postponed as he was arrested in Indianapolis on charges of "battery, public intoxication, and resisting law enforcement." Hmmmm... Now you see why I'm not so surprised by his happy/sad songs.
Apparently he decided to back into rehab after that incident.
He's so freaking talented, I hope he gets himself together and keeps making amazing music, though, because the music world can't have people like him getting arrested all the time.
If you like this song, you might also like:
Steve Earle (you know, the Dad)
Townes Van Zandt (you know, the namesake)
David Rawlings Machine
Old Crow Medicine Show
The Felice Brothers (I believe he's toured with them)
Those Darlins
Langhorne Slim (I believe he's also toured with him)
BUY HIS MUSIC HERE: tasty music from JTE
Over and out,
Anna
P.S. I feel obligated to mention that his song "Can't Hardly Wait" (no connection to the movie), from his earlier album "Midnight at the Movies" is my NUMBER ONE top played song on my itunes. It's freaking fantastic. No hint of suicidal tendencies on this one, I might add. It's actually a Replacements cover, not an original.
Here is a nice, pared-down, very earnest live version of it, dedicated to the late, great Christ Feinstein, bass-player for Ryan Adams and the Cardinals: Can't Hardly Wait
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