There's something to be said for all of it, for getting to know new people, for spending your days in the pool, and for languishing while reflecting upon your life with folk music, the last of which is my favorite hobby. So when I stumble upon a new musician who is absolutely perfect for languishing while reflecting upon my life with folk music, nothing thrills me more in the world and with Jeremy Messersmith, I've got just that.
I had the pleasure of seeing Messersmith with the amazing Brooklyn duo Kaiser Cartel last night in Ann Arbor and while I knew Messersmith's work beforehand, I wasn't nearly as familiar with it as I'm going to be in the future because, simply put... Goddamn. The man is the perfect combination of innovation, storytelling, and charming catchiness. In fact, I used my noggin to think up the absolute best comparison of not one, not two, but three artists I love that he has vague similarities to but, hey, I'm saving that for my review of his latest cd, The Reluctant Graveyard, although I might reuse the comparison in my review of the Kasier Cartel/Messersmith concert that I swear I will be writing in a few days.
But until then, I appear to be doing the classic Amber Valentine thing of attaching myself to one particularly strong song and being unable to listen to anything else.
"A Girl, A Boy, A Graveyard" lyrically reflects more of me than any song I've heard in quite some time. Sure, there have been tracks like Ben Sollee and Daniel Martin Moore's "Something, Somewhere, Sometime" or The National's "Anyone's Ghost" that have struck quite a chord with me in recent months but I've been lacking "that song", the type of song that could have been pieced together directly from quotes I've said, that tells the story of me awkwardly finding myself falling a bit for someone who may or may not ever be more than a friend, and I could delve into details, dissecting verses and lines, but instead I'm going to give you the following: A song, a video, and a quote. Because I think that speaks enough.
"I feel like I'm some kind of Frankenstein
Waiting for a shock to bring me back to life
But I don't want to spend my time
Waiting for lightning to strike"
"I'm like a princess in a castle high
Waiting for a kiss to bring me back to life
But I don't want to spend my time
Waiting for just another guy"
