Now Playing at Coral Studio
In my emotional teenage era, I remember setting a pre-requisite for my future partner - that they needed to know and love Hey Rosetta! as much as I did. Which most of you are probably like who..? None other than the seven piece indie band out of Newfoundland (with hunky Tim Baker as the lead man).
Fast forward to my first time going to Justin’s apartment on Robie Street in Halifax, where I was met with that comforting smell of wood burning stove and none other than a SIGNED Hey Rosetta! poster hung in his bedroom.
It wasn't like.. THE MOMENT I KNEW. But it was noted.
We definitely have overlaps musically but even within that our taste varies slightly. In the Hey Rosetta! example, I have nostalgic attachment to OG albums, like Seeds that was basically the only CD I had in my 2007 Camry roaming around in Sudbury. Whereas Justin is more drawn to the newer released work - Second Sight. He seems to have an appreciation for the increased production value and complexity as the band evolved. We have similar view on Dan Mangan’s music.
Justin listens to pretty much anything and everything (and can also just pick up the guitar or bass and immediately play along, which will continue to amaze me). I think my range of listening is a little more selective - drawn to sad girl music and bad ass lady energy. That being said, we always have music playing at the house, whether that be spotify, vinyl, CD, or cassette.
We each took turns adding one song at a time to build a playlist that we felt reflected either specific or general things about our relationship. It’s meant to be played from start to finish and not on shuffle, just like Adele said of her album 30.
A few nuggets to share:
Young Glass by Hey Rosetta! - I already mentioned our shared love for HR!, but also this song in particular is inspired by the book Franny and Zooey by J.D. Salinger. Early in our relationship - can’t remember if it was a long distance facetime activity or during our time spent in Halifax.. Justin read the two novella’s to me out loud so we could better understand the song we've both listened to an infinite number of times. (BARF but also awe so cute!!!)
Bad, Bad Leroy Brown by Jim Croce - I don't even remember where this even came from, but we have a no exceptions rule in our house that if Bad, Bad Leroy Brown comes on (whether intentionally or it shows up somewhere in the shuffle), we must drop everything and dance for the whole song. TAG YOU’RE IT. Jim Croce died tragically at the age of 30, so really, if you DON’T comply to the rule and honour his music, you’re doing a disservice to the man, the legend.
North Star by Future Islands - listen carefully for “Justin the lizard king”
All Fired Up by Matt Corby - one time Justin and I did a motorcycle trip to La Have, Nova Scotia and our airbnb was in a sound proof bunkie in the middle of the woods with zero service. Felt like a good place to get murdered. We locked all the doors and windows, cracked open a fresh bottle of Ironworks Distillery gin from Lunenburg, and for whatever reason, watched every single Matt Corby video available on YouTube. (Thankfully, we survived to tell the tale).
Mushaboom by Feist - The Let it Die album permanently lives in the CD #3 slot on our 5 disc CD player in our apartment second-floor living without a yard.
On the Road Again by Willie Nelson - It’s no surprise one of Justin’s old man country songs made it on here. But, this one in particular reminds us of one night in Cape Breton. It was absolutely pouring, and we were heading a couple blocks over to an Indian Restaurant for dinner (Justin’s first time having butter chicken), and instead of walking, we drove. Right when we started the car, this song started playing on the radio, and ended RIGHT WHEN WE PULLED UP TO THE RESTAURANT.
A Case of You - Ending with one of the most feel-the-sadness-to-the-core songs. It’s rumoured to be about Joni’s short-lived but creatively passionate stint with CSNY’s member Graham Nash (who Justin has a major man-crush on). They fueled each other in their careers but as things fell apart Joni sent Graham a telegram that read “If you hold sand too tightly in your hand, it will run through your fingers”. Joni was always afraid of being trapped by feminine expectations of domesticity, she saw it happen to her mother and grandmother and wanted to be the one to “kick the kitchen door off of the hinges”.
Enjoy!!
K