I’ve heard quite a few musical takes on the January 6th insurrection, but Cory Reinisch is the first to write it as a love song. It was an audacious move, but it worked.
The idea behind “Empire Falls” is that as we quite literally got to watch society crumble on the news, our thoughts would turn to loved ones. How to comfort and protect them. How even in the darkest of times, the ones we love make fighting for a better life worth it. The absurdity and brutality of that day contrasted with the simplest family values makes for a surprisingly effective commentary on the whole mess.
“Of course that happened,” he said of the insurrection. “Maybe we didn’t know exactly what it was going to look like, but we knew something like that was going to happen. It feel like there’s not much we can do to stop this tidal wave of horseshit. But at the end of this, at least I have you in my life. I thought that was a nice sentiment, a little bit of light in some darkness.”
Reinisch is clearly passionate about politics. Seemingly forgetting that our interview was set to air on radio, he cursed quite a few times about the hucksters and wannabe despots who make up so much of our political conversation.
“I’m fascinated by our inability to parse out bullshit,” Reinisch said. “I think we let the devil in the door and now we don’t know what to do with it,” he added, mentioning Donald Trump as an inspiration for the song “Birth of a Salesman.”
Much of the album focuses on extremes. There are examples of virtue: The values of “Good Man’s Countryside,” the solid foundation of “McCulloch County Wind Chimes,” the magic of witnessing someone in their “Golden Age.” There are of course the villains of “Empire Falls” and “Birth of a Salesman,” not to mention an ex in “Gaslighter” and crooked preachers in “Cadillacs in the Sky.” It’s a lens he applies to the Trump movement, at least at this point.
“I truly believe it was with the best of intentions that support was thrown behind this movement at first because it came out of frustration,” Reinisch explained. “Over time, I think there started to be a darkness. It started to be a vengeance ideology.”
As to why the people who value freedom the most are putting their votes behind eliminating so many personal freedoms?
“I think it’s because they’re too far gone,” Reinisch opined. “It’s not a rosy thought but this movement has gone beyond one man. It’s just anger and revenge.”
“Friendly Fire” is the most effective song outside the political tracks. It details Reinisch’s refusal to follow a traditional path, stating that it took a unique mix of self sabotage and determination to put him on the path to a music career.
“I’ve had to deal with raised eyebrows and questions my entire life, and that’s fine,” said Reinisch, “I was always going to do what I was going to do.”
As The Sparks Fly Upward documents problems in our society from lying and corruption to glorified political violence and cruelty. But it’s in tracks like “Empire Falls,” “A Good Man’s Countryside,” and “Friendly Fire” that Reinisch presents an imperfect solution: hold tightly to your values and goals and focus on the ones you love. The metaphorical fires are unlikely to stop burning soon, but it’s still possible to focus on and ultimately do the right things.
Above is the full episode as aired on WUSB’s Country Pocket, including both my interview with Cory Reinisch of Harvest Thieves and the songs we discussed, starting with Birth of a Salesman, which may or may not be about a certain president. The interview begins with the second video in the playlist. You can hear the show live every Monday at 11am on WUSB 90.1 FM or check the blog to watch it as a YouTube playlist. Visit http://www.WUSB.fm and https://www.harvestthieves.com for more.
Country Pocket 