I thought I would mix things up this week and do an interview with the person who has made the best abortion rights song ever. What’s wild is that I’m married to him. Click above to listen to the 9-minute interview with Derek about the song.
In the interview, Derek tells us about how the song, which originated 16 years ago, morphed into its final state. (There’s even a little audio footage from our former band The Wedding Industrial Complex!) He also discusses a flowchart that’s useful for anyone who may have an opinion about reproductive rights.
“Texas Legislators” was released last Friday, June 3, as part of Derek’s latest album, The Big Five-0. You can listen to the song below—or hear the song and whole album on Spotify, Apple Music, YouTube Music or wherever you stream. The full album is available for physical purchase from his website dereksenn.com or Boo Boo Records in San Luis Obispo, California. You can also buy the physical or digital album on Bandcamp. This is the blurb I wrote for his album at the listening station at BooBoos:
For his fourth release, The Big Five-0, San Luis Obispo singer-songwriter Derek Senn took the opportunity, while turning 50 during a global pandemic, to write an eclectic mix of groovy, unforgettable songs. Topics include quarantining, viruses, war repercussions, Texas’ anti-woman legislation, a vasectomy, and being OK with getting used (a downtempo cover of Bill Withers’ classic “Use Me.”) Lucky for us, Derek again joined forces with the talented musician and producer Damon Castillo to record the album. There are slow dirges, fierce rockers, and all stops in between, a surprise around every corner. In one song, Derek tells us with self-deprecating irony that he’s “Big in Britain,” before informing us that “a dozen people filled” the little pub he played. Funny, whip-smart, occasionally political, and often surprisingly tender, he takes chances as different narrators; in one he plays the part of a sequoia tree: “I am a bellwether for whether man can hold it together…in the age of man versus man.” The title track about turning 50 starts off, “My colonoscopy is in the books; I worry worry is wrinkling my looks; the hair on my head has relocated south to my back, my nutsack.” Sometimes sophomoric, sometimes earnest, sometimes angry, sometimes hilarious, sometimes introspective, but always compelling, these fourteen songs run the gamut. Quite a listen—you’ll want it on repeat.
I do.
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