Jolie Holland
"Crush in the Ghetto"
That's a Big Pun-worthy song title, but a) the gritty urban intersection is foreign territory for an alt-country princess like Jolie Holland and b) she's a Texan living in San Fran, so she's totally West Coast. The scene opens with our protagonist standing at a bus stop in last night's dress. Don't think walk of shame; think rose-colored, morning-after bliss. "I'm floating with the birds/ I'm talking to the weeds/ look what you've done to me," sings the caramel-voiced Holland as a thin guitar resonates ever-so-gently. Soon, some peppy percussion and gentle strings have arrived to back her up, adding rhythm and structure to the wandering lyrics. She is a hyper-perceptive narrator, taking note of the ants, the kids walking to school, the bus driver's face. And everything, she says, is good: "It's a beautiful morning in the ghetto/ finer than the day before." You get the feeling she's into the feeling, but is it the lover she loves or merely this foggy, post-coital dream state? Hard to say. If she's not a player, she's down to crush a lot.
You can hear this song on Holland's latest CD, Springtime Can Kill You (Anti), which comes out May 9.