Unearthed Vol. 10 - May '20

Unearthed Collection
Written By Matt Williams

You can enjoy the Unearthed Vol. 10 playlist in its entirety on Spotify. Just click on the included Spotify plugin.

Artwork by Eric Nopanen

Featured Find: Hero of the Day, Metallica (Live w/ the San Francisco Symphony Orchestra)

Take a minute to think back. Can you remember the first mixtape — or CD, for you millenials — that you ever received as a gift? Can you remember how that mix came to be and who made it for you? Was it it from your Dad, trying with all his might to drown out the “uninspired droning” of Green Day and Linkin’ Park with Pink Floyd and Led Zeppelin? Or was it maybe from your secret grade school crush channelling Seal and Savage Garden to communicate what words could not?

For me, it wasn’t one mix but five, titled simply “Dew Mix 1-5”. These first mix CD’s were given (regifted?) as a Christmas gift to my brother from a family friend who was living with us at the time. She burned copies of five mix CD’s that were, in turn, given to her by her younger brother, “Dew.” I am sure that Dew has no idea how much of an impact that gift would make on the music that my brother and I would listen to and come to love. I would listen to the Dew Mixes over and over again. They were my first introduction to Ozzy Osbourne, Van Halen, and Weezer. They expanded my interest in U2, Creed (I know…), and The Red Hot Chili Peppers.

If Fresh Cut Finds had an origin story, Chapter 1 would be all about the Dew Mixes. After all the Dew Mixes were the CD’s I would listen to time and again on my WalkMan when mowing my parent’s lawn. They were the first tracks to be added to Mowing Music, the master playlist of all the songs I’ve ever loved, then and now.

 
“Time so slowly turns
And someone there is sighing
Keepers of the flames
Do you feel your name?
Did you hear your babies crying?”
— Hero of the Day, Metallica

The beautiful thing about music is that it costs nothing to give it and you can gift it an infinite number of times. And so, if you don’t mind a bit of regifting, our featured find this month comes from Dew Mix #4. That mix introduced me to a stunning rendition of Hero of the Day performed live by Metallica and backed by a full symphony orchestra. You can find it on their concert album, S&M.

While I had a hard time finding much about the meaning of Hero of the Day, I did find one nugget commonly attributed to James Hetfield, the lead vocalist, rhythm guitarist, and songwriter for Metallica. Hetfield apparently said he wrote the song about children who are looking for heroes within the media and entertainment, not realizing that the true heroes are the people they come across in everyday life, including their parents (and people like Dew).

This month’s Unearthed playlist is dedicated to those unsung heroes; there seem to be a lot of them around these days.

 

What is Unearthed?

You might have seen that we recently launched a new playlist series called Planted and Enchanted. We described that series as being akin to a search through your junk drawer, a series of discoveries and re-discoveries. Well, if that is the case, then our Unearthed playlist series is more like a relentless hunt through a flea market to find that next treasure. You might dig up something that is truly valuable, or perhaps something that is simply priceless to you. I bought my first vinyl record at an antique store. On another trip, I found a fox hunting painting that brought cascading memories of similar art in my grandma’s home (titled Picking up the Scent, it now hangs proudly on my bathroom wall). And on still another, I stumbled across a Lionel Barrymore etching in the theme of my family’s long-time vacation haunt.

Discovering music feels very much the same way to me. It is something that is both incredibly personal, but also has the potential to connect me to the memories, experiences, and people I treasure most. I spend countless hours listening to albums, playlists, and podcasts each month, searching for that next great treasure. With the Unearthed playlist, I want to share the latest discoveries I’ve made with you in the hopes that you too might find a song that resonates, sparks a memory, or catches you at just the right moment. Unlike antiques, a great song unearthed can be shared over-and-over again.

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 on the 1st day of the month. Subscribe with your email address to receive the monthly Unearthed playlist, plus other occasional speciaty playlists.

Matt Williams
Previous

Planted and Enchanted: Vol. 4 - May '20
Next

Planted and Enchanted: Vol. 3 - April '20