Reviews

Songwriting and poetry, while sharing so many similarities, continue to be two very different art forms, each with their own freedoms and constraints. Some artists bridge the divide single-handedly, churning out lyrical lines that knock back the breath of the listener, demanding more attention than a single listen might afford. Other artists take on the…

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Everyone knows, and has likely lived, the old adage, “When it rains, it pours,” to describe those phases of life when everything seems to come crashing down at once. It\’s not always bad things, to be sure; but it\’s always a LOT. According to astrology, the event dubbed a “Saturn return,” which happens every 28…

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Back in the 1990s, substantive lyrics paired with catchy melodies were the norm for pop radio. Look no further than the commercial success of artists like Alanis Morissette, Sarah McLachlan, Tori Amos, and others for proof. But, then, for whatever reason, pop rose to the surface, leaving the depths to the be plumbed, and so…

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For a writer of any kind, not wanting to — or not being able to — put pen to paper is a pretty horrifying phase to enter. It can start for a variety of reasons, but it can only end by sitting down and finding a way into the work. Often, it means letting go…

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Songwriters don\’t exist in a vacuum. They learn their craft by listening to other songwriters, assessing what works and what doesn\’t, what fits and what doesn\’t, what inspires and what doesn\’t. Almost all of today\’s generation of artists run their roots through a handful of heroes: Bob Dylan, Joni Mitchell, Townes Van Zandt, and John…

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When you listen, today, to history as documented early on in the folk and blues cannons, it\’s all too apparent that the human condition hasn\’t come as far as the songs have over the centuries. Whether political oppression or romantic devastation, we\’re just really up to the same shenanigans we\’ve always been up to. So,…

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Political songs are a tough beat. They can\’t be too preachy nor overly earnest or else they\’ll fall on deaf ears. The best ones, it seems, tie the political to the personal in such a tangle that, even if you don\’t relate to the problem, you relate to the person. Gretchen Peters\’ “Lowlands” and Brandi…

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Country music has long leaned into the un-simple aspects of life, like cheating on someone you love with someone you don\’t, for example. That\’s because being human is an un-simple experience. It\’s messy and painful and difficult, occasionally even at the same time that it\’s nice and joyful and fun. So when Michaela Anne weaves…

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There\’s a Pampers commercial that hinges on the line, “Having a baby doesn\’t just change your life, it changes everything.” Not sure there\’s a parent around that would argue that point, though some might argue the ways in which it changes things. As with all of life\’s challenges, people respond to parenthood differently, especially the…

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Whether paradoxes or purgatory, liminal states of existence make people uneasy. Most folks like their status quo binary world of black or white, not black and white or, for heaven\’s sake, GREY. That would be sheer chaos wrapped in pure madness for those who can\’t even handle circles in their square lives. Well, with Karaoke…

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