Rabbit Fur Coat (2006) Jenny Lewis and the Watson Twins
I was just saying the other day that I have no interest in convincing people of anything. Now I'm going to come along and tell you that you have to go out and buy this album.
First I'm going to set the scene.
Picture it: Easthampton, MA. 2007. A young man is driving in his car and he hears a great song on the radio. The title appears to be "Silver Lining". It sounds a lot like Jewel singing and as this man knows a friend of a friend who is in love with Jewel he decides to tell her about it the next time they talk. He ends up leaving a message for her on Myspace (this is before Myspace turned into a ghost-town) and it's months later before he hears the song again and finds out that it isn't Jewel- it's a band called Rilo Kiley, fronted by a woman named Jenny Lewis.
He's read about her before. He remembers Elvis Costello raving about her solo album Rabbit Fur Coat.
Eventually he picks up the Rilo Kiley LP Under The Blacklight at the library and doesn't like any of the other songs.
Then, last October he sees Rabbit Fur Coat at the library and decides to check it out. He loves it.
Rose, that young man was me.
Last October was a good time for me. My life had been pretty shitty but I was starting to move in the right direction: I was preparing to move to a new place, I had money in my pocket for the first time in a long time, and I was pursuing a hopeless romantic situation.
At night I walked the bike path that runs through the center of town, past the porn shop, and towards McDonalds and I listened to Rabbit Fur Coat on headphones.
One: Run Devil Run Not my favorite track on the record- it's a little too O Brother Where Art Thou. Still it sounds nice. And it leads into...
Two: The Big Guns here's where the album starts to take off. It's a sweet song and worked perefectly with the doomed relationship I was working on.
Three: Rise Up With Fists!!! I never would've thought I could like a song with a name like that but I love it. One of my favorite songs ever. Lewis's voice is awesome and the Watson Twins make it that much better. There's a video out there, made to look like a performance on one of those old-timey country music variety shows.
Four: Happy This song really sets a mood. "I like watching you undress/ and I think we're at our best/ By the flicker/ By the light of the TV set"
Five: The Charging Sky One of the most lively songs on the record. I want to say this song sets a mood too but I won't- all of these songs set a mood, I'll just say it now.
Six: Melt Your Heart This song is like the flipside of Happy "To melt your heart/ It's like a valentine/ From your mother"
Seven: You Are What You Love Probably more than any of the others, this song really had everything to do with what was going on in my lovelife at the moment. Aside from that, it's just a perfect song that just rolls.
Eight: Rabbit Fur Coat At first, I tended to skip this track. Then one night I listened to the whole thing and it was stuck in my head for days. lewis was a chuild actress. In addition to Roseanne and Troop Beverly Hills with Shelley Long, she was in an awesome episode of The Golden Girls playing a Sunshine Cadet who holds Rose's teddy bear, Fernando, hostage.
Nine: Handle With Care What's-his-name from Bright Eye's sings with her on this track- a refreshing cover choice.
Ten: Born Secular Another song that I skipped intitially and grew to like alot.
Eleven: It Wasn't Me This song did, and still does, get stuck in my head. A great way to end the album, though it doesn't really. There's still...
Twelve: Happy (Reprise) Either a shorter version or an edit of Happy.
If your looking for something new to listen to then get Rabbit Fur Coat. You're going to love it.
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