The Contenders, Vol. 24: JADE, S.G. Goodman, Cleo Reed, more

Summary

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All Songs Considered

The Contenders, Vol. 24: JADE, S.G. Goodman, Cleo Reed, more

NPR | Hosted by Robin Hilton | Nov 11, 2025

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Overview

In “The Contenders, Vol. 24,” Robin Hilton is joined by Ann Powers and Daoud Tyler-Amin to refresh NPR’s running list of the year’s best songs. This episode features passionate deep dives into new music from rising and established artists—including JADE, S.G. Goodman, Cleo Reed, Liquid Mike, and Ken Pomeroy. The hosts share personal stories, dissect lyrics and sounds, and reflect on big themes like nostalgia, artistry, and the ways music resonates in daily life.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Falling for Benson Boone (00:12–03:20)

• Robin confesses his newfound appreciation for pop sensation Benson Boone.
  • Robin describes a moment with his son and how hearing Boone’s “Mystical, Magical” sparked his interest.
• Boone’s performance style and vocal mimicry: Ann notes Boone’s “uncanny vocal cosplay,” even likening him to Adele at times.
• Cultural perception: The hosts discuss whether Boone is the “new Freddie Mercury or Meatloaf.”
  • Notable quote:
    • “Jacob Ganz has made the case to me that Benson Boone’s public presentation is sort of pushing the idea that he’s the new Freddie Mercury, and if they would just admit that he’s actually new Meatloaf, then the whole thing would come together.” — Ann Powers (02:53)

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2. Introducing Liquid Mike – “Double Dutch”

Segment: 04:03–08:54

• Daoud brings in Liquid Mike, a band from Michigan’s Upper Peninsula.
  • The track “Double Dutch” from Hell Is an Airport is highlighted, praised for massive, power-pop energy and tight songwriting.
• Parallels to indie favorites:
  • References to Oso Oso, Jeff Rosenstock, Superchunk, Pup, Joyce Manor, and Front Bottoms for context.
• Themes:
  • Small-town life challenges are reflected in both “Double Dutch” and its companion track, “Crop Circles.”
• Notable quote:
  • “Big cathartic guitar pop, those power pop chords. It’s awesome.” — Robin (07:58)

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3. Cleo Reed – “Always the Horse, Never the Jockey”

Segment: 08:57–15:19

• Ann showcases Cleo Reed, a New York artist with a punk and arts background.
  • The song is from Reed’s concept album Country, which explores labor, artistry, and survival in America.
• Musical complexity:
  • The hosts compare the song to musical theater and praise its shifting structures and poetic lyrics.
• Notable quote:
  • “Every minute or so, it turns into a different song.” — Ann, on the song’s evolving nature (14:15)
  • “At the heart of every song... is just a fundamentally super tight, singable, poetic expression of what she’s trying to get at—which is, you know, how hard it is to survive, how much hustle we have to do.” — Ann Powers (14:59)

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4. The “Old Songs Considered” Project

Segment: 16:43–18:23

• Robin promotes Ann and Daoud’s new biweekly deep-dive series on classic songs under the “All Songs Plus” label.
• Purpose: Exploring what makes certain songs persist through time and culture.
• Notable quote:
  • “It’s like, is this a song with staying power, or is it just a good song that we like?” — Daoud (17:27)

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5. JADE – “Plastic Box”

Segment: 18:23–24:55

• Daoud introduces solo work by Jade, formerly of Little Mix.
  • "Plastic Box,” from That's Showbiz, Baby, is compared to Robyn’s “Dancing On My Own” but with a twist: it's about jealousy in a current relationship, not heartbreak after a breakup.
• Emotional rawness:
  • Lyrics explore the irrationality of wanting to erase a partner’s past.
  • Hosts reflect on the balance between relatable jealousy and borderline “serial killer” energy.
• Notable quotes:
  • "She is 100% upfront about being totally irrational with the thing that she is doing and also being like. But the feeling is there and the feeling is real." — Daoud (22:40)
  • "Can I have your heart in a plastic box? And it’s this thing that you just understand right away that not only is that impossible, but it’s creepy." — Daoud (23:49)

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6. S.G. Goodman – “Snapping Turtle”

Segment: 25:04–34:51

• Ann turns to S.G. Goodman for a heavier, story-driven song from Teeth Marks called “Snapping Turtle.”
  • The song narrates a true childhood event, intertwining rural violence and adult themes of survival, nostalgia, and trauma.
• Exploring limits and humanity:
  • “Small towns, where my mind gets stuck” becomes a poignant, recurring refrain.
• Notable quotes:
  • “The thing that absolutely gets me about this song is the lyrical hook... which is the line, small towns where my mind gets stuck." — Ann (31:45)
  • "People just overly romanticize small town living... it’s not Mayberry. It’s got all the same problems... sometimes worse.” — Robin (33:22)
  • “I thought maybe you misspoke and you meant humanity, but no, you actually mean humidity." — Robin, on the “humidity” of the song’s atmosphere (34:47)

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7. Ken Pomeroy – “Stranger” (Final Track)

Segment: 35:32–37:10

• Anne closes with her “favorite discovery of this year”—Ken Pomeroy, a Cherokee artist from Oklahoma.
  • The song “Stranger” from the album Cruel Joke is highlighted for its devastating, raw opening lines and a glimmer of hope in the lyric “Not once while driving did I think about dying. That’s new.”
• Notable quotes:
  • “The wind keeps on hitting me like my mother used to. Unlike her, I feel like it doesn’t want to.” — (Ken Pomeroy lyric, 36:11)
  • "Not once while driving did I think about dying. That's new. That's new.“ — Quoted by Robin and Ann as a moment of subtle hope (36:22)

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Timestamps of Key Segments

• [00:12–03:20] — Benson Boone discussion
• [04:03–08:54] — Liquid Mike – “Double Dutch”
• [08:57–15:19] — Cleo Reed – “Always the Horse, Never the Jockey”
• [16:43–18:23] — "Old Songs Considered” segment
• [18:23–24:55] — Jade – “Plastic Box”
• [25:04–34:51] — S.G. Goodman – “Snapping Turtle”
• [35:32–37:10] — Ken Pomeroy – “Stranger”

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Memorable Quotes & Moments

• Ann on Cleo Reed:
  • “Every minute or so, it turns into a different song.” (14:15)
• Robin on Small Towns:
  • "It’s not Mayberry. It’s got all the same problems... sometimes worse.” (33:22)
• Daoud on Jade:
  • "She is 100% upfront about being totally irrational... but the feeling is there and the feeling is real.” (22:40)
• Ann on Ken Pomeroy’s opening lyric:
  • “I don't think a lyric tops the first lines of this song... The wind keeps on hitting me like my mother used to. Unlike her, I feel it doesn't want to." (36:11)

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Overall Tone and Takeaways

The episode is lively, passionate, and thoughtful, lacing artist analysis with personal anecdotes and social commentary. The song selections traverse genres and emotions—celebration, introspection, raw confession—delivering an engaging cross-section of 2025’s most resonant new music. The hosts’ chemistry and deep love for music discovery come through, making this a compelling listen for both veteran listeners and newcomers eager to find their next favorite song or artist.

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Transcript

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[B]

To 1Password.com NPR so, Ann, I've actually been thinking a lot of you lately because something has happened to me that I wasn't expecting. And I think you're someone who might understand.

[C]

I'm here for you, Robin.

[B]

I. I think I've fallen for Benson Boone. Aren't you a big Benson Boone fan?

[C]

I mean, fan is a strange word to use.

[A]

You're a professional appreciator.

[B]

I'm not hanging out here all alone, am I?

[C]

I love a little back flipper. I mean, I just think. Or front flipper. He's actually more of a front flipper.

[B]

He's a little back flipper. To be clear. He leaps off his piano and flips in the air or sometimes just does it standing. No, I hadn't really spent any time with his music. But, you know, he's inescapable enough that I know who he is and I kind of know what's going on, you know, but my kids and I, we were out somewhere a couple of weekends ago and a Benson Boone song came on. I didn't really know it, but my son heard it and he said, I love this. What is this? And I said, I think it's Benson Boone.

[C]

Was it magical, mystical or whatever?

[B]

Mystical, magical was the song.

[D]

There's nothing colder than your shoulder when you're dragging.

[B]

And so I ended up going down this rabbit hole through his catalog. And at some point, it hit me. I thought, Vincent Boone, kind of great.

[C]

I mean, man can sing. It's inarguable.

[B]

Well, he's got so many bops, that song. Beautiful Things.

[C]

Yeah.

[B]

When the drop of the chorus sits in that song, I think it's undeniable.

[D]

These beautiful things that I've got Please, I want you I need to walk up. Don't take these beautiful things that I've got.

[B]

Please.

[C]

It's pretty amazing.

[B]

I found myself sitting at my desk, looking at the tiny desk and just kind of eyeing the space and thinking.

[C]

Is there enough room?

[B]

Could he flip off the desk and land in the middle? Did he end up in traction or.

[A]

A thing that I can say about Benson Boone that did surprise me when I did finally listen through that album is that there are moments where he slips into pretty uncanny vocal cosplay. There was one moment where I was like, this is an extraordinary Adele impression.

[C]

That's interesting. I thought you were gonna say Freddy, because he's like, obviously Freddy.

[A]

Our colleague Jacob Ganz has made the case to me that Benson Boone's his public presentation is sort of pushing the idea of Hill, that he's new Freddie Mercury, and if they would just admit that he's actually new Meatloaf, then the whole thing would come together.

[D]

Please stay I want you, I need.

[C]

You oh God, I need.

[D]

These beautiful things that I've got.

[B]

Well, it's all Songs Considered. I'm Robin Hilton and Powers here with Dawoud Tyler Amin, and I'd introduce you as music critic, but that has always been impossible for me to pronounce for some reason. Music critic.

[C]

Music critic.

[B]

It's like rural juror. Much easier to say. NPR music editor Daoud Tyler Amim this is a contenders episode one of the it's actually one of the last ones we're doing this year where we update our running list of the year's best songs. It's a list we've been keeping all year. And I'm kind of just along for the ride this week. You all brought the jams. How to Thought we'd start maybe with one of yours.

[A]

Sure. I wanted to play a song by the band Liquid Mike. They're from Marquette, Michigan, the Upper Peninsula, and it started as the solo project of this songwriter. Mike Maple has been solidly a band for some time now. They've had something of a sort of like small scale, you know, fairy tale come up where through various viral tweets and co signs and that kind of stuff managed to increase their profile wildly. And people were really into the idea that, like when his first records came out, he was driving a mail truck. It's Anyway, this is a song from their latest album, Hell Is an Airport, and the song is called Double Dutch. Its first beat is actually the closing hit of the previous song on the album Crop Circles. And I think they really envisioned them as sort of like parts one and two of a suite. So if you're listening in headphones, it starts a little hot.

[D]

My son keeps getting bigger Are you stuck in the static? Double Dutch in the clutches of panic all the creeks in the attic you awake, you mistake, you attack it but it stays and feel it all coming. God damn it stairs I can feel it all coming it again.

[B]

Man, that is some Daoud core right there. I mean, you love power pop. And they hit every note on this.

[A]

So perfectly incredible concision, too. That song is quite short. The whole album is under half an hour. Yeah, it's just how I like it. And I Hear in that song. I don't want to say the influence, but just sort of like the parallel thought, parallel development of artists like Oso Oso and like Jeff Rosenstock. These, you know, bands that over the past couple of years have sort of defined a lane of blown out pop rock where the lead lines almost sound like synthesizers because they're just so. There's so much gain on them. And the vocalists are sort of experimenting with this technique of not singing out of their range, but just sort of like tapping the ceiling of it in a way that kind of like scrapes against the surface.

[C]

Yeah, it's like, you know, I think of a band like Super Chunk, like Mac, when he was singing, just like getting two feet taller somehow while he's going for those high notes.

[A]

Yeah, exactly.

[C]

Yeah.

[B]

I mean, if you love Super Chunk, if you love Pup. I thought of Pup listening to maybe a Little Joyce Manor or Front Bottoms. But this is like this squarely in my wheelhouse too. I mean, big cathartic guitar pop, those power pop chords. It's awesome.

[A]

And it's sort of. It's kind of a mirror piece for this other song, Crop Circles, which is a little bit more. Some of the bleaker things about, like, small town life, some of the cycles that people occasionally get stuck in, whether it's weird family drama or substance abuse or whatever else.

[B]

Man, we're going to actually talk about small town life.

[A]

I had that thought, too. I know, I know.

[B]

I don't want to go there yet.

[A]

It's a still theme show.

[B]

Bonus points for naming the album Hell is an Airport.

[A]

Who can't relate to that?

[C]

Oh, my gosh. Especially right now. Way too much.

[B]

So Liquid Mike, totally new to me. And then I did a little digging and he's already released a half a dozen albums in like five years.

[A]

One of those people. Yeah.

[B]

So, Ann, what do you got?

[C]

Let's get away from the small towns and go to New York City for my first pick, which is from an artist named Cleo Reed. Had either of you ever heard of Cleo Reid before?

[B]

I had heard of her, but I hadn't listened to anything until you shared this with me. And I love it.

[C]

She used to be in a band called Pretty Sick out of New York, a punk band.

[A]

Great.

[C]

And she also went to the Harlem School of the Arts. She went to Berkeley, so she has a really eclectic background. And she is a multimedia artist. Year she released an album called Country. And the whole album is about sort of thinking about labor and productivity in the States and especially like, what an artist has to do to survive. I think that's enough of a setup for the song we're going to hear, which is called Always the Horse, Never the Jockey.

[D]

I woke up in spite of fear I didn't ask to be here I woke up in spite of fear I didn't ask to be here I woke up in spite of fear I didn't ask to be here I woke up in spite of fear I didn't ask to be here Trouble taking this one slow Set my speed, it's time to go Will I win the race? I glide on the asphalt My hooves are worn down can you blame me for resisting? Can you blame me for resisting? Can you blame me for it is this thing I'm shaking my tail.

[E]

I'm.

[D]

Here till the show's off show up oh, I'm the prettiest horse in your side so why don't you let me get up and ride? Will I win the ra.

[C]

I glide.

[D]

On the asphalt I wanna touch ground, yeah can you blame me for resisting? Can you blame me for resisting? Can you blame me for resisting? It's my ram. Let us remember what we're asking for no need to perform who's keeping score?

[C]

That song, does it feel a little like musical theater to y'? All?

[B]

Musical theater in what way that a story is unfolding?

[C]

The harmonies, the structure of the song. It's not what you might normally hear, I don't know, like, on the radio or something. But I think it's so interesting that she brings this kind of theatrical flair to her idea of a country song. You know, nobody would maybe call this music country, but she's thinking about other ways to imagine making ballads telling stories through these songs.

[A]

It definitely has acts I thought of, you know, the Parable of the Blind man and the Elephant.

[C]

Exactly.

[A]

Like, just in the sense that, like, if you played four different people, a clip from four different spots in this song, I don't know if anybody would be able to guess what the others had heard.

[B]

Yeah, that turn, it takes a couple minutes in, is kind of breathtaking. And it becomes a completely different song. Total vibe shift.

[C]

Yeah. Yeah, for sure.

[A]

Yeah. It comes down to this place where just, like, you don't totally know what to call it, because every minute or so, it turns into a different song.

[C]

Yeah, the whole album is like that. By the way, there's another song, Salt and Lime, which I would have brought in, but it's eight minutes long. And in some ways, it sounds like an Erykah Badu song, but then it does become this sort of like avant garde mood piece or something. She's really just going all over in these songs. But at the heart of every song, including Always the Horse, Never the Jockey, is just a fundamentally super tight, singable, poetic expression of what she's trying to get at, which is you know how hard it is to survive, how hard it is how much hustle we have to do. There's another song called I've Been Out Here hustling on this record and she just sprinkles the magic on the day to day lives we're all living today.

[B]

So the album is called country and the song Always the Horse, Never the Jockey from Cleo Reed. Great pick. It's just lovely and strange and that's me captivating Lovely and strange. You called it a mood piece. I think that's a good way to put it.

[D]

It.

[E]

This message comes from NPR sponsor Sonos. Sonos delivers incredible studio quality sound that will make you feel like you're right at the stadium. Perfect for cheering on your favorite team, watching TV or streaming music. Whether you're grabbing a snack from the kitchen or outside grilling, Sonos has you covered so you never miss a beat or a play on the big game. Bring all your entertainment to every room in your home with Sonos Home Sound System. Explore Sonos sound bars, speakers and [e-mail] this message comes from Progressive Insurance and the Name your price tool. It helps you find car insurance options in your budget. Try it [e-mail], progressive Casualty Insurance Company and affiliates. Price and coverage match limited by state law. Not available in all states. Support for NPR and the following message come from Home Serve it never happens at a good time. The pipe bursts at midnight. The heater quits on the coldest night. Good thing HomeServe's hotline is available 24. 7 Call to schedule a repair and a local pro will be on their way. Trusted by millions. For plans starting at $4.99 a month, go to homeserve.com not available everywhere. Most plans range between $4.99 to $11.99 a month. Your first year terms apply on covered repairs.

[B]

Okay, just a reminder that we love feedback, so if you enjoy the show, leave us a glowing review on Apple Music or Spotify or wherever you listen to podcasts. You can also drop us an email. It's allsongspr.org We've got some more music coming up, plus your weekly reset at the end of the show. But Ann and Daoud, you all got a new show that you're doing in the All Songs Considered feed that I want to be sure to mention. It goes out into the world every other Thursday.

[A]

That's right.

[C]

Yes.

[B]

And it's where you take a. We don't have any special name for it. I guess you could call it Old Songs Considered.

[A]

That's the joke name. But in the feed, it'll be All Songs plus.

[B]

Well, we say Old Songs Considered because it's where you take a deep dive on a single song, an older song that sort of stood the test of time.

[C]

Yes.

[A]

It's like, is this a song with staying power or is it just a good song that we like? And somewhere on the continuum between those things, there's, like, this narrow band of songs that just keep coming back into our lives, and that was the thing that we wanted to investigate.

[C]

What's been interesting is that as we've developed this podcast, I think we've found that the songs do connect in a way because they're all songs that are, like, semi canonical, but once you really think about them, they reveal their stickiness and their amazing stories.

[B]

Well, the first one that you did was on Stevie Wonders. I believe when I fall in love, it'll be forever, which was awesome. I learned a lot. I loved how you tied in all the other pop culture references. I'd forgotten that it was on High Fidelity, that movie.

[A]

That's the credit drop.

[B]

Yeah. But I Learned a Lot. Made me think about a lot. I loved it. Again, you're doing them every other week, and it is a plus episode for people who subscribe to impure music. But, Dawoud, we're back to you for more new music.

[A]

Okay.

[B]

Or newer music.

[A]

Yeah, this is newish. This is an album from the summer. I really, really was blown away and surprised by the new album by Jade. This is a member of the British girl group Little mix, who in the mid 2010s were kind of on top of the world. They had a One Direction like origin story where they were separate competitors on the X Factor who didn't win in their categories but were sort of reconstituted into a group. And then I think, you know, everybody just sort of burned out at once. And the solo projects have been trickling out. Jade's album is called that's Showbiz, Baby. And this is a song called Plastic Box that is a spiritual cousin of Dancing on My Own by Robin, I would say, but.

[C]

Oh, well, that's a high compliment.

[A]

But I would say kind of, you know, a verse in takes the premise of that Song and kind of bends it in half.

[D]

Found your love, let us do her I'm trying to be cool but it really, really hurts I just do what I do Silently torturing myself Was a ocean deeper than mine did you sink into? I fall in love at first sight I know what goodbye I'm constantly comparing myself possible Cuz I know you had a life before me But I'm jealous, obsessive and I want to burn all your history Burn your history Can I have your Like I'm the only one you've ever done Can I have your heart in the plastic? Are you sure you feel the same way? Cause it took me months it only took her day to make you jump in I read it in your handwriting it's irrational and impossible Cause I know you had a life before me But I'm jealous of your exes and I wanna burn all your history have your heart in the best you like I'm the only one you've ever met, you've ever lost Can I have your heart in a classified.

[A]

So as you may have discerned, this starts out sounding like a song about somebody whose lover has left them, who has been wronged in some and is trying to come to grips with it and then come to find out it is actually about somebody who is in a relationship and it's going fine. And the thing that they are trying to come to grips with is that the person that they are in a relationship with has had relationships before them. And it is this thing that like on its surface is so, I mean, to use her own words, jealous and obsessive and yet in a certain way, like a little bit relatable. It's. There's this. This funny thing where she is 100% upfront about being totally irrational with the thing that she is doing and also being like. But the feeling is there and the feeling is real.

[C]

I mean, I love Jade. She's such a maximalist. You know, she is so over the top in everything that she does. When I first heard her, it was that song angel of My Dreams, which is just like every massive pop song at once. And this song is a little more refined or something, but it still is that like emotions out thing that I love. It's very clever, but it's just very, very intense also.

[A]

But I just love the sentiment of it. Just like, can I have your heart in a plastic box? And it's this thing that you just understand right away that not only is that impossible, but it's creepy.

[C]

Yeah.

[B]

Well, I'm glad You said that because the whole time I'm listening to you talk about this, I'm thinking, are you sure it's not about a serial killer? Because she keeps talking about wanting their heart in a plastic box, but it's not any plastic box. It is a fully clean, never used, untouched plastic box.

[A]

Like, I mean, the thing I'll put to you as a Weezer fan, Robin, is think about the song no one Else from the Blue Album. It's like it's, you know, that is a song that if you just read it straight, would sound like straight serial killer vibes. And so it's like, you know, do you think about it that way? And you can. Or you can give the artist the benefit of the doubt and sort of like read some of the satire into it and say, well, what part of this is actually ringing true?

[C]

I mean, I think it's both. You know, she wants us to acknowledge that kind of jealousy that all of us feels when we start something new.

[B]

Well, Jade, Plastic Box, what is that? What's the album that's from.

[A]

The album is called. That's showbiz, baby. With an exclamation point. So you know it's serious.

[B]

Yeah. That is show business, baby. And you're ready to completely bring us down now with what I know is your next pick, which I actually love. I love this song a lot, but it is a complete vibe shift.

[C]

I had to bring this song in. It is pretty much the opposite vibe wise from Jade. But I will say what it shares is a kind of maximalism. Something that we don't always get from this artist, SG Goodman. This year she has a new record called Planting by the Signs. That's just extraordinary. And the song that we're gonna hear is a song, man, this is a short story. It's called Snapping Turtle.

[D]

When you're a farm kid in a small town you drive before the legal age and I won't forget that day when I drove up on some low down kids they were all huddled around poor Snapping turtle Taking turns with the stick they were beating the hell out.

[C]

Of it.

[D]

So I, I asked if I could take a lick When I raised my hand I brought down the wrath of God himself Beat those kids til they were crying out for help I couldn't help myself through the turtle in the truck Ooh, small town's where my mind gets stuck Leanne thoughts go back again to Leanna 18 became my mother Leanne thoughts go back again to Leanna Already raised your little brother I recall a train ride through the Countryside in the south of France. You're born way in my circumstance where I could couldn't play God Leanne once spent a summer in Paris. Paris, Tennessee. The only Paris Leanne would ever meet. We talked about it all on a bleacher safety when we were back in county school Grew up hard on bottomland where all my crops should grow Watch people reap what the demons sowed And I'd take it with me if you wear I've been told I can come off hard Hard as the world I've known Walking around with my spirit, bro Surprise to see love every now and then Told to pray for forgiveness oh, I am to pray for grace.

[A]

Not.

[D]

After seeing Leanna's face Life me down like that Snapping turtle day God could have thought up a better way to teach me just how small I am Teach me the other side of love Ooh, Small towns where my mind gets stuck Small towns where my mind gets stuck Oo Small towns where my mind gets stuck Ooh, ooh Small towns where my mind gets stuck Oo oo oo Small towns where my mind gets stuck.

[C]

I think you can both hear why when I first heard this song, I had to sit down immediately and listen to it again. In this song, S.G. goodman tells a true story from her own life. This actually happened, and she freely admits it. When she was a kid. One day she grew up in Hickman, Kentucky, a small town, and she came upon a group of kids who were beating a turtle with a stick, and she turned that stick on those kids. That's what happened. And she's not proud of it, but she made it into an amazing story with this song in which she talks about that moment and this confrontation with cruelty and her own violent response to that, and then intertwines it with the story of a friend in adulthood who has been beaten down by life in the way that that poor turtle was being beaten by those kids. And the thing that absolutely gets me about this song is the hook, the lyrical hook, which is the line, small towns where my mind gets stuck. And this is so SG Goodman. She is very plain spoken in her music, but the poeticism of that line and the way it just nails something about a life lived within severe limits and how that can really crush the soul, challenge the soul. But then the music is so expansive, it's almost psychedelic. That the tension in this song, it's just amazing to me.

[A]

It's funny. I've also heard SG Goodman be a real evangelist for small town life. Yeah.

[C]

Yeah.

[B]

Well, as someone who grew up in a really, really small town in a very isolated rural area. And then, you know, in my adulthood, moved to major metropolitan areas. People just overly romanticize small town living. Yeah, I was very happy to grow up there. But the truth is, it's not Mayberry. It's got all the same problems. Small towns have all the same problems that big cities have. And sometime it's worse because everybody knows each other. There's no anonymity, sort of to protect you.

[C]

Exactly.

[B]

So you feel all the hurt so acutely. And, man, there are so many moments in this song, I'm getting emotional just thinking about it because it so tapped into my DNA. But, you know, one thing that I noted in the song is she got out. There's this great moment in it where she talks about riding a train through the south of France, but she's remembering that friend of hers. I think Leanne is the person's name and all the other people that she left behind. And I don't know that closing line, too.

[E]

Yeah.

[B]

The small town is where my mind gets stuck so many ways. You can read that exactly.

[C]

Like it's still with her. You know, she's carrying that small town and the loved ones with her as she travels the world. And again, I just want to say, like, the music, its humidity is incredible. You know, as someone who lives in the south, it just sinks into you the way that humidity does.

[B]

I thought maybe you misspoke and you meant humanity, but no, you actually mean humidity.

[A]

Yeah, no, no, I get it. This is a sweaty song.

[E]

This message comes from Dignity Memorial and Memphis Funeral Home. One of their nationwide providers, funeral director Mike Perry, shares what motivates him to create celebrations of life that capture the essence of a loved one.

[B]

We only have one time to do this and to get it right. Even, like the little, small detail.

[C]

That stuff matters to the families that we deal with. They may not remember all the words.

[B]

That are shared, but they're always going.

[A]

To remember how you made them feel.

[E]

Find a provider near you, like Memphis funeral [e-mail].

[B]

Okay, again, stay tuned for your weekly reset after this. But, Anne, you actually have one more that we're going to go out on here.

[C]

I had to bring in a song by my favorite discovery of this year. Her name is Ken Pomeroy. She is a Native American Cherokee artist from Moore, Oklahoma, and she's made this incredible album called Cruel Joke. It's a no Skips album for me, but I chose this song. It's a very small little song. It is sad it's called Stranger, but particularly, I don't think a lyric tops the first lines of this song, which I'm just gonna say the wind keeps on hitting me like my mother used to. Unlike her, I feel it doesn't want to. Yeah, man.

[B]

Can I just jump to the one hopeful line in the entire song, though? Feel free, because we're not gonna come back after that. And that is when she says, not once while driving did I think about dying. That's new. That's new.

[C]

I know, I know. It's insane.

[A]

That verse is. She goes into this thing about listening to a song about someone that's gone by someone that's gone and sort of which is again, it's like it feels like on paper you're sinking down deeper into the depths. But if you think about it practically in terms of your own life, there is something about sort of leaning into art and music that is about loss that can be really therapeutic and can lift you out of that state.

[B]

All right, we'll go out on this Ken Pomeroy, the song Stranger from Cruel Joke. And a reminder. Stay tuned. After the song, we'll have your weekly reset and check out the new bi weekly episodes featuring you, Ann and Daoud. Every other Thursday, deep dives on classic songs. But thanks as always for the great hang and great tunes.

[A]

Thanks, Robin.

[C]

Such a joy.

[B]

And for NPR Music, I'm Robin Hilton. It's All Songs Considered.

[D]

The wind keeps on hitting me like my mother used to. Unlike her, I feel like it doesn't want to. For the first time in a long time, I'll be awkward, silence, aware. Gonna go I'm gonna. Driving home from a studio that's unfamiliar. I just cried in front of friends and a stranger. I'm the stranger cuz I haven't cried in front of myself, let alone someone else. Oh, I go oh I going to go I'm gonna. Not once while driving did I think about dying. That's new. I guess hearing songs about someone named that's gone by someone that's gone change my mind nowhere. I'm gonna go. I'm gonna.

[E]

Support for NPR and the following message come from HomeServe. It never happens at a good time. The pipe bursts at midnight. The heater quits on the coldest night. Good thing HomeServe's hotline is available 24. 7 Call to schedule a repair and a local pro will be on their way. Trusted by millions. For plans starting at $4.99 a month, go to homeserve.com not available everywhere. Most plans range between $4.99 to $11.99 a month. Your first year terms apply on covered repairs. This message comes from NPR sponsor Viori featuring the performance jogger. Visit viori.com NPR for 20% off your first purchase on any U.S. orders over $75 and free returns. Exclusions apply. Visit the website for full terms and conditions.

[A]

Support for NPR and the following message come from Warby Parker, the One Stop Shop for all your vision needs. They offer expertly crafted prescription eyewear plus.

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