Ep. 20 - A.C. Newman of The New Pornographers Helps Us Implode His Song
And he reveals the hidden B.J. Thomas reference
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Whiteout Conditions
A few years ago, I was talking to Carl Newman (who records and tours under the name A.C. Newman) of the New Pornographers about the work I was doing, which he had been listening to. Carl mentioned that his song “Whiteout Conditions” was written during a really painful and depressed time in his life and that he would love to talk about it on the show.
It took until there was a new show to make that happen but we did and I’m glad. HERE’S A LINK TO THE EPISODE.
When he composed the song, Carl was dealing with the terminal cancer of his sister, which was obviously devastating news. He had recording sessions scheduled in Los Angeles and flew out to get the work done. Sitting around his AirBnB, he wrote down what he was going through and matched it up with a fairly up-tempo melody he had been tinkering with. The lyrics? Not so upbeat.
Flying and feeling the ceiling
I'm barely dealing
And the faces, the faintest of praises
Are too revealing
Such a waste of a beautiful day
Someone should say
It's such a waste of the only impossible, logical way in
I’m a big fan of the podcast Song Exploder so I borrowed (stole?) their concept for this week’s episode, which I refer to as Song Imploder. People preferred that term over my favorite: Sad Exploder.
People looking happy will make you sad?
The video for the song is something. If the lyrics to the song are more down than the musical arrangement, the video sides firmly with the lyrics.
Kevan Funk, who directed the video, said
I wanted to tell a set of stories featuring characters who could act as conduits to explore that tension, each of them repressing some sort of tormenting emotion (guilt, shame, self-loathing) that they haven’t been able to reconcile internally. The facade of the mall, with its surreal fantasy elements, provided an effective metaphorical backdrop.
Speaking of exploding songs
That show’s episode this week is really great if you are of a certain age, like I am. Talking about the age where you appreciate Cheap Trick, the band with two cute guys and two not cute guys. The self-described “everyone’s third favorite band”. The pride of Rockford, Illinois, which could really use as much pride as possible.
Rick Nielsen of the band de-constructs “Surrender” and it’s three musical modulations. He says the best version of the song is at Budokan:
Mental health, your workplace, how to manage
Really useful article here in the Harvard Business Review about how to talk to your employer about a mental health issue.
By the time I disclosed my generalized anxiety disorder at work, it was too late. It had spiraled into debilitating depression and I could no longer even craft a basic email, much less do the rigorous job I was hired for. My previously high performance had very noticeably suffered, compelling me to nervously share the truth and ultimately forcing me out on a leave of absence.
In retrospect, a simple accommodation early on likely could’ve prevented all of that, saving me tremendous personal turmoil and my organization the extra workload.
There’s some good information in here about figuring out who in your organization is the best person to go to in a situation like this and considering what the company’s culture says about mental health in general. I do think the article comes up a little short in that it tends to focus on white collar situations (people more likely to read the HBR) and leaves out workplaces that might have a lot more challenges built into the process of reaching people with a more enlightened understanding.
The 2021 Astronomy Photographer of the Year Shortlist
via Kottke
Here’s one of them:
Here’s another:
