Tune in to KUTX 98.9fm Wednesday, August 5 at 1p for our next KUTX at Home featuring Arlo Parks with Taylor Wallace
KUTX LIVE AT HOME: ARLO PARKS – Recorded by Arlo Parks for KUTX July 2020
Arlo Parks’ latest single “Black Dog” was released in May 2020 while most of the world was quarantining but it was recorded well before the universe told us collectively to go to our rooms. The frustration of being unable to comfort a loved one when you know they need it will resonate with those of us struggling with isolation.
KUTX at Home: Arlo Parks
Host: Taylor Wallace; Producer: Deidre Gott; Songs: \"Black Dog\" \"Euguene\" \"Super Sad Generation\"
Personally, I find it infantilizing when I hear someone tell an artist they write “so well for their age” or remark that someone’s songwriting ability is so “real” despite their “young” experiences. Deep, personal experiences that speak to the few or the many (think varied intersectionality) are ageless.
A true paragon of writing about those experiences is 19 year-old Arlo Parks. (Who turns 20 August 9th!) Her ability to write in a way that is earnest, generationally relevant, and at the same time universal isn’t something a person can pull off without an innate proclivity for verse. Each song is like reading her diary, speaking to feelings and observations that are more articulately worked through and expressed through the page versus confrontation. Not to mention that a large number of her songs speak to navigating romantic interests and/or relationships, regardless of gender; a theme that’s become more organically expressed and relevant in music and other media in recent years through others like Janelle Monáe, Kesha, Phoebe Bridgers, Sarah Paulson, and Frank Ocean.
Talking to Arlo Parks (joining us from her home in London) was like hanging with an old friend. I learned that we shared many of the same favorite poets and authors, especially Beat poetry and Patti Smith (I really could have talked to her for hours). She’s a true star on the rise; a name soon to be revered as much as Soccer Mommy and Angel Olsen.
-Taylor Wallace, KUTX on-air host
ARLO PARKS
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Watch the full KUTX at Home with Arlo Parks and Taylor Wallace.
