In our Year of Joy and the lead up to our 156th Convention, “A Joyful Noise: Celebrating the Work of God,” we’re sharing music and songs that bring joy to people in our diocese along with brief descriptions of why the songs matter to them. Join the fun! You can send your songs and stories to communications@cnyepiscopal.org. Don’t want to share a story? That’s fine, too! Just share your song(s) and we’ll add them to our already-very-eclectic playlist on Spotify!
My Spotify wrapped each year is a mess. My tween takes up a lot of real estate there with Taylor Swift and (gulp) Kidz Bop, but the rest of it is a seemingly unhinged blend of Gregorian chant, 80s pop, Bach Concertos, and bands I learned about on Tiny Desk. But one thing all the music has in common is that it brings me joy. (OK, maybe not directly the Kidz Bop, but I find joy in the joy my kiddo finds in it… sometimes.) It was hard for me to not write about a million different songs, but I chose for you today a fun mix of some of the ones that are guaranteed to bring a smile to my face.
Crowded Table – The Highwomen
The Highwomen is a female supergroup includes none other than Brandi Carlile, so I was bound to love anything they produced, but this song is beyond all I could have hoped for and has held the official top spot of my favorite song since it was released. It’s infused with beautiful imagery that speaks to me of the kingdom of Jesus and it’s the reason that my formal dining room is now delightfully eclectic with candid photos of as many of my friends and family as I can fit on the walls hung in mismatched frames amid original art from my daughter and nieces and nephews as well as some prints from my uber talented younger sibling, Detroit-based artist Bakpak Durden. I want a house with a crowded table and a place by the fire for everyone.
How’m I Doin’? – The Mills Brothers
When I was very little in the late 80s and early 90s, I thought that The Mills Brothers (and The Eagles and Elvis and Patsy Cline) were contemporary pop stars and I dug the jazzy harmonies of their hits like “Paper Doll” and “When You’re Smiling.” “How’m I Doin’?” has always been one of my favorites because Sadie Greene sounds like a lady with moxie who knows who she is and how she deserves to be treated. Way to go, Sadie.
Tristeza – Astrud Gliberto
Speaking of ladies with moxie, I ADORE Astrud Gilberto. I travelled to Brazil in 2019 with my then-home diocese of Indianapolis as we spent time building relationships with lay and clergy persons in our companion diocese of Brasília. If you don’t know much about Brasília, it is a fascinating time capsule of mid-century optimism. It became the capital of the country (instead of Rio de Janeiro) in 1960 after it was expressly built for that purpose in a savannah area of central Brazil. The city is laid out on a perfect grid in a pattern that resembles an airplane and the fuselage (cockpit) holds the three main branches of government. The neighborhoods of the city are laid out with an eerie – almost-dystopian – regularity. (You want light fixtures? Go to the one street in the whole city were the light stores are.) Our hotel looked like a perfectly preserved 1960s expo model home. And everywhere we went, the strains of samba and jazz blending into bossa nova were pouring out into the streets. I met so many wonderful people on that trip with whom I’m still connected and I still listen to the music of Astrud Gilberto, her one-time spouse João Gilberto, and Tom Jobim to take me back to that time and place (and help me with my still-terrible Portuguese pronunciation). Everyone’s heard “The Girl from Ipanema,” but Tristeza is probably my fave of Astrud’s… at least today.
Broken Bones and Pocket Change – St. Paul and the Broken Bones
Despite the title of the first song on this list, I really don’t like crowds, so that means that I typically don’t like concerts. But I have seen St. Paul and the Broken Bones in concert five times in three states (including at the “The Mother Church,” Ryman Auditorium in Nashville!). The musicianship and poetry of SPBB music is unrivaled and the showmanship of the band, especially front man and would-be preacher Paul Janeway, is OUT OF THIS WORLD. All of their albums as they’ve grown into their funk/soul space are excellent, but this song from their debut album, “Half the City,” is still one of my favorites of theirs, probably because I’ve seen Paul scale speaker towers and roll up in a carpet underneath the platform for the drums in his passion for this song while performing in different venues. I’ve said this in other spaces before, but I’ll say it here: If you ever have the chance to see SPBB in concert and I find out that you didn’t, I’ll probably have to reconsider our friendship. They’re THAT good.
New Colors – The Crane Wives
Founded near my home in Grand Rapids, Michigan, The Crane Wives are an indie folk band known for their three part harmonies and, in my opinion, fantastic banjo riffs. Just like with SPBB, the bands later albums are super excellent as they’ve matured into their unique style and space. But, call it nostalgia, but this song from their debut album remains my favorite. The female harmonies are haunting and the imagery is *chef’s kiss.*
BONUS Sous le Ciel de Paris – Pomplamoose
Full disclosure: I’ve told other people contributing to this blog series to limit their songs to five that they write about (but to add as many songs as they want to the playlist!), but I’m going to call this Communicator’s Prerogative and a community service because if you’re sleeping on Pomplamoose, you’re missing out. A wife-husband duo, Pomplamoose is such a fun blend of indie, pop, covers, mash-ups, jazz, and funk that you’ll never stop discovering more from them. As the intentionally-misspelled name suggests, a lot of their music is in French, but they are sooooo versatile with excellent covers like their version of this Edith Piaf classic. The band is very active on YouTube, but if you’re not sure where to start exploring them, may I humbly suggest their Jamiroquai Bee Gees Mashup, Lovely Day/Good as Hell Mashup, or their original “Bust Your Knee Caps (Johnny Don’t Leave Me).”
