Emerald City

Album: Dreamboat (2020)
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • Luluc (pronounced Lou-Luke) is an Australian duo comprising Zoë Randell and Steve Hassett, who are based in Brooklyn, New York. NPR Music's Bob Boilen and Stephen Thompson listed their 2014 record Passerby as the #1 album of the year.
  • Back in the city again
    Like a fish caught on a thread
    Tumble and twist all the night
    Too much in my head


    This song about nocturnal New York was birthed in August 2018 when producer Aaron Dessner of the National invited Randell and Hassett to perform at Berlin's PEOPLE festival. While there, they took the opportunity to lay down "Emerald City."
  • Zoe Randall told Uncut magazine that when Dessner invited Hassett and her to the PEOPLE festival, they "got a window of time to collaborate closely." She brought with her "two songs in skeleton form to the festival, both written with just started chords."

    Randall added that this song "is a stream of consciousness set in those anxious moments before sleep, above the noise."
  • I won’t let you pull me under
    Like Dorothy on the run


    Uncut Magazine asked Zoe Randall about the song's Wizard of Oz illusions. She replied: "It's been an inspiration since I was a child. Dorothy's trials, the journey and the battles are such a great rendering of so much of what you can deal with in life. In a quite subconscious way, the history of that inspiration came out in the chorus lyric and in turn inspiring the song's title."
  • The musicians are:

    Guitar: Steve Hassett
    Drums: JT Bates, Jason Treuting
    Backing Vocals: Chris Rainbow
    Synths/beats: Aaron Dessner
    French horn and trumpet: CJ Camerieri

Comments

Be the first to comment...

Editor's Picks

Annie Haslam of Renaissance

Annie Haslam of RenaissanceSongwriter Interviews

The 5-octave voice of the classical rock band Renaissance, Annie is big on creative expression. In this talk, she covers Roy Wood, the history of the band, and where all the money went in the '70s.

Mark Arm of Mudhoney

Mark Arm of MudhoneySongwriter Interviews

When he was asked to write a song for the Singles soundtrack, Mark thought the Seattle grunge scene was already overblown, so that's what he wrote about.

Petula Clark

Petula ClarkSongwriter Interviews

Petula talks about her hits "Downtown" and "Don't Sleep In The Subway," and explains her Michael Jackson connection.

80s Music Quiz 1

80s Music Quiz 1Music Quiz

MTV, a popular TV theme song and Madonna all show up in this '80s music quiz.

Jack Blades of Night Ranger and Damn Yankees

Jack Blades of Night Ranger and Damn YankeesSongwriter Interviews

Revisit the awesome glory of Night Ranger and Damn Yankees: cheesily-acted videos, catchy guitar licks, long hair, and lyrics that are just plain relatable.

Jonathan Cain of Journey

Jonathan Cain of JourneySongwriter Interviews

Cain talks about the divine inspirations for "Don't Stop Believin'" and "Faithfully."