BEST NEW TRACKS: THE BLANCOS - WE’RE TIRED FT JOYNER LUCAS

A bit of conventional wisdom so ingrained in our culture that most of us never articulate or even fully consider it is that art is supposed to be subtle. If the message is too obvious, and any rube can grasp it, then you come off as preachy. Or worse: sincerely earnest.

All criticism is a form of gatekeeping and this one reeks of classism. Besides, not everything has to be the same, variety is the spice of life, etc.

Which brings us to The Blancos new alternative single "We're Tired (ft. Joyner Lucas)". This song, to paraphrase one of our nation’s greatest poets, tells subtlety to eat its entire ass.

The message here is not in need of any decoding or deciphering. It’s as blunt as you can get. And we live in an age in which bluntness is not only needed but demanded. The fact that it’s delivered in a concise, infectious power pop package makes it all the more readily enjoyable. 

THE BLANCOS - WE’RE TIRED FT JOYNER LUCAS

Back to the relationship between subtlety and art. It certainly has its place and my personal tastes tend to gravitate towards art that isn’t immediately obvious. Yet a quick glance at the world at large, in which the most powerful person on the planet can say something at a press conference and the next day claim he meant to say the exact opposite*, well, what good is subtlety actually doing in such an environment?

The self-described broken kids chasing broken dreams see no use for nuance. The Blancos are a soft spoken duo from New York who prefer to let their songs speak for them. On “We’re Tired” they give a rally cry to the masses fed up with, well, everything.

From endless wars, unceasing corruption from the powerful, the abundance of social injustices, rising inequality, the epidemic of gun violence, looming climate disaster, and probably a dozen other things I forgot, things are looking pretty bleak. The Blancos take a look at this epic dumpster fire and come to the same conclusion as Civil Rights Icon Fannie Lou Hamer, that they’re ‘sick and tired of being sick and tired.’

The more things change, the more they stay the same. The myths of our progress are disolving before our very eyes. Giving voice to this idea, i.e. properly naming things, is how we start down the path to real change.

We should all be extremely fed up with the state of things. Big ups to Cory Hueston, Jayson Robbins, and Joyner Lucas for amplifying our anger.

This is just the beginning.

* There are obvious many more pressing and concerning critiques regarding the current President, but this really isn’t the forum for that. We’re here to talk about music and bliss out for a few moments if possible...

Calvin Paradise is not any one thing. The half-hearted vagabond and forgetful luddite currently resides in Los Angeles and how he spends his time is none of your damned business.