Colonizer

Album: I Can Feel You Creep Into My Private Life (2018)
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • Tune Yards frontwoman Merrill Garbus sings here about cultural appropriation - in other words who gets to tell the stories. Garbus told The Guardian this was something she'd been wrestling with.

    "We're becoming very aware of the voices of history that we grow up with. I love my job, but I also have doubts about whose voices need to be heard right now," she explained. "It's not like I'm Madonna or Katy Perry, but I have some kind of reach. I go through both needing to sing, to open up my lungs and create sound, but also at times being disgusted by my own voice. But I tried to push myself to be uncomfortable, because that's what this work of being a human is, and particularly what being an artist with a public voice is."

Comments

Be the first to comment...

Editor's Picks

"Private Eyes" - The Story Behind the Song

"Private Eyes" - The Story Behind the SongSong Writing

How a goofy detective movie, a disenchanted director and an unlikely songwriter led to one of the biggest hits in pop history.

Mick Jones of Foreigner

Mick Jones of ForeignerSongwriter Interviews

Foreigner's songwriter/guitarist tells the stories behind the songs "Juke Box Hero," "I Want To Know What Love Is," and many more.

Joe Elliott of Def Leppard

Joe Elliott of Def LeppardSongwriter Interviews

The Def Leppard frontman talks about their "lamentable" hit he never thought of as a single, and why he's juiced by his Mott The Hoople cover band.

Gary Numan

Gary NumanSongwriter Interviews

An Electronic music pioneer with Asperger's Syndrome. This could be interesting.

Yacht Rock Quiz

Yacht Rock QuizFact or Fiction

Christopher Cross with Deep Purple? Kenny Loggins in Caddyshack? A Fact or Fiction all about yacht rock and those who made it.

When Rock Belonged To Michelob

When Rock Belonged To MichelobSong Writing

Michelob commercials generated hits for Eric Clapton, Genesis and Steve Winwood in the '80s, even as some of these rockers were fighting alcoholism.