#221) "Times is Hard" by Loudon Wainwright III - From the brilliant 2010 album, 10 Songs For the New Depression, Loudon Wainwright lends his uniquely anxious brand of wit and satire to the strange days that came on the heels of the start of the Great Recession. Remember that mess? The endless war and government bailouts and people losing a lifetime of savings overnight?
Not even a decade ago?
With sparse arrangement clarifying the potency of his words, and underscoring his talent for creating compellingly "of the moment" music, Wainwright calls out everyone here - the Bush administration, the Obama administration, Bernie Madoff, Alan Greenspan, corporatism, consumerism and celebrity culture, shrewdly affirming (while struggling to accept) that it's all just a cluster fuck, an electrified madness in which we live, work and raise our children.
It doesn't matter who's in charge. This is our society. We're part of this now.
Seven years on, and not much has changed. In fact, every single motherfucking word of this song is still relevant. And 2017 holds little promise of "times" getting any better.
"What in God's name is going on? / All I can do is play this song..."
#222) "Red Guitar" by Loudon Wainwright III - This song is classic Wainwright, in terms of being what he's especially good at: reconciling the sad and the silly, the dramatic and the comedic, the poetic and the discouragingly not-inspiring-in-the-least, and all the emotionally disorienting moments in life when any two happen to cross paths.
I saw Loudon Wainwright perform live once about twenty years ago. I was not nearly as familiar with his music (or his significance as an artist) then as I am now, and I wish I had been. I'm sure it would have enhanced the experience greatly. The energy of his music is well suited to a live performance, drawing intense emotion to the surface and revealing him to be much more than "Dead Skunk", the song he is perhaps best known for.
"Some junkie stole my blonde guitar / God works in wondrous ways..."
