Musical Introvert: Neko Case

True story: I have yet to meet anyone who has listened to Neko Case who hasn't developed an enormous, heart-wrenching, soul-consuming crush on her.

Literally every member of my family loves her. And my in-laws. How could you not? She's amazingly talented, her lyrics are like little truth arrows that spear you through the heart, and she's beautiful to boot.

A redhead with a sword and a muscle car -
this woman IS the Kinsey scale. 

And based on some of her lyrics, and the general tone and tenor of her music, I'm going to guess she's an introvert.

When I tell people I've started this blog, a good number of them say something along the lines of, "Isn't that kind of putting yourself out there for an introvert?"

Who do you think writes the novels you read? Who do you think spends hours gazing at the ceiling, thinking up fantastical lands full of people who don't exist, and then spends more hours hunched over a computer, alone in a room, so that you can enjoy that imaginary world?

Who do you think creates art?

I'm not saying extroverts can't be artistic and creative. Of course they can. But the domain of art is inside the mind. And that's where introverts thrive. Clearly introverts can "put themselves out there," or we wouldn't all be collectively twitching with excitement over the second season of Game of Thrones debuting in April.

Case in point: Ms. Neko Case.



Listen to some of these lyrics:

1) "Look for Me (I'll Be Around)," from the album Blacklisted
When the new crowd starts to bore you
Just remember there is someone to adore you
When you're weary of nights out on the town
Look for me, I'll be around


2) "Hold On, Hold On," from the album Fox Confessor Brings the Flood
I leave the party at 3 a.m., 
Alone, thank God


3) "I'm an Animal," from the album Middle Cyclone
Yes, there are things that I'm still so afraid
But my courage is roaring like the sound of the sun 


4) "Marais la Nuit," from the album Middle Cyclone
On the full album, this track is literally thirty minutes of crickets recorded at Neko Case's farm in Vermont.

Come on. Tell me what kind of person records thirty minutes of crickets! Oh, that's right. One of us. (I have personally listened to this track at least twice in a row in its entirety, staring up at the ceiling and concocting daydreams. I'm not sure I've ever been happier than that.)