[Today: I know why the caged bird sings...]
It was the best of times, it was the worst of times. Charles Dickens’ opening salvo to A Tale Of Two Cities is the perfect description of my childhood. My mother raised my brother and I while working full time for a measly salary and attending Journalism school. We were dirt poor and my hometown was full of redneck idiots who loved to torment anything that moved. But for every yahoo that was part of the problem there were five good people, and I went to school in a time before classroom massacres and crippling budget deficits. My hometown was full of quaint, non-franchise establishments like Risher’s and Abbey’s Pizza. I spent time delivering papers, scooping ice cream and shucking a broom in a plywood mill, all the while dreaming of escaping into a wider world.
Josh Ritter’s 2001 album Golden Age Of Radio captures the joys and frustrations of small-town life. And that begins with its cover art, which alone brings back shudder-inducing memories of grade school. This is a record full of bonfire singalongs, open landscapes, true love, dead cornhusks, starlit skies, and intense longing for brighter lights and bigger places. ‘Me & Jiggs’ is a conspiracy of friends and beer and nowhere to go and stories to tell and Townes Van Zandt songs to sing. ‘You’ve Got The Moon’ is pure summer romance. But ‘Lawrence, KS’ is the moment here – an anguished clutch of emotion from someone who feels their dreams of escape slipping away into nothing. That’s a feeling I can relate to.
Back in high school, my good friend Mikel used to pontificate at length about how the people we grew up around were part of an unchosen geographical accident (our parents’ decisions) and shouldn’t stamp us for life. But I think the exact opposite is true – we are made up in large part by the places we’re from and the people that we grew up around, friends and teachers, bosses and bullies alike. It’s why people in the South talk with a drawl, and East Coast motorists yell at you as they run you down in a crosswalk. Your hometown seeps into you in ways that don’t become obvious until you go back and see yourself in a place you once tried so hard to get away from. It’s why my heart leaps every time I visit Springfield, OR. You can’t really go home again, but that’s okay – your home goes with you.
Listen: Me & Jiggs
Listen: Lawrence, KS
Listen: Harrisburg
Tags: A Tale Of Two Cities, Charles Dickens, Golden Age Of Radio, Josh Ritter, Springfield OR
13 January 2010 at 8:39 am |
[...] 4] Josh Ritter | Golden Age Of Radio (2001) – Golden Age Of Radio captures the many joys and frustrations of small-town life. And that begins with its cover art, which alone brings back shudder-inducing memories of grade school. This is a record full of bonfire singalongs, open landscapes, true love, dead cornhusks, starlit skies, and intense longing for brighter lights and bigger places. ‘Me & Jiggs’ is a conspiracy of friends and beer and nowhere to go and stories to tell and Townes Van Zandt songs to sing. ‘You’ve Got The Moon’ is pure summer romance. But ‘Lawrence, KS’ is the moment here – an anguished clutch of emotion from someone who feels their dreams of escape slipping away into nothing. That’s a feeling I can relate to. [Read Full Review] [...]