{"id":4849,"date":"2013-12-08T17:07:36","date_gmt":"2013-12-08T22:07:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/futureisfiction.com\/blog\/?p=4849"},"modified":"2018-10-25T12:32:51","modified_gmt":"2018-10-25T20:32:51","slug":"fan-mail-for-evan-petersen-dark-songs-with-pretty-words","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/futureisfiction.com\/blog\/fan-mail-for-evan-petersen-dark-songs-with-pretty-words\/","title":{"rendered":"Fan Mail for Evan Peterson: Dark Songs With Pretty Words"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\"EvanThis is my friend Evan Peterson. Isn’t he handsome? He runs this nifty press in Seattle<\/a>, and he writes zombie poetry<\/a> and other things horrific, queer and clever<\/a>. He has a timid greyhound rescue dog named after a character in an Oscar Wilde story.<\/p>\n

This is a mix tape for Evan. So the songs are a little dark or a little queer, or well-stated, just like Evan and the stuff he writes. I’ve also focused on songs that are new wave, electro, or dark wave as I know those are genres Mr. Petersen and I both favor. In honing the list, I’ve favored songs that embrace big topics like God while fearlessly examining our shadow selves, because I know Evan Petersen thinks about the heavy shit.<\/p>\n

And this is the part where I explain the choices. Because what fun is a mix if you don’t overthink it?<\/p>\n

Evan’s Clever Dark Electro Mix<\/h2>\n

Veils – Not Yet (4:54)<\/a><\/h3>\n

One of my favorite songs of the new millennium, I think Evan will like it because it has poetic lyrics. I love that it’s a queer song that’s not a big neon sign bragging about its queerness (I’m looking at you, Katy Perry). It’s one of the songs I can’t quite wrap my mind around, but it’s interesting enough that I trust that someday I will. To me that’s one of the hallmarks of good poetry. But what really slays me is the emotion in his voice. I love the force behind the line \u201cCharlie was the first I let lay an anchor in my heart\u201d and by the end he’s shouting with a sincerity that I couldn’t fake.<\/p>\n

Father John Misty – I’m Writing a Novel (3:35)<\/a><\/h3>\n

It’s only fair that Evan’s mix includes this song, because for no reason I brought it up several times during my weekend in Seattle. Maybe because everyone we know is writing a novel. Lyrics<\/a> are pretty important on a mix for a poet, and that’s J. Tillman’s strong suit. Somehow every song perfectly balances humorous, surreal scenarios against details that make you believe this stuff really happened to him.<\/p>\n

For example, the song opens with \u201cI ran down the road, pants down to my knees
\nScreaming ‘please come help me, that Canadian shaman gave a little too much to me!’\u201d<\/p>\n

An absurd, funny situation, but why mention that the shaman is Canadian? It’s such an odd little detail that makes it that much funnier and more real. This song has a real honky vibe that’s not my style but it’s so great I don’t give a damn if I look like a hick singing along.<\/p>\n

Heartsrevolution – I.D. (Investigation Discovery) (3:54)<\/a><\/h3>\n

Heartsrevolution is dark and artsy in a way I know Evan can get behind. This song is weird because the parts that stick out right away are when she’s quoting Britney Spears and Notorious BIG. Then the next thing you’re most likely to notice is that the song is prayer to God, and she’s got a bad connection (\u201cCan you hear me now?\u201d) Or maybe one notices the reference to Osama Bin Laden. It all feels very strangely disconnected. But when you read the lyrics, it all comes together in a way that’s surprisingly coherent and somewhat thought-provoking.<\/p>\n

Here’s a lyric video for I.D.<\/h4>\n