The Sounds She Collected is a newsletter about mixtapes and mixed emotions. Thanks for being part of this hive mind for empathetic, hopeful people.
Coming to you on Wednesday vs. Tuesday because I wanted to include a byline that wasn’t out when I needed it yesterday. There are no rules, baby!!
I’ve been to more than 500 concerts, fading ticket stubs stashed in journals, pockets, purses. Yet for the past 18 months, the only live music I’ve seen is a Waxahatchee livestream—which was beautiful, don’t get me wrong, but also made me wistful. So when I got the opportunity to review Pitchfork Music Festival on Sunday, I flocked to Union Park like I was meeting a long-lost friend, except this friend was thousands of people. As the closest thing to a crowd for me has been a crowded Zoom room, I was ostensibly feeling a little leery.
Everyone attending Pitchfork needed to present a vaccine card or negative test, yet I still found myself on the periphery. It is such a polarizing time right now, which I felt deep in my bones as I watched groups of friends dancing in the sunshine and other folks looking tired and on edge, sitting against the fence and isolating.
My first live music performance in 18 months was Caroline Polachek. You may know her from that one song from that one commercial for that one tech company. An exceptional musician, she’s trained in bel canto, yet displays an intimate knowledge of what makes a pop song. Beyond killer vocals, what struck me most about Caroline’s performance was the way she commanded the stage. She exuded a deep confidence that comes from knowing yourself and feeling completely comfortable in your skin.
I’ve been thinking about how to bring this energy into my own life this week. How can your art give you confidence or reflect you back into the world? How can you give yourself grace and ease and let your mind rest?
I’ll be journaling on those questions and considering how weird it feels to go to an event where you’re a new version of you. 2021 me is very different than 2019 me, and acknowledging that is okay and valid. Are you introducing the world to a new you, too?
This week’s playlist, bunny is a rider, is all about bringing that authentic you into the world, with artists that exude a confident artistry. For my full Pitchfork Music Festival review, my byline for Third Coast Review explores the sets of Caroline Polachek, Thundercat, Flying Lotus, and Erykah Badu.
Take good care,
Sarah
P.S. You’ll be seeing me in your inbox twice this week. Stay tuned for something exciting this weekend!
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Something to remember: “‘Bunny Is a Rider’ is a summer jam about being unavailable. Bunny is slippery, impossible to get ahold of. Maybe it’s a fantasy, maybe it’s a bad attitude. But anyone can be Bunny, at least for three minutes and seventeen seconds.” —Caroline Polachek