While logically I understand that Jim James (My Morning Jacket singer and generally famous musician) did not write his new song A New Life expressly for me, I’m going to maintain that it is at least a remote possibility. Like any fool who listens to music and sees all of their own life’s triumphs and struggles written into every line, I cannot help but hear this song and see a slow-motion montage of my own current, and soon-to-be, reality. I’ll get to the personal stuff in a minute though. First: the music.
If listening only to the opening moments of A New Life, you’d be easily forgiven for writting the tune off as a bit of a soft and slow snoozer. It doesn’t take long, though for the chuga-chuga guitars to kick in, and from then on things really get rolling. In fact, from start to finish the momentum never really slows down. By song’s end things are positively jumping with 50’s style backup singers, big band brass and strings- all adding to a loose sock-hoppy vibe. What could easily feel overly kitchsy instead comes off as earnest, joyful even. As a bonified indie-rock toe tapper it’s one of a rare breed, and got an even rarer endorsement after a recent listen when my five-year-old son asked, “can we do that one again?”
I’d briefly mentioned in a previous post that there are some changes afoot at Whale Music headquarters. Within the next few weeks my family and I will be packing all of our worldly belongings into boxes and moving from the creaky, 100+ year old row house that we’ve called home these last five years into a creakier, 100ish year old bay-windowed brick fixer upper that will be our family home for years (decades?) to come. So to be fair, when James croons,
Hey, open the door
I want a new life
Hey, and here’s what’s more
I want a new life
A new life
Can’t you see
A perfect picture of you and me
But you know
It won’t come easy
And what’s more
It’s worth working for
how can I not imagine the door that is literally waiting to be opened, the new life waiting to be lived? All accounts seem to indicate that James was dealing with some “deep stuff” of the personal and spiritual variety of his own as he was writing this song, which could be why his words of hopeful renewal smacks of true experience. I doubt very much that I am the only one who is drawn into this song by seeing themselves in it. After all, the sentiment of a new life (one thats not easy, but worth working for) is about as universal they come.
Jim James full length album Regions of Light and Sound of God is out now.
World Wide Whale 