Courtney Barnett
Avant Gardner
Listening to WFUV in New York City last week, I came upon -Courtney Barnett's Avant Gardner- The Fordham University Radio station has been giving Barnett's song quite a lot of airplay. A unique and catchy indie tune that I just can't stop listening to. Courtney Barnett is a singer /songwriter from Melbourne Australia who is quite happy to sing about panic attacks, parents, and allergic reactions. Her style, considered Indie, Rock, alternative rock, or some say grunge. Her signature style- commenting on the mundane every day events as her muse. .-
The lyrics are quite clever, and reminiscent of a Beatles-esq style, so very clever as she paints the picture of having a panic attack in the garden:
Anaphylactic and super hypocondriacticShould’ve stayed in bed todayI much prefer the mundane.I take a hit fromAn asthma pufferI do it wrongI was never good at smoking bongs.I’m not that good at breathing in.I’m not that good at breathing in.I’m not that good at breathing in.
In an Independent Arts and Entertainment UK interview with Barnett, the writer shares;
Her lo-fi, soul-baring but conversational style recalls anti-folk artists Kimya Dawson and Jeffrey Lewis and, like theirs, her songs are unabashedly autobiographical. “Most are pretty revealing of myself”, she admits, a characteristic that has seen her dubbed “the musical Lena Dunham”. Lyrics allude to everything from the minutiae of her laundry schedule and phone conversations with worried parents (“Are you eating? You sound so thin”) to sprawling tales of drunken benders rolling through art-school parties and casinos via tractor rides and boat trips.
With music and lyrics that are gloriously mundane and tongue and cheek, Barrett continues to gain in popularity throughout the UK and North America. Looking forward to her take on other mundane aspects of our lives to share with her clever prose and music compositions.
