EDIT: Well shit… I just noticed that this has been up here for 2 months now and I had forgotten to add “Southern Man” to the playlist. Worse, it looks like it isn’t even on Spotify yet. I guess this one will just be a gap in the playlist for now, although if Spotify gets After the Gold Rush on there sometime soon then I’ll be sure to add it.
Starting off this week with something a little different for me, we have “Southern Man” by Neil Young from After the Gold Rush. Considering that my last post was all about the current Confederate Flag controversy, I felt that it was an appropriate and timely inclusion. It might also be my favourite Neil Young song (although “Powderfinger” is up there too), and is just such a scathing indictment. It’s unfortunate that things haven’t gotten much better in the last 35 years…
Moving on to something a tiny bit more upbeat, we have “Paperthin Hymn” by Anberlin from Never Take Friendship Personal. I have always considered NTFP to be one of Anberlin’s lesser albums, so I actually don’t listen to it all that often. However, I listened to a live version of this album recently and it reinvigorated my feelings towards this album and “Paperthin Hymn” in particular. That said, I still think it’s one of their weaker albums, but the fact that I quite enjoy NTFP just shows how solid their entire catalogue is. I’m still pretty sore about the shitty weather that caused them to cancel their last live show in Toronto though…
Geez, all of that and I haven’t even gotten to the song itself yet. Lyrically, it’s very well-written and sombre. It deals with the sense of loss, and apparently it was written as a response by lead guitarist, Joey Milligan, to the death of his sister (hey, I did say it was only a tiny bit more upbeat).