I feel like Courtney Barnett is an absolute genius. I know that plenty of people make music in a similar vein as hers, but Courtney Barnett’s music feels entirely original. Her confessional, honest, stream of consciousness songs are infectious and ubiquitous. She’s also an absolute queer icon. I know that this doesn’t say much because I fall in love with everyone I see play live, but seeing her play live, I fell in love with her. There’s only a few famous people I am truly, deeply willing to do anything for, and Courtney Barnett is one of them.
I first heard about her because a friend
of mine recommended her to me. His name is Jack, we met while I was in New
Zealand where we were both studying abroad. He’s from Australia, and after
talking about our love for Lake Street Dive, he recommended I listen to
Courtney Barnett. I was immediately into it and very surprised I hadn’t found
her earlier. Jack is one of those people that I don’t speak to much anymore,
mostly because he still lives in Australia and I still live in the U.S. but
listening to Lake Street Dive and Courtney Barnett always makes me think of
him. His friendship felt very easy, and I miss him and my time in New Zealand a
lot a lot a lot.
Anyway, Barnett’s music reminds me
of the Imagist poetry movement. I’m talking a modern take on “Red Wheelbarrow” or
“Plums” by William Carlos Williams. Her music is such a deliberate snapshot of
a moment, of a feeling, of a relationship. She speaks in general terms by
speaking of specifics. Her lyrics are often a quick gut punch, moving on to the
next before you even register what happened. In “I’m Not Your Mother, I’m Not
Your Bitch,” her gravelly, throaty yells are absolutely cutting. As she lays
into this unknown person, she slips in the line “I get most self-defensive /
when I know I’m wrong” and suddenly, it isn’t just a song bashing another
person. She’s indicted herself in her own scathing review. This kind of shifting,
hidden confession sandwiched between otherwise impersonal lyrics is so emblematic
of her writing style. Her songs are like a trojan horse; you think you’re
listening to a song about an allergic reaction to a bee sting, but really you’re
learning about her coping mechanisms amidst stress. On “Crippling Self Doubt
and a General Lack of Self-Confidence,” you’d think the lyrics would be heavy
handed, given the title. But the lyrics add a subtlety and gentleness that the
title doesn’t suggest. She’s hard on herself in the early stanzas, but by the
end she says over and over, “I don’t owe anything, I don’t know anything.” I interpret
this as kind of an acceptance, a surrender into that constant oscillation
between doubt and assurance.
Courtney Barnett is also really
fucking funny, and it comes across so well in her music. While I’m not good
enough at guitar to truly understand her abilities, I do know that she’s
essentially playing two guitar parts at once. She plays left-handed and has
essentially created her own style of finger picking/strumming. I’m going to
look like an idiot if I try and explain more on this though, so I’ll stop
there. Basically, she’s fucking amazing. Listen to her music if you haven’t
before, and if you have, listen again.
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