When the band Cracker sang "what the world needs now is another folk singer, like I need a hole in my head" on their 1992 hit single "Teen Angst"... they never could have predicted just how wrong they were going to be proven. It would take 15 more years for that worthy, "world-changing" folk artist to emerge, when Jason Isbell released his first record in 2007. A songwriter of the next generation, today barely in his 40's, but with the soul of a weathered, veteran folk singer.
Along with his backing band of equally accomplished and worthy musicians, The 400 Unit, he released the extremely powerful and transformative record The Nashville Sound in 2017. And for anyone who has any preconceived notions of what folk / country music is and is immediately turned off- hold on a second. Because The Nashville Sound is unlike anything you've ever heard before.
As I sit here, writing on this Juneteenth, 2020, I am saddened, angry, and disgusted with state of the world. By this I of course mean the ever-present issue of police brutality against people of color, coming to a head with the recent murder of George Floyd. However, at the same, time I am hopeful about the amount of progress I have seen in humanity since then, with many people across the globe coming together to fight against this great, long-running injustice, and calling for radical change. Part of this hope also comes from the amount of white people I have seen opening their eyes finally, and realizing the privileges they have just by being born white, as opposed to being of a minority. Jason Isbell was way ahead of them.
On the track "White Man's World", Isbell is a white man acknowledging his privilege, and being ashamed of his history. He vehemently denounces racism, and sexism, and calls for white people, particularly white men, to do better. "There's no such thing as someone else's war. Your creature comforts aren't the only things worth fighting for", he sings, calling bullshit on the "all lives matter" people, who really only mean "my life matters, not yours". He is calling out those staying silent rather than taking a stand, just because they are not directly being oppressed. This is something you might not expect from your typical folk or country artist, but that is precisely why Jason Isbell is anything but typical. Listen for yourself below.
Though this track seemed like the most relevant and important to discuss first and foremost, I'd also still like to say something about some other stand-out tracks on the album. "White Man's World" isn't the only time Isbell touches on something relevant yet difficult to articulate. There is also the relatable "Anxiety" where he poetically describes feelings many of us have become more aware of in the modern era, to the point where we may have even discovered we have a whole new disorder. He describes what it is like to feel like you should be completely happy, but no matter how hard you try there is always something in the back of your mind telling you to worry or panic. "Even with my lover sleeping close to me, I'm wide awake and I'm in pain" is a feeling anyone who suffers from anxiety can surely relate to.
Or there's the absolutely tear-jerking "If We Were Vampires" where he covers the subjects of love and of our own mortality, and that no matter how much you love someone, one day death will take them from you. "If we were vampires and death was a joke, we'd go out on the sidewalk and smoke. And laugh at all the lovers and their plans, I wouldn't feel the need to hold your hand" makes us wonder what it would be like if we could have infinite time with the love of our life. But reminds us that because we can't, we need to make the most of every second we do have with that person and treasure everything about them.
Finally, Isbell includes some classic folk motifs in multiple songs on the album, including its closer, "Something To Love". There is the theme of the pastoral, and of "American country life", but it is not diluted by pretending there is nothing wrong with "country folk", as we've seen on previous tracks (i.e. "White Man's World). It is a simple message to his daughter, and to his listeners, that he hopes you find what makes you happy and "do it 'til you're gone". The idealized country life is best exemplified in the line, "I was born in a tiny southern town. I grew up with all my family around. We made music on the porch on Sunday nights, old men with old guitars smoking Winston Lights". It is simplistic yet happy imagery that makes us wish we could have shared in that sweet, musical upbringing... or it at least makes me wish that!
And these are just a few tracks off of the perfection that is The Nashville Sound. It is progressive- a record of its time. But it also has the sincerity and wisdom of aged, legendary folk records. Not to mention Isbell's wife, Amanda Shires, can play one mean fiddle! And she does so throughout the album, giving yet another dimension to Isbell's powerful poetry. I invite all of you to check it out from start to finish, and hear for yourself just how revolutionary his songwriting is.
Happy Juneteenth everyone, and remember- Jason Isbell says Black Lives Matter, and to check your privilege! And to find something to love...
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