This is a recurring guest feature with Sean Breslin of Jersey Calling. TGEFM does not accept paid content, and we are publishing this feature because it’s pretty awesome.
Earlier this fall Jersey Calling released our fourth LP, Parasocial Security. Overall, the album is filled with songs of protest, loss, rage and frustration. But nestled on the back half of the record is a track that cuts through all those hard feelings and melts our punk rock hearts.
“Heartstrings” is a love song about sticking it out, about being there for one another no matter what life throws at you. I’ve been building playlists around the tracks on Parasocial Security, and compiling this playlist was restorative. Some of these songs have deep personal meaning to me, and they each bring a tenderness unique to the artists I’ve chosen.
The “Parasocial Playlist – Heartstrings” is live on Spotify, and you can join me for a track-by-track explanation of how these songs fit into “Heartstrings’” theme of enduring love, below.
Jersey Calling – “Heartstrings”
Lead singer Josh Kates penned this one for his then fiancée (now wife) Victoria Maffei, and I love how Josh’s lyrics move from sudden rush of attraction, to tiny inside jokes, to love’s promise. The effect on the drums gives the song a timeless feel, and Randy Ballinger’s baseline provides the stability on which to build something that lasts.
Slaughter Beach, Dog – “104 Degrees”
I first heard this at a coffee shop & was immediately transfixed by the steady rhythm and swell, the vocals giving a soft undercurrent of forward motion throughout. I listened to it on repeat on the way home, and fell in love with how wonderfully the song captures that moment that you jump in, perhaps recklessly, but assured nonetheless.
Old 97s – “Question”
When I proposed to my wife, I could barely get the words out. In retrospect, I wish I had taken her to an Old 97s show & let Rhett Miller sing a proposal for me (apparently that’s a thing). The song hangs in that moment of anticipation, drawing out a task both so simple and so enormous. And, for all the swagger of other 97s songs, the solo performance by Miller keeps this track intimate and the listener present.
The Avett Brothers – “Swept Away”
One of the aforementioned tracks with a personal connection, this song served as my wife’s & my first dance at our wedding. Its pacing is contemplative, the guitar speaks in delicate phrases that recall the wordless glances between two people. The song’s power lies in its simplicity – “You swept me away” – what else do you need to say?
Green Day – “Church on Sunday”
This is my favorite Green Day song, probably because it tackles something so antithetical to the punk ethos: compromise. The early infatuation is gone, and now the narrator has to address his flaws and figure out how to make love last. Tré’s drumming punctuates the right inflection points, and the stutter-step through the final chorus invokes the difficulty ahead. A gem, throughout.
Frightened Rabbit – “My Backwards Walk”
This song sneaked its way into the list. It’s not necessarily a long-haul love song, but it perfectly captures those first moments when you realize you might have a future with the person in front of you. It’s full of those little contradictions & second guesses, before finally giving in & acknowledging, over & over: “You’re the shit & I’m knee-deep in it.”
Brandi Carlile – “Wherever is Your Heart”
Another wedding track for my wife & me. This song is the definition of commitment and devotion, stitched into a perfect three minutes, forty-nine seconds. The three-part harmonies between Carlile and bandmate twin brothers Tim and Phil Hanseroth are sublime, and their absence on the lines Carlile takes for herself give her lead vocals that much more strength and honesty. It’s a song of finally feeling safe, and home with a partner.
Tom Waits – “Picture in a Frame”
Waits tells an entire lifetime of love in a grand total of five simple lines. The emptiness and breathy voice of the piano force you to pay attention to each word Waits rasps out. You can almost feel his see hands carefully lifting the back out of a picture frame and sliding a favorite photo into place, a ritual of devotion that is deeply personal, and sacred.
