So ever since I split up with my wife last year I've been listening to singer/songwriter Ruth Theodore like lapsed Catholics thumb a rosary, and so many of her songs are like this.
(I know at some point things will get better again, because memory is an unreliable narrator and grief fades in and out like the signal on a dodgy radio, but in the meantime I have a daughter to raise and bills to pay and cats to feed, so I lift up my chin and carry on and only connect to the wholesome, dreadful fuck of it all through music)
Ruth's pretty special: if you imagine what might have happened had Tom Waits written songs for Kate Bush back in the day, you've probably got a reliable idea in your head of what she sounds like. Her latest album, after an enforced break of several years while she dealt with a round of cancer, came out on Ani Difranco's label earlier this year. Have a listen to 'Captured', and you'll hear her voice flutter, take wing and soar into the sky as she reminds you that "you wanna be paying attention..."
She's written a lot of my favourite lyrics. She's clever, and witty; she wears her heart on her sleeve and her voice is bright and nimble and she'll catch your heart as she catches her breath. I have danced around the supermarket with tears spilling onto my shopping listening to hope shining through trauma in the irrepressible 'Kissing In Traffic' ("sadness can eat my dust!") and the gorgeous quadruple meaning in the title of 'Nothing On', as she tries to hold a snapshot in her mind of a perfect afternoon in bed with a partner who's leaving her. But my favourite might still be from the first verse of 'Everything Is Temporary':
"You and me we go up and down with the pound
In this make-believe currency where we are more aloof than we can afford to be
Well, investment is a risky thing when you're not sure what you're worth
Especially if you do business like me, and feed all your chips to the birds."
Her songs have a habit of mugging me out of nowhere. Watch out for her. She'll get you.
That link didn't work for me but I've found some on YouTube and it's playing in the background now — and I can tell this is stuff I'm going to be listening to. Thank you.
And I'm really sorry to hear about the circumstances, and the pain breaking out of it, but I hope the love of your daughter and the cats is helping. These things, as you know, will pass. x
One advantage, however, we have extracted: Bitz- files, WARM Recollections. A kind of puzzle of writing, to be inserted into a more complete picture. Small first sketches, which will take shape on the canvas or will remain an waiting to be used.
1. Good Luck Babe — Chappell Roan.
. …A kind of Summer Hit, fun that never bores you, that you can't do without, since it reaches you from every window.
2. Hello in There — John Prine.
For obvious reasons it was an absolute novelty for me . I went to delve deeper (the biography and the songs).
3. TV — Billie Eilish
. Indisputable star. When first I heard of his popularity among young people. I said “But… Anyway, WE- generation have already heard the best”. BRAVISSIMA. “ A Star is born”.
4. Heaven When We’re Home — The Wailin’ Jennys
Ray of sunshine, joy in the middle of summer. A real gift. Thanks for the gift, Michael!!!
P. S. Anyway, intrigued by this absence and very curious to know if it was about the new scripts for the series, or films, or something else. (only, if it is not a trade secret). However, the confidential information will be kept safe within the small and friendly circle of your Book Club readers.
P. S. Here is another very long post. In fact…..too long…..
Glad you enjoyed the music — and also that you like the Warm Recollections. I like the idea of them being puzzle pieces, like you say... waiting for a picture to be inserted into.
There has indeed been a lot of script work going on, but it's a trade secret for now. Hopefully not for too much longer!
Martha Wainwright has a voice for the ages and John Prine writes for the ages. Whatever they do ends up being a music masterclass. This may annoy the musos you have in your stack but I do often get John Prine and Blaise Foley mixed up, but at least it's two musicians at the top of their craft😁
I'm afraid I really can't take to Billy Eilish. Everything about it strikes me as contrived and such an overt and shameless way to appeal to those who feel different, or at least what a record company sees as different.
My wife just told me to stop being a moany old twat!
That Martha Wainwright album was one that stayed on repeat for a long time. Only a month ago I was lucky enough to see her perform live in Sydney. Her audience surely has about a 60 year age range.
If I could add a song to your list, it's the song that introduced me to Tindersticks (still going strong after 30 years) : "Tiny Tears".
Great post. Thank you! Will check the list. Prine is someone I didn’t know much of until quite recently and I love his songs. I’m currently very fond of an up and coming US band Wishy - their song Spinning is worth a listen imo
Man, I wish we could get together for a drink and a music appreciation session. These kinds of songs have been my lifeblood for as long as I can remember. I recently picked up my guitar for the first time in 20 years, and Bloody Motherfucking Asshole was the first song I learned how to play. Songs like this are like truth serum for the soul. Thank you so much for sharing.
Yeah, me too on the drink/music session! I can't remember how I first heard Bloody Motherfucking Asshole — probably just got served it by the YouTube algo — but I do remember immediately playing it again. Extraordinary song.
It truly is. I remember the exact moment I first heard it, and it's been a backing track to my life ever since.
Well; I can't afford the $80 sub at the moment, but if you're ever in the north of the UK, I would be honored to buy you a pint. To be honest (and not stalkerish at all), I've low key wished I could talk to you about Only Forward ever since I first read it 20 years ago. It destroyed my life that time. And then subsequently saved it on each of the following 8 reads.
Nice list, thanks for sharing! Since I am deeply into the beautiful, tormented, and darkly humorous music of Warren Zevon at the moment, I'd add "Mama couldn't be persuaded" and maybe "Desperados under the Eaves" to the mix.
Olivia is 33 now, but I remember the first night she woke us up crying . . . like it was last night . . . (and thinking *when will this ever end?*) It did. Too soon and forever gone.
Yep. The ONLY piece of parenting advice I've ever given people is the message of that song: it'll be gone so ****ing fast. Each stage. Try to sit in it rather than wish it gone.
Chapell Roan was an early summer rec my daughter gave me. Love her music. I ask my kids for new music suggestions because I don’t want to be stuck on replay. But it’s also interesting to find old songs that are new to me, like the John Prine one you shared here. I’m keeping that song. I like it.
And I agree with your “worse still”—needlessly and overly apologizing. There are plenty of things to be sorry for; the timing of a Substack post is not one of them.
Ah, I'm glad on the "worse still". One can't help feeling guilty about it, especially when people are paying. And Prine has some wonderful stuff. I've also been lucky to learn a lot of music from my son - not sure much has gone the other way ;-)
I get the guilt and can imagine having that with paid subscribers. And I also feel like I pick up more from young people than they do me. Less guilt and fewer explanations — these habits of theirs I’m trying to learn. It makes sense to normalize inconsistency. Life is inconsistent. Plus, it seems like guilt is contagious, but mostly to people who already hold more than they should.
No matter the timeline, love reading your newsletter.
So ever since I split up with my wife last year I've been listening to singer/songwriter Ruth Theodore like lapsed Catholics thumb a rosary, and so many of her songs are like this.
(I know at some point things will get better again, because memory is an unreliable narrator and grief fades in and out like the signal on a dodgy radio, but in the meantime I have a daughter to raise and bills to pay and cats to feed, so I lift up my chin and carry on and only connect to the wholesome, dreadful fuck of it all through music)
Ruth's pretty special: if you imagine what might have happened had Tom Waits written songs for Kate Bush back in the day, you've probably got a reliable idea in your head of what she sounds like. Her latest album, after an enforced break of several years while she dealt with a round of cancer, came out on Ani Difranco's label earlier this year. Have a listen to 'Captured', and you'll hear her voice flutter, take wing and soar into the sky as she reminds you that "you wanna be paying attention..."
https://youtu.be/0J9kQnAFDOo?si=8qEtzvtBGLA68gNA
She's written a lot of my favourite lyrics. She's clever, and witty; she wears her heart on her sleeve and her voice is bright and nimble and she'll catch your heart as she catches her breath. I have danced around the supermarket with tears spilling onto my shopping listening to hope shining through trauma in the irrepressible 'Kissing In Traffic' ("sadness can eat my dust!") and the gorgeous quadruple meaning in the title of 'Nothing On', as she tries to hold a snapshot in her mind of a perfect afternoon in bed with a partner who's leaving her. But my favourite might still be from the first verse of 'Everything Is Temporary':
"You and me we go up and down with the pound
In this make-believe currency where we are more aloof than we can afford to be
Well, investment is a risky thing when you're not sure what you're worth
Especially if you do business like me, and feed all your chips to the birds."
Her songs have a habit of mugging me out of nowhere. Watch out for her. She'll get you.
That link didn't work for me but I've found some on YouTube and it's playing in the background now — and I can tell this is stuff I'm going to be listening to. Thank you.
And I'm really sorry to hear about the circumstances, and the pain breaking out of it, but I hope the love of your daughter and the cats is helping. These things, as you know, will pass. x
One advantage, however, we have extracted: Bitz- files, WARM Recollections. A kind of puzzle of writing, to be inserted into a more complete picture. Small first sketches, which will take shape on the canvas or will remain an waiting to be used.
1. Good Luck Babe — Chappell Roan.
. …A kind of Summer Hit, fun that never bores you, that you can't do without, since it reaches you from every window.
2. Hello in There — John Prine.
For obvious reasons it was an absolute novelty for me . I went to delve deeper (the biography and the songs).
3. TV — Billie Eilish
. Indisputable star. When first I heard of his popularity among young people. I said “But… Anyway, WE- generation have already heard the best”. BRAVISSIMA. “ A Star is born”.
4. Heaven When We’re Home — The Wailin’ Jennys
Ray of sunshine, joy in the middle of summer. A real gift. Thanks for the gift, Michael!!!
P. S. Anyway, intrigued by this absence and very curious to know if it was about the new scripts for the series, or films, or something else. (only, if it is not a trade secret). However, the confidential information will be kept safe within the small and friendly circle of your Book Club readers.
P. S. Here is another very long post. In fact…..too long…..
Glad you enjoyed the music — and also that you like the Warm Recollections. I like the idea of them being puzzle pieces, like you say... waiting for a picture to be inserted into.
There has indeed been a lot of script work going on, but it's a trade secret for now. Hopefully not for too much longer!
I am happy for you. I wish you true business success.
Well, the Billie Eilish one makes me cry, so maybe I'm the problem.
Maybe we all are...
Martha Wainwright has a voice for the ages and John Prine writes for the ages. Whatever they do ends up being a music masterclass. This may annoy the musos you have in your stack but I do often get John Prine and Blaise Foley mixed up, but at least it's two musicians at the top of their craft😁
I'm afraid I really can't take to Billy Eilish. Everything about it strikes me as contrived and such an overt and shameless way to appeal to those who feel different, or at least what a record company sees as different.
My wife just told me to stop being a moany old twat!
I know what you mean about Billie - and honestly some of her songs strike me that way too but there's a few real bangers there too...
That Martha Wainwright album was one that stayed on repeat for a long time. Only a month ago I was lucky enough to see her perform live in Sydney. Her audience surely has about a 60 year age range.
If I could add a song to your list, it's the song that introduced me to Tindersticks (still going strong after 30 years) : "Tiny Tears".
Wow - I envy you that gig!
Great post. Thank you! Will check the list. Prine is someone I didn’t know much of until quite recently and I love his songs. I’m currently very fond of an up and coming US band Wishy - their song Spinning is worth a listen imo
Ooh, I like that. Will check them out — thank you!
Man, I wish we could get together for a drink and a music appreciation session. These kinds of songs have been my lifeblood for as long as I can remember. I recently picked up my guitar for the first time in 20 years, and Bloody Motherfucking Asshole was the first song I learned how to play. Songs like this are like truth serum for the soul. Thank you so much for sharing.
Yeah, me too on the drink/music session! I can't remember how I first heard Bloody Motherfucking Asshole — probably just got served it by the YouTube algo — but I do remember immediately playing it again. Extraordinary song.
It truly is. I remember the exact moment I first heard it, and it's been a backing track to my life ever since.
Well; I can't afford the $80 sub at the moment, but if you're ever in the north of the UK, I would be honored to buy you a pint. To be honest (and not stalkerish at all), I've low key wished I could talk to you about Only Forward ever since I first read it 20 years ago. It destroyed my life that time. And then subsequently saved it on each of the following 8 reads.
Nice list, thanks for sharing! Since I am deeply into the beautiful, tormented, and darkly humorous music of Warren Zevon at the moment, I'd add "Mama couldn't be persuaded" and maybe "Desperados under the Eaves" to the mix.
These are good calls — he was great at these kind of songs.
Oh yeah, that Prine song always gets to me. Another that always kills me is Darius Rooker's "It Won't Last for Long"
Hey, Tom!
Christ, I hadn't heard that song and it just FLATTENED me. Oof. Thanks for pointing me at it...
i'm assuming you have a daughter as well . . .
but I misnamed it! "It won't be like this for Long" right? I listen to it whenever I want to cry.
A son - but he went back to college last weekend so it's raw ;-)
Olivia is 33 now, but I remember the first night she woke us up crying . . . like it was last night . . . (and thinking *when will this ever end?*) It did. Too soon and forever gone.
Yep. The ONLY piece of parenting advice I've ever given people is the message of that song: it'll be gone so ****ing fast. Each stage. Try to sit in it rather than wish it gone.
Chapell Roan was an early summer rec my daughter gave me. Love her music. I ask my kids for new music suggestions because I don’t want to be stuck on replay. But it’s also interesting to find old songs that are new to me, like the John Prine one you shared here. I’m keeping that song. I like it.
And I agree with your “worse still”—needlessly and overly apologizing. There are plenty of things to be sorry for; the timing of a Substack post is not one of them.
Ah, I'm glad on the "worse still". One can't help feeling guilty about it, especially when people are paying. And Prine has some wonderful stuff. I've also been lucky to learn a lot of music from my son - not sure much has gone the other way ;-)
I get the guilt and can imagine having that with paid subscribers. And I also feel like I pick up more from young people than they do me. Less guilt and fewer explanations — these habits of theirs I’m trying to learn. It makes sense to normalize inconsistency. Life is inconsistent. Plus, it seems like guilt is contagious, but mostly to people who already hold more than they should.
No matter the timeline, love reading your newsletter.