Track of the Week

 My track of the week for week two is a real statement piece. I first listened to 'Bloody Mother Fucking A*****e' by Martha Wainwright after I heard it mentioned in the podcast episode Boygenius recorded with Pitchfork, and then saw it featured in an episode of Orange is the New Black that I was watching about a week later. There's something about this kind of raw, gritty anger in music that just really draws me in, and in this Track of the Week post I'm hoping to explore more about this track in terms of how Martha creates this level of emotionality. 

The album cover of Martha Wainwright's self titled album, 2005. 

Martha Wainwright's self titled album was released in 2005, and it was on this album that 'Bloody Mother Fucking A*****e' was first released. It was clear from the title that the song was going to be angry, but I think what most surprised me about it was how beautifully the anger is presented. Tying back into the article I posted last week about music and emotionality, Martha embraces a painful anger that most people would try to push down and it is for this reason that this song is still a relatively well-known song within folk circles today. When it comes to songs that were written before I was born and which my parents never played around the house, I feel that they have to be particularly stark to make an impression on me because I don't have any early memories associated with them and I wasn't present in the context in which the song was written. This is an example of a track that shows an anger so timeless that I relate to it now and I'll relate to it in 20 years and probably still on my deathbed. That, I think, is the real incredible quality of this one. 

Musically, the song consists entirely of an acoustic guitar and voice in that classic early indie-folk style coined by musicians like Ani DiFranco and Elliott Smith. In my opinion, this is a great musical choice as it lets the song breathe and feel as raw as the emotions being expressed. You don't need dirty guitars and distorted vocals to express gritty anger, and that's something Martha Wainwright really proves here. Lyrically, the song is candid in calling out Wainwright's father while still making use of plenty of imagery, for example the fire metaphor in the first verse. My favourite lyric has to be 'I will not pretend/I will not put on a smile'. With these two simple sentences, Martha rejects the expectations of her father and indeed society. As much as it's a personal statement, it's a feminist one. Further evidence, if we needed any, of the multiple contexts this track can be applied to. 

Overall, I would recommend this song for anyone who wants to let out some raw angst and/or is a fan of early indie folk. If you're a fan of Elliott Smith, Fiona Apple or Ani DiFranco you should definitely give this one a listen.