Fresh Cuts Friday – Manifesting the next case/lang/veirs

Fresh Cuts Friday! Here we are. Cindy’s picks. Cindy hosts. But we’ve got the new ED of FA, Sarah LaDuke, writing about some of the songs for the Fresh Cuts blog post. Where is that? You’re reading it right now.

Fresh Cuts, Cindy’s weekly radio hour airs every Friday at 2pm ET / 11am PT on Folk Alley’s 24/7 stream — available on our website, mobile app, or your smart speaker too. Prefer to listen on your own time? Just click on the Fresh Cuts stream whenever it works for you.

And if you haven’t done it yet – consider hopping to the top of our website, clicking that “Donate Now” button, and giving whatever you can afford to keep Folk Alley going.

Jobi Riccio – “Pilar, NM”

🎶“Went out to the desert to try to dry up my sorrow, let the sun bleach my worried heart bright white as cattle bones.”🎶

Ok, Jobi Riccio. I’m listening.

The brilliantly reflective alto goes outside and faces the bright and dark spots of self-reflection. Getting into the real nitty gritty with yourself about yourself can be tough. “There’s a mirror in these mountains. They hold it up to my heart and remind me who I am.” leads the wistful chorus – the song noting the humbling vastness of nature throughout.

Listen and note the melodies, strings, steel, and imagery in the lyric.

Meg Lui – “Gone Girl”

Meg Lui’s first single on Asthmatic Kitty Records, “Gone Girl,” was co-produced by ‪‪Sufjan Stevens and Keenan O’Meara. Meg and Nine Mile Productions made an excellent music video to accompany the song if you’ve a few minutes to watch. Although – the song advises you to turn off your devices so we are kind of at an impasse here.

This song, like Jobi Riccio’s, is singing with knowledge of the grind and a desire to slip its coils. Let’s keep singing and keep trying.

Sera Cahoone – “Pulling Up Roots”

A few weeks ago, my friend and I were walking my dog in the neighborhood. We were talking about the premiere topic among elder-millenial women: perimenopause. We stopped walking to let Doritos (dog) spend an inordinate amount of time rubbing his face in clover and my friend said one of her noted changes was that she has rage now. I laughed and welcomed her.

All that to say, I’m really picking up what Sera Cahoone is putting down in “Pulling Up Roots” when she sings “We’ve been acting like we’re just fine but we’ve all been in the wrong state of mind. I know: I’m not giving up.”

And if with the trio of musicians above I’ve manifested the next case/lang/veirs – so be it. riccio/lui/cahoone does have a ring to it. Not that we need a new case/lang/veirs. We still have them. Laura Veirs is ON this list. Please take my meaning:  more power trios, always. I’m With Her, boygenius — I can’t get enough.

The rest of Cindy’s excellent Fresh Cuts selections are below. The new hour, hosted by Cindy, airs on the Folk Alley main and member streams at 2pm ET and the Fresh Cuts stream is available anytime. Enjoy! – SLD

More this week on Fresh Cuts!

Clare Sands – “Anam Cara”
Fruition – “Reason to Live”
John R. Miller – “If You Could Only See Me Now”
Ken & Brad Kolodner – “Laughing Boy”
Laura Veirs – “Pulse”
Mariecke Borger – “The Shore Master”
Pokey LaFarge – “The Thing”
The Jayhawks – “Keeping Our Heads Above Water”
Tift Merritt – “Everyday Singing”