Nightly Song
Musings on Songs that Strike a Chord Tonight

Posts Tagged ‘Husker Du

Murder in the City – The Avett Brothers

June 8, 2010

Murder in the City

Performed and Written by the Avett Brothers.

“Murder in the City” features another facet of the Avett Brothers – a quiet, ruminative stream with unexpected twists and a performance that can break your heart. Hailing from Concord, North Carolina and playing a host of hardcore, hard-living songs that sound might be called speed country; a change of pace like this ballad can stop you in place. And the subject matter which catch you off guard as well, especially with the title. No violence here, no dark tale of bloodshed, instead, this song turns into a meditation on family and fate. Scott Avett provides the lead vocal while quietly picking at this guitar; brother Seth adds some minimalist piano. The music pushes the lyrics and vocals front and center.

Stuck Between Stations by the Hold Steady

May 11, 2010

Crank this tune and enter the mess of whirling images and thoughts of fame, poetry, drinking, art, depression, Minneapolis winters, Catholicism, guilt, lust, and longing, most of all, longing for the promise and clarity offered by a girl. The song sometimes sounds bizarrely upbeat given that the core of the lyrics tell of John Berryman – the great American confessional poet – and his demise: jumping off the Washington Street Bridge in Minneapolis and drowning in the Mississippi River.