I think I write to solve a mystery.
As my album continues to roll out song by song, I’ve been doing a lot of interviews, where I’m often asked to explain myself, and the reasons why I do the things I do.
Sometimes I find myself at a loss when it comes to these questions. I don’t think I can always explain exactly why I do what I do. I don’t think any of us really can.
But yesterday I had this thought: I write to solve a mystery.
It’s only when I’m totally tangled up inside or confounded by what it means to be alive that I find myself reaching for a pen or my instrument. Often, when I am done writing, it feels like a puzzle piece has been settled into place inside of me. It feels like something gets solved. But when I look back at the content of my songs, they are only filled with more questions.
So I write to solve a mystery, but the mystery remains, no matter how many words are dancing around it. This is the spirit of “Unglow The.”
I wrote this after an old friend passed away, crying to my partner on the phone saying, “it makes no sense, it doesn’t feel real, it’s not fair,” all of the things that we always say when this happens. I found myself numb at their funeral, feeling my brain doing endless calculations to try to grasp the reality that was in front of me. I felt a similar way when I went to visit Mount Everest. I was staring at the mountain, so overwhelmed by its grandness, that I almost didn’t feel anything at all.
It makes me wonder about what we are able to make sense of in this world, and what continues to go over our heads. Some things are just too big to grasp.
I was inspired by the writing of Annie Dillard in Pilgrim At Tinker Creek, which was the main literary inspiration for this song. In this book she reflects on creatures and their movements through the world, as well as sight and how it only offers us a small glimpse into what is ever really there.
By writing Unglow The, I came to no clear answer other than, we can’t really ever touch upon the true nature of something. This is a song about life, death, confusion, beauty, New York, and gummy worms.
Reflecting on this entire album, I look back and see a person who was scrambling for answers through song - for hours, days, months, years. But all I’ve created is a new vault of questions, and the realization that some mysteries can’t be solved. Because just like Ming The Clam and her untimely death in the research lab, some things just want to live. Without an explanation.
Thank you for listening to “Unglow The,” the final single from “Oh Glistening Onion, The Nighttime Is Coming,” out February 10th on Spacebomb Records. You can pre-order the album here. My record release show will be on February 25th at Public Records with friends Closebye and Katy Rea. This beautiful, thoughtful poster was made by my dear friend artist Emma Schreiner. Get your tickets here!
Lyrics:
Unglow The
Late night at the station, got me some rattlesnakes
Candy come be comfort to me
I don’t want to be scared
Sitting waiting for the train
But that is the world I am in, that is the world I am in
And I dreamt I saw a spaceship falling towards New York City
Felt the fire on my skin, then I floated away like a ribbon in the wind
Like a ribbon in the wind
And it hurt me for a second, then it didn’t
Flash! Goes the goldfish
The bears are dancing up in heaven
Cardinal ruffle the leaves
And the bird dies, mid-flight, midnight
I try not to think about what doesn’t make sense to me
Staring at the big white mountain
Snow is falling down, it’s falling down
Like a body in a casket
And all those things you can’t wrap your mind around
Don’t know what I was expecting
I cannot see without rejecting
I want to see everything
Well then I don’t know how to be in this place,
If I can’t unknow what I thought I’ve known
I can’t unwhale the wail
Unglow the glow
Unglow the
Unglow the
Unglow the
Unglow the
Credits:
Written by Nicole Rodriguez
Engineered by Tyler Postiglione at Thump Recording in Brooklyn, New York
Horns arranged and conducted by Trey Pollard
Horns recorded by Curtis Fye at Spacebomb Studios in Richmond, Virginia
Produced and mixed by Tyler Postiglione
Mastered by Sarah Register
Nicole Rodriguez - Vocals, Acoustic Guitar
Tyler Postiglione - Synthesizer, Background Vocals
Jack Sasner - Background Vocals
Jack McLoughlin - Electric Guitar
Julian Smith - Bass
Charlie Culbert - Drums and percussion
Taylor Barnett - Trumpet
Bryan Hooten - Trombone
Erin Lano - French Horn
JC Kuhl - Tenor Saxophone
This (below) is our “world map” from the recording process of Unglow The.
Thank you for being here and listening <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3