This is a 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.
Last month Jersey Calling released our fourth LP, Parasocial Security. As with many albums every song is a story but, for us, the story doesn’t always end or, sometimes, even start there. In conjunction with the album, I started building playlists around each track off the album. These playlists can include songs that inspired a specific track that Jersey Calling created, or simply contains the same themes or elements behind their own meaning.
Currently living over at Spotify is the playlist created around our song “The Things Life Leaves Behind.” For deeper insight, provided below are a list of each track (accompanied with either audio or video), along with commentary on why it is included, and how it strikes a chord. In the case of the tracks associated with “The Things Life Leaves Behind,” these are all songs about death & loss – get your tissues ready!
Jersey Calling – “The Things Life Leaves Behind”
I wrote this song after my sister passed away suddenly, and I traveled to Portland to clean up her apartment. It was a tiny basement one-bedroom, and overnight the things she had accumulated went from being her possessions to just stuff. Some of it went to friends, some to Goodwill. But a lot of it was simply left on the curb for people to pick through. And I tried to give the song a sense of that emptiness among all the things she left behind.
Tom Catmull – “The Crows”
“The Crows” is a haunting gem of a song by one of my favorite songwriters, Tom Catmull. This one really gets at the external vulnerability you feel as a parent, and the ways you try to convince yourself that you’re able to keep your kids safe. The persistent harmonies by Travis Yost infuse the song with a sense of a whole community experiencing loss & not knowing what to do.
Brandi Carlile – “Murder in the City”
This Brandi Carlile cover of an Avett Brothers song appears on the playlist primarily because I sang it at my sister’s memorial. It’s a beautiful last request, as the narrator attempts to help those she’s left find peace despite the sudden loss. Carlile’s voice – typically a cannon – is restrained but clear, and her delivery gives a steadiness befitting a last testament of unwavering love.
Phoebe Bridgers – “Funeral”
Phoebe Bridgers is one of my absolute favorite singers, and “Funeral” speaks to the sudden shift in perspective that comes with a loss. In this track she positions her voice just above a whisper, and the soft guitar is a perfect backdrop for the song. And, there’s a beautiful string arrangement that swells toward comfort for the narrator, before abruptly dropping out at the reminder that “someone’s kid is dead.”
Jason Isbell – “Elephant”
This song is a masterpiece – When I saw Isbell play this song live, the piano was forward in the mix & its chords rang out like deafening, heavy heartbeats filled with foreboding. The lyrics irresistibly charm you in the first two lines, then haunt you for the next three minutes. You’re desperate to join the narrator in protecting the woman from the end you know Is coming. You try to ignore it, but you can’t.
Warren Zevon – “Keep Me in Your Heart”
Zevon recorded this song as he was succumbing to cancer, his voice weakened and pleading. The song is a stark recognition of the coming end, and asking people to give you a bit longer on this earth after you’re gone. It gives voice to a wish we all have: “Sometimes when you’re doing simple things around the house / maybe you’ll think of me and smile.”
Death Cab for Cutie – “I Will Follow You into the Dark”
I love this song because of its simplicity and the effortlessness of Ben Gibbard’s performance. It’s intimate, and that infuses the song with a sense of connection. He explicitly rejects a religious view of the afterlife, and instead focuses on love and the adventures we share during the brief time we get together. If this life is all we get, I hope I live in a way that makes someone want to sing this song to me.
Regina Spektor – “Firewood”
The playlist take a bit of a turn here, and this song looks forward with purpose. One thing I love about Spektor is her ability to move her vocals between frailty and power. She gives voice to all the conflicting emotions we endure through our lives. The song gives an honest recognition of the inevitable end, but refuses to let that be a reason to stop.
Turnpike Troubadours – “The Housefire”
There’s an uplift to this song about loss. The narrator emerges from tragedy with his family safe, his community standing behind him with love. It’s an expression of gratitude despite the loss & fear. We will keep getting knocked down – it’s the nature of life.The bridge has a slight twinge of bitterness, but then returns to gratitude & determination in the end that carries the narrator – and us – forward.
