There are few records I’ve cherished as much as those put out by Megafaun. Between last year’s Gather, Form And Fly
and this year’s recently release mini-album, Heretofore
, they’ve become one of my absolute favorite bands. Over the years, I’ve had the good fortune to be able to bring these guys to Madison and Milwaukee for shows and now, with a big smile on my face, call these guys friends. It is thus very fitting that Brad Cook chose selections by his friends for his contribution to our continuing feature on sad songs.
By Brad Cook:
I cry all the fucking time when I listen to music. Trying to narrow down a list of songs that make cry is almost impossible without some sort of linear thread. For sake of a theme, I decided to give you my top five most consistent tear jerkers that were written by friends. I get accused of being too excited about friends’ bands. I am fine with this. I have always felt there to be a direct correlation with trust and music. You trust websites, you trust critics, you trust friends that show you music and you trust friends that make music. When somebody’s integrity and intention isn’t being questioned, it becomes easier to open up and truly hear what they have to say. For me, there is no greater emotional connection to music then when it comes from someone I have shared more than a stage with, or saw from a far at a festival. It comes from someone that has informed as much of my character as the music I create. Here are songs that without fail, make me cry. It isn’t necessarily a sad feeling, though some of these are sad songs, it is just humbling. Also, I elected not to choose any songs by Justin cause that is a whole separate list. I cry to like every song he has ever written since we were kids.
1) Tallest Man on Earth – “Thousand Ways”
I met Kristian and his fiance, Amanda (who is as amazing musically and personally as he is) last year and it was heavy from the get go. His passion for love, life and music is truly otherworldly. If you have seen him, you understand how fitting his moniker is. His talent is so great that when I watch him play, I am generally a mess from the first note. You can see how much he his willing to give and it has been amazing to see how many people are lining up to receive his sentiments. This song has fueled many drives and late nights. No matter how many times I hear the line “I am the light in the middle of every man’s fall” I get the stinging feeling in eyes.
2) Patterson Hood – “Uncle Disney”
I just met Patterson last year, but he has been an important voice in my life for quite sometime. Patterson has a point of view in his songwriting that is so clear and familiar. There are a dozen or so Truckers tunes by all three songwriters that bring me to the tear zone, but this tune off Patterson’s solo album is crippling. The liner notes to this album are unreal. He describes in detail the dissolving state of his marriage and the turmoil within the band when these songs were laid to four track. This is the first track on an album that is as raw and honest as anything I have ever experienced. This album has been played multiple times on every single tour we have done and it has been playing during some of the most introspective times in my life. Patterson is a hero and his songs are so important to me and when I hear him count in “1,2,3,4″ I know where I am headed.
3) Sharon Van Etten – “Joke or a Lie” (unreleased, watch/listen here)
Jesus christ. Finding a moment when Sharon’s singing and it’s not overly emotional is also oddly difficult. I wish she’d make some sort of jokey thing, so it doesn’t have to be such an ordeal EVERY TIME I hear that voice. I have a demo of this song that I listen too when the time is right. She’d play this song on tour sometimes and all four of us would be standing there holding each other. I don’t know if I will ever entirely understand how one person is capable of so many songs that have the ability to deeply effect people. I have so much faith in Sharon as a songwriter and a person. If you know me, you’re already aware of that. If you don’t know Sharon’s music by now, get involved. It will only save you time……or your life.
4) Menomena – “Dirty Cartoons”
Megafaun’s first show four years ago was opening for Menomena. We were awful. However, it may be because of the consistent support from the get go from these guys that we are a band. Our friendships have continued to grow and these dudes continue to inspire us as much as anyone. The music they make is incredible, inspiring and unique and the guys are all thoughtful, sincere people. When they first sent this record over to us this spring, we were on tour. We were having a hard time adjusting to our role as headliners and our spirits were a little shaken. By the time we got to the outro of this song, it was all we could do to not stop the car. We were balling. We listened to this record everyday, sometimes several times a day for the rest of the tour. This song was like the mantra. I always joke about this song being the closer for the next Live Aid, but seriously: think about a stadium full of emotional motherfuckers in Rio De Janeiro or something, holding lighters and like, everyone walks off the stage while the crowd still sings. That’s exactly how big this song is in my world.
5) Conrad Plymouth – “Fergus Falls”
Chris Porterfield was our bandmate in DeYarmond Edison. He was the dude that quietly learned pedal steel and was probably a lot better than any of us realized back then. He didn’t really sing harmonies or turn his amp up cause he was weirdly insecure about his contributions if I remember that right. He certainly wasn’t one for the limelight, so to speak. Eventually, after we moved to North Carolina and Chris moved to Milwaukee, he started slowly putting songs out there. At first I thought it was endearing and I wasn’t quite digging in. In the blink of an eye, Chris shot out of the stratosphere in regards to his songwriting. When I heard Chris’s band play live for the first time this spring, I was literally in shock. This tune in particular was so triumphant I had to walk outside when it was done to collect myself. His band was SO good and his songs were unbelievable. Like Patterson, I truly believe that Chris has a completely original point of view and l exicon for his songs. There is an attention to environmental details within songs that actually work. Detail is tricky. Too much detail can write the listener out of the experience I think. Chris nails it in a way that I guess I havent experienced. For example in this song, the line ” I was concealing his kid under his crew neck state-school while i grinned off in the distance behind prescription shades.” This is the type of shit David Berman would write, but it would be buried in a mess of shit and lost in a potential sarcastic payoff(just for the record, I absolutely LOVE the Silver Jews), but with this song it’s so important and vivid and something we can all picture in our own way. Haven’t heard this song without losing my shit yet, hope I never do.
Buy: Megafaun – Heretofore
++
MP3: Megafaun – “Volunteers”
introduces a whole other side of the artist as a man, and is one of the saddest songs I’ve ever heard. The Parisian string intro and the walking minor guitar chords set the tone for the devastating lyric, full of sorrow, self-pity and aching lust. This is the throbbing sound of a guy on the edge of the very pedestal he built for himself, with carnal urges waging a private battle with public faith. He later said that it was written as an indictment of “free love,” but it sounds like he knows firsthand how that works. He did end up burning through a couple of marriages, much to the chagrin of his faithful, and you can hear it happening in this song.
