Planted and Enchanted: Vol. 9 - October '20

Planted and Enchanted
Written By Evan Hammonds
 
“Staring down the barrel of the hot sun
Shining with the sheen of a shotgun
Carol has a little if we need some
Joe has a ride, if we wanna come”
— anything, Adrianne Lenker
 

You can enjoy the Planted and Enchanted: Vol. 9 playlist in its entirety on Spotify. Just click on the included Spotify plugin.

Playlist Highlight: anything, Adrianne Lenker

Long ago, in a time when bustling restaurants were apart of American life, I far too often found myself having a deep and personal conversation with a friend, only to have the flow of words abruptly halt when a server entered our tight knit orbit. I sometimes wonder about the snippets of conversations they’ve heard over years. True, most probably aren’t paying particular attention, likely lost in their own thoughts. After all, how much can you possibly glean from strangers talking about subjects for which there is so little context? If I were in their shoes, I could also imagine fighting the urge to listen because it seems akin to reading someone’s diary without their permission. It’s as though there’s been some minor violation of decorum and privacy.

"anything” by Adrianne Lenker makes me feel this way too because I’m quite convinced that it’s a song that I’m not so much listening to, but rather happened to overhear. In other words, it’s a love letter meant for somebody else that I’ve merely stumbled upon and feel slightly guilty for having done so. I think you can contribute this sensation partly to Lenker’s soft and meek vocals (heck, even the song’s title is all lowercase), and partly to her intimate lyrics. Consider this passage:

Christmas eve with your mother and sis

Don't wanna fight but your mother insists

Dog's white teeth slice right into my fist

Drive to the ER and you put me on risk

The shared history between the song’s narrator and the significant other described is obvious; the car ride to the ER due to a dog bite and the argument with the mother makes this abundantly clear. The part that gets me though is the word “sis.” It’s just one of those micro-affectionate terms that you seem to absorb when you’ve been in any type of relationship long enough.

Beyond the lyrics and vocals, this song is just as much a melodic triumph and the finger plucking displayed here would make Chet Atkins blush. The degree of difficulty of nailing those identical chords again and again for three and a half minutes becomes more apparent on each relisten. If you tunein carefully, after the last line, you can immediately hear a an audible “whoo.” The universal sound of, “Wow, I can’t believe we made it all the way through without flubbing a note.” Great stuff.

anything is my favorite song to come out in 2020 so far. With any luck, someday I’ll hear it being played softly in the background of a restaurant, as I’m having a deep and personal conversation with a friend.

What is Planted and Enchanted?

If you’re anything like me, you surely have a “junk drawer” somewhere in your home. It probably consists of an old flashlight with dead batteries in it, a handful of rubber bands alongside some pens running low on ink, enough loose keys for you to qualify as a middle school janitor, some birthday cards given to you years ago (how quickly can I throw these away without it being rude? Better wait another decade just to be safe.), the box to your old iPhone simply because it’s a pretty darn cool box, and a small library of service manuals for among other things: your refrigerator, hot water heater, and that Instant Pot you used just the one time.

I don’t consider my junk drawer “worthless” mind you, but rather see it a collection of delightful discoveries (Hey! I didn’t know I had a yo-yo!), and delightful rediscoveries (So that’s where my playing cards were!).

That’s my aim for this playlist series: Planted and Enchanted. A monthly track list consisting of songs that likely won’t fit perfectly together in a classic album sense, but are useful in planting the seeds of discovery of new genres, artists, and songs as well as the unearthing of music you loved but had long since forgotten about. Who knows, there may even be a hidden theme or two that the savvy listener can piece together. The best part about this playlist? If you don’t like it, that’s okay. We’re talking about junk after all.

If you have a specific song that you’ve recently discovered or come to love, we’d love to hear from you. Just email us at freshcutfinds@gmail.com. We’re planning to roll out more content and a new playlist series in the coming months. Stay tuned!

Each month, we put together a playlist of our favorite discoveries new & old. Each playlist will be about the length of a mix CD (80 mins) and will be sent around the 15th of each month. Subscribe with your email address to receive the monthly Planted and Enchanted playlist, plus other occasional speciaty playlists.

Evan Hammonds
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Planted and Enchanted: Vol. 10 - November '20
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Planted and Enchanted: Vol. 8 - September '20