Unearthed Vol. 8 - March '20

Unearthed Collection
Written By Matt Williams
“Is it getting heavy?
Well, I thought it was
Already as heavy as can be

Tell everybody waiting for a Superman
That they should try to hold on best they can
He hasn’t dropped them, forgot them, or anything
It’s just too heavy for a Superman to lift”
— Waitin' for a Superman, The Flaming Lips

You can enjoy the Unearthed Vol. 8 playlist in its entirety on Spotify. Just click on the included Spotify plugin.

Featured Find: Waitin’ for a Superman, The Flaming Lips

I received a copy of the The Soft Bulletin, the 9th studio album from The Flaming Lips, as a part of my subscription to theVinyl Me, Please essentials track. While I have known the band for some time, I had only found a few of their tracks previously that really worked for me. As I began listening to the album, I was blown away by the creativity and intensity of the drum-line throughout. It almost immediately made this feel like a concept album, with one of the through-lines being that the drums act almost as much of a driver of melody as they do the rhythm. I came to find out that the album was consistently recognized as one of the most influential records of the 1990s.

As I dropped the needle on the 2nd disc from the album, the track Waitin’ for a Superman caught my attention. I had heard the song before, but performed by the folk band Iron & Wine. I had always assumed they had written the track when in fact it originated from The Soft Bulletin. This cut, and much of this record, speak of resilience in the face of the stresses, pain, and anxiety that we at times encounter in life, some that seem almost too heavy to bear. In an interview, front-man Wayne Coyne described it like this:

“But it wasn't all bad, it opened up the door to another dimension of joy and pain and suffering and wondering. It's still very optimistic, but in a different way. The childish glee is taken away and replaced by a resilience. We wanted to try to see that our lives could be epic. I don't mean overtly epic, but that we can see things with our lives that have this marvel about it.”

We hope you enjoy Unearthed Vol. 8 and, if you have the time, give The Soft Bulletin a listen in full as well. As a bonus, here is a video of Coldplay covering Waitin for a Superman in a 2008 concert in Oklahoma, the home-state of The Flaming Lips.

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.

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.

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
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