Each week, a Globe-pal (AKA a DJ at 91.1 the Globe) takes a song of their choosing, and dishes out a healthy review to be sent out and posted on globeradio.org/music.
The Globe Track of the Week is an excellent way to keep up with the new tunes presented weekly on 91.1 the Globe, the best college radio station in Indiana.
For me, it’s lyrics that make a song great, and that’s why I picked “Death Wish” by Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit for this Globe Track of the Week. The song is an early release of their upcoming album Weathervanes and is currently at number one on the Americana music charts.
This song deals heavily with themes of relationships and being on the other side of how to deal with loved ones struggling with self-destructive behaviors like addiction. It makes sense for his 9th album release that the song also hints at the idea of growing up and out of the wild life- especially when many around you likely haven’t yet.
How do you find meaning for your life once the party days are done?
The powerful lyrics are supported by a driving drum line and a consistent melody on the guitar. The words and their meanings are allowed to shine without losing any of the quality of the music itself, while keeping the melancholy rhythm all the same.
The song is introspective at its core and tells a very specific story, but even if most people haven’t “love[d] a woman with a death wish” we know what it’s like to worry about the path someone else is taking. But yet also find it impossible to leave them behind. This sense of being stuck is captured perfectly in the song. Plus it helps that in addition to being lyrically powerful, it’s pretty darn catchy as well.
-Kate Bodiker
