The Days of Lore

Now we can see … and hear

Wednesday, January 21st, 2009 | musiX, pdX, politiX

I awoke this morning to the scent of hope … and coffee. And it smelled so good. Yesterday, Barack Hussein Obama was sworn in as the 44th president of the United States of America, and with that, things have already changed. His speech was good—not great—I’ll give it a 7.5. Put it next to any speech by George Walker Bush, and it’s an 11.5. Aretha Louise Franklin’s performance: a solid 10. She still brings it. So, enough talk about her hat.

With all of these feel-good feelings and scents and sounds I was reminded of my interview with The Thermals’ Kathy Foster in December. I asked her what the new record would be like given the changes taking place in the Oval Office. Of course, 2006’s The Body, The Blood, The Machine was a punchy punk rock diatribe on the state of affairs under neo-conservative Christian influence. Foster calls Now We Can See (out April 7 on KRS) more of an “Obama record.”

“It’s mostly written from the perspective of someone who’s died and is looking back at their time on Earth, realizing their own mistakes and those humanity has made. Now we can see! Yes we can!”

I like her feel-good optimism. The new album is one of my most highly anticipated—i.e., you haven’t heard the last of me doting over Now We Can See. Now you can listen.

“I Let It Go” - The Thermals (demo, Now We Can See)

Tags: Aretha Franklin, Barack Hussein Obama, Kathy Foster, Now We Can See, The Thermals

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