Battle of the Bands: Rosie Thomas vs. Patty Griffin

Believe me, I'm aware of the foolishness of putting Rosie Thomas up against Patty Griffin. But as far as I'm concerned, this is an American blog, and Americans are all for upsets. If you don't like these David and Goliath situations, you're not American, and you're probably not a good Christian either. But Rosie isn't so innocent as David, humbly searching for the perfect stones in a brooke near the battlefield. Ms. Thomas brings the ever-reluctant indie superstar Sufjan Stevens to the fight (he appears on the whole album), in effect ditching her slingshot for a bazooka.

Rosie Thomas has had her album, These Friends of Mine, available in advance on eMusic. After hearing her great single ("Much Farther to Go") on Pitchfork, I hopped on over the eMusic to gather up the rest of the album, which will be released next Tuesday, March 13. Thomas' single is sitting at 23 listens, sitting at the fifth-ranked most played song of 2007 according to iTunes. Rosie plucks at her guitar, singing in a soft voice that is gentle yet self-assured. By the second verse, Sufjan has begun to harmonize (and in doing so provides a wonderful foil for the quiet confidence of Thomas), and by the chorus, he has unleashed his banjo. The result is an eminently enjoyable single that asks you to be content in the frustration, trouble, and heartbreak of daily life.

At the risk of sounding a little to Pitchforkish (that is to say, like an asshole), Rosie Thomas does have much farther to go, at least musically. The album is unbalanced, yet eerily everything sounds the same (with notable exceptions, like "Much Farther to Go"). I literally get drowsy listening to this album, which is not exactly something that I like in a folk album. The lyrics don't gel with the music, which seems to be this one-size-fits-all type of song. Thomas can't seem to think outside the box of heartbreak, which is absolutely necessary for a good folk album. Folk music, like the blues (and R&B), is at once depressing and uplifting. No one feels depressed after listening to "What Becomes of the Brokenhearted." Instead, they affirm their feelings of desperation and rejection while declaring that they will overcome that stands in their way.

Listen to Rosie's single, "Much Farther to Go."

Patty Griffin, as we might expect, is much more volatile, which makes for a great album. She opens her Children Running Through mournfully, hoping that her lost love will one day remember her. Lest we think that this album is a passive album of loss, Patty begins strumming with such ferocity on "I'm Getting Ready" that we get the idea that she is going to kick some man out of the picture before she finishes the title in the chorus, telling us "I'm getting ready to let you go!"

Patty's album is full of depth and variety. I'm no Patty scholar, but critics seem to be suggesting that this album is perhaps her most experimental. Well then, hats off to Ms. Griffin, who exudes confidence in each individual song on the album. She often sets down her guitar to play her piano, and she brings out rich feelings on "Burgundy Shoes" and "Someone Else's Tomorrow." On the latter, Patty invites us, even as younger listeners, to meditate on what it might be like to grow old. Memories fade, and people made of flesh and blood today will soon be ghastly shells of their formers shells.

The song ends without hope, leaving space for something more important that just human memory, or perhaps even the people who are responsible for the memories themselves. Memories provide us with a mere record of something that happened, and occasionally they will give us a hint of emotional excitement, or perhaps sorrow. Even a reunion with the characters of the memory will not suffice. Even that memory will fade. What might answer Patty's question? What might she be pointing us to? I think she is pointing, intentionally or not, to a final and lasting reunion with family members passed on and friends long gone, and to a world without end.



Patty comes away with the W after this Battle of the Bands. It's not that Rosie doesn't stand for something. Rosie seems to be pointing us in the right direction, but Patty is pointing to human experience with her every muscle flexing in the effort, and one can't help but admire both her energy and accuracy.