As the frontman for Pela and Augustines, Brooklyn-based singer/songwriter William McCarthy has never shied away from difficult topics. (Augustine's 2011 album Rise Ye Sunken Ships was influenced by the deaths of his mother and brother.)
As a solo artist, McCarthy continues to explore darker subjects in his music, like on today's featured track “Ballad for the Unemployed.“ On his Facebook page, he writes:
More than 17 million Americans have filed for unemployment benefits in the past four weeks, a rapid and unprecedented deterioration in our U.S. economy that the nation has decided is necessary to combat the deadly coronavirus by keeping as many people as possible at home.
I wrote this song long before this was our reality, and ironically it has become a chilling battle cry for what we are living through. The character in the song is an unemployed man that feels his country has repeatedly failed him and is in self imposed quarantine bleakly obsessing over motivational speaker Tony Robbins, who has become his imaginary friend.
Finding good new music can be a full time job, so let KEXP help! In Our Headphones brings you five song recommendations every Monday, straight from KEXP’s DJs and Music Directors. Join hosts Janice Headley and Isabel Khalili on this never-ending journey of music discovery.
Host Emily Fox and KEXP’s editorial team talk with artists about the stories behind their songs and the experiences that inform their work. Through each conversation, we uncover the humanity behind the music, allowing us to hear it in a whole new way.
