Day After Day is an ambitious attempt to write about a song every day in 2024 (starting on Jan. 4).
Pedestrian at Best (2015)
This feature has focused on a lot of songs from the distant past, but there are plenty of more recent artists I've gotten into in the last few decades. Most of them fall under the umbrella of indie rock, which can be a fairly vague descriptor. This time around, it's a singer-songwriter from Australia who has risen to prominence in the last decade.
After playing in Australian bands for a few years, Courtney Barnett attracted international attention with her 2013 EP The Double EP: A Sea of Split Peas. Two years later, she released her debut album Sometimes I Sit and Think, and Sometimes I Just Sit. Barnett spent a year working on the songs, but only showed them to her band a week in advance to keep things sounding fresh.
The album's lead single was "Pedestrian at Best," which packs a lot into under 4 minutes. The song kicks off with ragged power chords before Barnett launches into a wordy diatribe.
"I love you, I hate you, I'm on the fence, it all depends/Whether I'm up, I'm down, I'm on the mend, transcending all reality/I like you, despite you, admire you/What are we gonna do when everything all falls through?/I must confess, I've made a mess of what should be a small success/But I digress, at least I've tried my very best, I guess/This, that, the other, why even bother?/It won't be me on my deathbed, but I'll still be in your head."
It's a lot lyrically, but she makes it work.
"Put me on a pedestal and I'll only disappoint you/Tell me I'm exceptional, I promise to exploit you/Give me all your money and I'll make you origami, honey/I think you're a joke, but I don't find you very funny."
Barnett's sense of humor shines through as she rocks furiously, a winning combination.
"I'm resentful, I'm having an existential time crisis/What bliss, daylight savings won't fix this mess/Underworked and oversexed, I must express my disinterest/The rats are back inside my head, what would Freud have said?"
The album was a hit, going to #20 on the Billboard 200 and topping a bunch of other Billboard charts: Folk Albums, Independent Albums, Top Alternative Albums, Top Rock Albums and Vinyl Albums.
A terrific guitarist and performer, Barnett has become a strong concert draw. She followed up her debut with Lotta Sea Lice, an album she made with Kurt Vile, and solo albums in 2018 and 2021. I've seen her a few times and she's become one of my favorite live acts to see. I'm excited to see what she does next.
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