Pictured: Patty Griffin probably shops at Pier 1 Imports… for cranberry potpourri.
Patty Griffin is my least likely find in the past week. Not because she’s so far out of the main stream, but because she seems like she’s smack dab in the middle of it. Griffin has been playing country-folk-pop for the better part of a decade, and has had her songs covered by the likes of Linda Rongstadt, Bette Midler, and even Jessica Simpson. She’s toured with Emmylou Harris and Gillian Welch, and yet still when I explain to my friends that the new Patty Griffin album sounds fantastic, everyone is still sort of like, “Who? Was she like in a band or something?”
Maybe it’s a testament to Griffin that she has managed to dangle so close to the limelight, without ever getting watered down and electric like some of her contemporaries (Jewel, Sheryl Crow, whatever else your mom is listening to right now). I like to think that it’s on purpose, but even if it isn’t, who cares? Griffin has managed to create a perfect folk-pop album that is ultra-conducive to sunny drives on rural Wisconsin roads, to bike rides with uncles that you know well, and to sitting in your room on perfect days with the windows open and your laundry outside.
The absolute standout track is the upbeat, folk-rocker, “No Bad News.” It has a crazy guy on plastic buckets at the end, and there’s the obligatory uber-hopeful trumpet lines. Griffin manages to walk the line of schmaltz without diving in head first, and what’s left is the most inspiring track of the summer. The only way this song can be ruined for me is if any of the following happen…
1) This song is featured in a levitra ad.
2) It’s featured in a Lindsay Lohan movie where she regains her innocence by working on a farm.
3) That’s actually about it. Enjoy.
Comments 1
I stumbled upon Patty Griffin at the tale end of a Crossing Jordon episode. I did a search and found it was Patty. That was a couple of years ago and now have every album she has done and I have driven to see her perform at the Americana Folk Festival in Dickson TN. She is the real deal and sounds as good live as she does recorded. Thank you for featuring her.
Posted 25 Jun 2007 at 3:59 pm ¶Post a Comment