My songs tell me what to do.
Kristin Hersh (London Review Bookshop, 2024, 00:36:55: 00:37:00)1
This is the audio-only version of the video essay The Path of Totality, inspired by the recent ‘Great North American Eclipse’ and the shape of a record.
Methodological notes
In this voice piece, I hone in on the path of totality (which I must somewhere have tattooed upon me) looking, pixels and proximity, having no time, Kristin Hersh , heiress of loons, and all things circular and slippery, and revamping disappointment.
This post also marks the release of the Blackout Baby one cut black vinyl heavyweight 45rpm, with handwritten liner notes/lyrics and original matte photos, housed in a rare sleeve—destined to be held.
London Review Bookshop (2024, April 29). Kristin Hersh & Jennifer Hodgson: The Art of Songwriting. [online video] Available at: https://www.londonreviewbookshop.co.uk/podcasts-video/podcasts/kristin-hersh-jennifer-hodgson-the-future-of-songwriting [Accessed 22 September 2024].
References
Berger, J. (2013) Understanding a Photograph. Edited and introduced by Geoff Dyer. London: Penguin.
Blanchot, M. (1981) The Gaze of Orpheus and Other Literary Essays. Trans. by Lydia Davis. Ed. by P. Adams Sydney. Barrytown, N.Y. ; Station Hill Press.
Gauthier, M. 2021, Saved by a song: the art and healing power of songwriting, First edn, New York, NY: St. Martin's Essentials.
Hersh, K. 2024, The Future of Songwriting. New York, NY: Melville House.
London Review Bookshop (2024, April 29). Kristin Hersh & Jennifer Hodgson: The Art of Songwriting. [online video] Available at: https://www.londonreviewbookshop.co.uk/podcasts-video/podcasts/kristin-hersh-jennifer-hodgson-the-future-of-songwriting [Accessed 22 September 2024].
Pothast, E. 2024, “Invisible Jukebox. Kristen Hersh.” The Wire. May 2024. Issue 483. Pp. 20-23. Available at: <https://reader.exacteditions.com/issues/115827/spread/23/>.Accessed 10 April, 2024.
Sherburne, P. 2020, “Throwing Muses’ Kristin Hersh on the Music That Made Her.” Pitchfork. Available at: <https://pitchfork.com/features/5-10-15-20/throwing-muses-kristin-hersh-on-the-music-that-made-her/>. Accessed 9 April, 2024. Accessed 6 April, 2024. The subtitle is a quote from Hersh cited in this piece in which she discusses ‘opting out’.
Wray, D. D. 2020, “Throwing Muses Kristin Hersh ‘I Knew Integrity Would Pull Me Into the Gutter’.” The Guardian. Available at: <https://www.theguardian.com/music/2020/sep/09/throwing-muses-cult-band-interview-kristin-hersh/>. Accessed 9 April, 2020.
Wu, T. 2016, The attention merchants: the epic scramble to get inside our heads, First edn, New York, NY: Alfred A. Knopf.
Discography
Harvey. P. J. (2003) I Inside the Old Year Dying. London: Partisan.
The Throwing Muses. (1994) “Your Ghost” Hips and Makers. London: 4AD.
Dylan, B. (1976). Desire. Colombia Records: U.S.
Talbot, S. L. Blackout Baby (2024). [Vinyl]. Self-released.
The Path of Totality