"HISTORY OF US" INDIGO GIRLS (1989)

For October, the Mental Jukebox is dialing it way back to the eighties and going deep. Deep cuts have always been an important element of music listening to me because they’re often the songs that resonate with me most. Deep cuts are usually the ones that the true fans appreciate most. I like my singles and hits, but I love my deep cuts.

The self-titled Indigo Girls album brings me back to my last couple of years of high school. I caught them on the album’s promotion tour at Port Chester’s Capitol Theatre – just my second ever concert at that point. Some of the songs are celebratory, some of them are unmistakably somber, and all of them are deeply reflective. Ray and Saliers were just 25 and 26 respectively when the album was released, but they were wise beyond their years. This gave songs like “History Of Us” a deep sense of perspective and wisdom that you wouldn’t expect from a couple of twenty-somethings.

I think what makes “History Of Us” that much more special is that it wasn’t celebrated like the album’s more well known songs: “Closer To Fine”, “Secure Yourself”, “Kid Fears”, “Love’s Recovery” and “Land Of Canaan”. “History Of Us” is a hidden gem on the record. Quiet, unassuming, not drawing special attention to itself. Written by Saliers, it’s a song that feels like it was written for the listener, about the listener. It leaves a multi-faceted impression in its wake: nostalgia, remorse, sadness, and all of it, absolutely all of it, is just beautiful.

“Stretched our youth as we must, until we are ashes to dust. Until time makes history of us.”

"I DON'T WANNA TALK ABOUT IT" INDIGO GIRLS (1993)

This month, the Mental Jukebox revisits the movie soundtracks of the nineties. The music I’m highlighting are some of my personal favorites. In many cases, the movies themselves were huge for me as well. But the focus will still be on the music – as always. Let’s bring on the throwback classics, the grunge, the gangsta rap, and the indie gems. #31DaysOf90sMovieSongs

Movie: Philadelphia

Indigo Girls was one of the first concerts I went to. It was 1991, and the duo was riding high on the strength of their debut album. While other folk artists like Suzanne Vega and Tracy Chapman helped pave the way, Indigo Girls took things to another level with their emphasis on harmonies and dual acoustic guitar parts to their songs. In high school, I had plenty of bangers to rock out to and hook-laden tracks to move to. But there was something about Indigo Girls that was different. Their songs came from these deep places in their hearts that made them instantly attractive to me. Songs like “Love’s Recovery", “Secure Yourself” and “Closer To Fine” are a part of my high school soundtrack. A few years later, they contributed a beautiful cover of “I Don’t Want To Talk About It”.

While not a Rod Stewart original, the song is certainly most attributed to him. Everything But The Girl also covered it. But my favorite version is the Indigo Girls recording. Somehow it sounds like an original Indigo Girls song even though it isn’t. It feels like it was made for their harmonies with Amy Ray on alto and Emily Saliers on soprano. It’s sung from a place of vulnerability and brokenness, held together by gorgeous acoustic guitar and piano elements that linger in your head long after you listened to it.

“If I stay here just a little bit longer, if I stay here, won't you listen to my heart?”

"LEAST COMPLICATED" INDIGO GIRLS (1994)

Each day in November, I’m revisiting a song from the 90’s — a decade that was a sorta coming of age for me. In that span, I experienced high school, college and my time as a young single guy in New York City. It was a decade of ups and downs, and the music never stopped playing during that span. It was always there with me. #30DaysOf90sSongs

When I first discovered Indigo Girls around 1990, I was drawn to their songs in a way that I haven’t experienced much before. Songs like “Love’s Recovery”, “History Of Us” and “Secure Yourself” felt like old photo albums with faded edges to flip through. The songs had a way of adding gravity to the most important moments in life, giving me a deeper, wiser perspective on family, life and love. I saw them in ‘91 and ‘92, once at Port Chester’s Capitol Theatre and once at Foxboro Stadium as part of the Earth Day concert lineup. What I found fascinating is how well their songs translated in vastly different venues. Two years later, Swamp Ophelia was released, featuring one of my all-time Indigo Girls songs, “Least Complicated”.

It was one of the tracks that shaped my soundtrack for the summer of ‘94. I stayed up in Boston that summer, and a few of us either bummed around or quit our summer jobs and drove up to the north shore to lounge on sandy beaches. Our road trip mixes included “Least Complicated”, which had everything that I like about the band. Melodies that feel like the stuff of campfire songs. Minimal instrumentation that bring the acoustic guitars to the forefront. And those lovely Indigo Girls harmonies that seem to boldly flank opposite ends of the octaves.

“It's awful quiet here since love fell asleep.”

"LEAST COMPLICATED" INDIGO GIRLS (1994)

One of the catalysts for my love of live music was an Indigo Girls show that I caught back in high school. The songwriting and the harmonies were unlike anything else that was playing on the radio at the time. A few years later, Swamp Ophelia came out—and it was probably the Indigo Girls at their height. Memories of beach trips to the Mass north shore and “Least Complicated” blasting out of my friend’s car speakers are permanently entwined in my head.

“I sit two stories above the street. It's awful quiet here since love fell asleep.”