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Little Sun

by Charlie Parr

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Bart
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Bart I'll be honest. I wasn't digging the full band at first. Just didn't sit right with me. I've always loved his sparse/rough picking and singing. I do like the songs that have a bit more stomp to them like the title track, or songs that sound like they might fit on his older albums like 1922 or Rooster. The songs "Boombox" and "Ten Watt" fit that bill and are personal faves. Keep doing your thing Charlie. I'll always be a fan of your art. Favorite track: Boombox.
Windyminstrel
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Windyminstrel Charlie Parr is genius at describing real-life experience wrapped in soul-soothing melody and verse. Like talking with your favorite town acquaintance on the street corner on a good day.
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1.
Don’t you wonder where Annie went After the third time they picked her up No one here has seen her since And I’ve got an apartment full of her stuff It feels like yesterday since we saw her face And her dimples popping out of her smile Does anyone else here miss her laugh Didn’t think she’d be gone all this while Chorus It’s a late night it’s an early in the morning theme You don’t know if you’re awake or else you’re asleep By the time the sun catches you alone in your room You’re all tangled up in all those bad dreams Last time I saw Annie she looked so good Riding downtown on the train She was the loudest person in the neighborhood What I wouldn’t give to hear her holler again Tell me when you’re ready and I’ll start the car And help you get into your coat We can take the long way it ain’t that far And we’ll be home before you know it Chorus Annie dear, can you hear my voice Do you recognize my face We’ve been sitting here for so many years You wouldn’t believe how much I’ve aged
2.
Little Sun 03:57
I can see the city in February I remember Little Sun’s wail Sliding in the slush on the avenue To get to the Times Hotel The music it plays everywhere Did you hear better when you were young The tones are getting quiet Come back home, Little Sun The last time we got together And our ears were wearing out And preoccupied by finance And unable to hear the shout Of a hundred-year-old melody The rattling of worn-out reeds It’s a matter for perception The music we choose to hear The music it plays everywhere Was it better when we were young Or have we lost our focus We need you here, Little Sun The music it plays everywhere Even when we’re old and undone We just have to listen louder It’s time to come home, Little Sun
3.
Look, there’s a shooting star It’s a wave in the sea Moving close to where we stand And breaking on the shore I can’t feel the sand Beneath my feet where it landed And pushed its way into the earth Razing our sandcastle to the ground The receding plumes of ash Like water ripple through the sky And bring chaos to the radio waves Deafening our information I remove my shoes To accept the cool October Water as it rushes back to the lake And pools in the sky above We turned away from the blinding light To look at one another But the reflection off the water Was preoccupying your eyes I remove my shoes To accept the cool October Water as it rushes back to the lake And pools in the sky above
4.
Boombox 03:55
There’s a woman next door out on her porch With a boombox blasting at full force And she dances real slow in her woolly socks And slides on the wooden floor through the dust Chorus (Says / singing) When I’m dancing This is how I dance I let the music move me This way and that If you have a dance I can appreciate that But when I’m dancing This is how I dance There’s a bar downtown where they play the blues On a tiny stage in a corner booth Where I can close my eyes and feel the groove And you can dance even if you don’t move Chorus I got a friend who can’t play a single note But the music gets right down into their soul They hear it play no matter where they go You’d hear it too if you’d just listen now Chorus I’m alone now and that’s alright I’ve done what I’ve done and it feels just fine I can dance these memories all in my mind And I can take a turn in my own time Chorus
5.
Pale Fire 07:31
I’m driving somewhere out on a highway in New Mexico and I’m tired and not in a hurry and I stopped to watch the sunset and I fell asleep and woke up in time to watch the same sun rising. That was it. I seen the sunset For the longest while At the edge of my sight It burned in pale fire But when the sun was gone—the fire burned on And when the sky was Finally dark And the air was quiet And holy But when the sun was gone—the fire burned on I could be anywhere The only sound is My scraping footsteps On the surface of the world But when the sun was gone—the fire burned on The ground grew beneath me I could feel it Through the soles of my shoes It was clinging to my skin But when the sun was gone—the fire burned on I fell and surrendered On damp fallen leaves I stared through the branches To the sun—climbing But when the sun was gone—the fire burned on
6.
Ten Watt 05:30
I can feel my energy getting dimmer This generator won’t quite light up the road My engine only fires on 5 cylinders Straining to pull up this heavy load About 20 watts is what’s needed I’m generating about 7 on a good day Everybody’s just gonna have to be patient Cuz I really don’t need to come outside anyway And I guess it’s always been that way My room is situated in the corner I can see three directions from my chair It’s a box canyon apartment in the city And no one can sneak up on me there And I guess it’s always been that way There’s no need for you to be lonely I’m just sitting around here all day You can stop by when you wanna And sit down with your violin and play I took a long walk this morning Just to get outside and take the air October reminds me of my childhood Kicking leaves and starting fires everywhere And I guess it’s always been that way I tried to walk the way the birds fly Cutting over all of the neighbors’ lawns Climbing fences? at my age? Yeah, but I’m just an old man when the cops are called And I guess it’s always been that way Now 20 watts is what’s required And I think I might be up to 10 I’m gonna sit on the stoop and watch the traffic And I might never get up again And I guess it’s always been that way
7.
Stray 04:40
How can you say he’s gone astray The days find him alone Always miles from anywhere Never finding his way home How can you say he’s always dirty Well, he’s got nowhere to wash Everyone avoids him No matter what the cost To his damaged ego To his worn-out shoes Thin clothes against the cold Thin hearts against his own Let the rope out easy Bring everyone on board Mend the broken hearts Take on their heavy loads He hears about your religion All about his sinful ways All about the god who loves him But will punish him anyways But he already knows the lake of fire He swims in it every day He’s beaten down with neglect And burned with hypocrisy How can you say there’s a stray In the middle of your town He can feel the anger in your eyes Where empathy should be found I hear he’s lost his family Or they let him wander away Can anyone speak on his behalf Or has someone rigged the game Let the rope out easy Bring everyone on board Mend the broken hearts Take on their heavy loads
8.
Sloth 03:39
I did my best But I came up short She asked me what time it was I answered “just about four” She said “you going out” I said “I don’t know” She looked disgusted But that’s just the way it goes Chorus It feels like I’m moving awfully slow these days So don’t bother to wait just go on your way And I’ll catch up or either stay behind Don’t let my plans worry your mind My ambition is suited To a non-industrial epoch My desire to succeed Is based on a subjective metric My career goals are a little patch of sun Or maybe that little bit of shade Chorus Pass me on the freeway What do I care about that My car is slow But it’s good on gas I’ll get to where I’m going Or maybe change my mind And make a detour Whatever happens gonna be fine Chorus I did my best But I came up short She asked me what time it was I answered “just about four” She said “you going out” I said “I don’t know” She looked disgusted But that’s just the way it goes

about

Over the last couple of decades, Charlie Parr has crisscrossed the world on tour more times than one can count. He also has released over a dozen albums of his songs, acclaimed for their poetic simplicity. Little Sun, his most ambitious album to date, was recorded with Tucker Martine (The Decemberists, Sufjan Stevens, My Morning Jacket) and features Parr augmenting his raw and affecting songs with stunning full-band arrangements. The remarkable backing band here includes Marisa Anderson, Victor Krummenacher, Andrew Borger, and Asher Fulero. Masterfully channeling the philosophical and transcendental qualities of the blues, Parr takes us on a journey through the winding streets of his imagination.

credits

released March 22, 2024

Produced by Tucker Martine
Engineered and mixed by Tucker Martine at Flora Recording and Playback
Cole Halvorsen, assistant engineer
Ryan Bridenstine, studio intern
Mastered by Jeff Lipton and Maria Rice at Peerless Mastering
“Ten Watt” basic track recorded at Creation Audio, Minneapolis, MN, by Tom Herbers
Executive producers: Maureen Loughran and John Smith
Production manager: Mary Monseur
Production assistant: Kate Harrington
Creative direction and design by Cover Art by James “Billy” Dankert (www.jamesdankert.com)
Portland photos by Tucker Martine and Cole Halvorsen
Minneapolis photos by Tom Herbers
St. Paul polaroids by Andrea Weber

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Charlie Parr Duluth, Minnesota

"Parr is scruffy and uncomfortable looking, with a longish beard and balding head. He dropped out of high school in the 1980s, but he looks older than that. He's pathologically deadpan in his delivery of in between song banter. The crowd really enjoyed his depressingly hilarious dead cat story. He never smiles." - Lucy Steigerwald

TOUR DATES: www.charlieparr.com/shows.html
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