Video: New Pornographers – “Really Really Light”
Directed by Christian Cerezo. From Continue as a Guest, due March 31 on Merge.
New new. No no? Nanu nanu. Mork calling Orson. Come in, Orson.
“Really Really Light” was co-written by A.C. Newman and Dan Behar. Sort of. Newman took a Behar outtake from 2014’s Brill Bruisers and wrote a new song around it.
“Part of my process throughout the years has been messing with things I never finished. I really liked Dan’s chorus, and for a while I was just trying to write something that I felt like belonged with it,” Newman says. “I was thinking of the Aloe Blacc song ‘The Man’ which interpolated the chorus from Elton John’s ‘Your Song’ and thought it would be fun to interpolate a song that no one knows. Not trying to sound like Aloe Blacc, just doing some interpolating of my own. It became a game of writing a verse that felt like a part of the same song. In my mind, I was striving for a little Jeff Lynne–era Tom Petty, a classic go-to.”
Classic indeed. It’s crazy how consistent the New Pornos have remained over the 20-whatever years they’ve been around. The current incarnation includes Newman, plus Neko Case, Kathryn Calder, John Collins, Todd Fancey and Joe Seiders. Are they a supergroup? A side project? Who knows, but as long as they keep putting out classic songs like this, who cares?
The New Pornographers 2023 tour dates
Apr 19 Asheville, NC – Salvage Station
Apr 20 Atlanta, GA – Variety Playhouse
Apr 21 New Orleans, LA – Tipitina’s
Apr 22 Houston, TX – White Oak Music Hall
Apr 23 Dallas, TX – Studio at The Factory
Apr 25 Austin, TX – Paramount
Apr 26 Oklahoma City, OK – Tower Theatre
Apr 27 St. Louis, MO – Sheldon Concert Hall
Apr 28 Omaha, NE – The Waiting Room
Apr 29 Kansas City, MO – The Truman
Apr 30 Denver, CO – Gothic Theatre
May 03 St. Paul, MN – The Fitzgerald
May 04 Milwaukee, WI – Turner Hall
May 05 Chicago, IL – Thalia Hall
May 06 Chicago, IL – Thalia Hall
May 08 Cincinnati, OH – Memorial Hall
May 09 Columbus, OH – Newport Music Hall
May 11 Detroit, MI – El Club
May 12 Toronto, ON – Danforth
May 13 Burlington, VT – Higher Ground Ballroom
May 14 Norwalk, CT – Wall Street Theater
May 15 Boston, MA – Royale
May 17 New York, NY – Brooklyn Steel
May 18 Philadelphia, PA – Union Transfer
May 19 Washington, DC – 9:30 Club
May 21 Saxapahaw, NC – Haw River Ballroom
(all dates with Wild Pink)