Dar Williams has been described by The New Yorker as “one of America’s very best singer-songwriters,” but to thirteen-year-old Tamar she was, quite simply, a personal hero: a songwriter whose poetry, poignancy, and humor could capture at once the authentic voices of an inner child, a searching young adult, and a wizened sage. We met in person in 2013 at Dar’s songwriting retreat, and our friendship has been evolving ever since, exploring together the rigors of writing and storytelling through sound and song, and what it means to dip in and out of a creative space as a way of simply getting through the day.

Dar has recently published a book about songwriting that is chock full of philosophical wisdom and applicable nuggets, many of which borne from a decade of retreats. We sat down together to talk about songwriting, art museums, the art of writing songs about art, and specifically her evocative, ambivalent "Mark Rothko Song," which tackles it all head-on.

[2:05] Dar’s relationship with museums and creating a space for poetic thinking.

[8:40] Specific museums, exhibitions, paintings that have inspired Dar’s songs: Dia, “Made in America,” the Fogg.

[11:45] Writing Mark Rothko Song.  Where did Dar go?  Where did Dar really go?

[14:45] The difficulties inherent in writing about art.  What prompted the writing of this song?  Dar’s first encounter with Rothko’s “Untitled (Blue Green)” and the first verse.

[20:15] Diving into the prosody of the song, how the music and lyrics support the voice of the song: finger picking, major to minor, chord to chord, key to key, mood to mood.

[27:41] Return to the lyrics and narrative.  The way that Rothko encourages people to make subjective associations…but then comes the foil of the second verse, creating the contrast between subjective and objective.

[33:52] The song’s dueling (or complementary?) aha moments in the bridge and final verse.  People both love Rothko and struggle to connect to him.  Following the narrator’s journey as she wrestles with seeing something versus knowing something.

[45:47] Appreciating an honest song about art viewing that doesn’t flatten the characters.  Reflecting on the elements of the song that hold up as Dar has gotten older.

[51:19] The similarities between art museums and songwriting retreats: opening up, engaging poetic thinking.

[55:28] Also the hazards of living in a space of poetic thinking, especially as a parent.  The necessary objectivity of the caretaking space.

[1:02:20] The “Five Things” Rule, and whether Mark Rothko might just be the exception that proves the rule.  Tamar meets her Rothko and gives hope to kind pedestrians everywhere.

[1:09:14] Mark Rothko Song in full.

Music Used:
Dar Williams, “When I Was A Boy”; “Mark Rothko Song” (live); “The Beauty Of The Rain”; “Mark Rothko Song” (album version)

Episode Webpage:
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Episode webpage:
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Music used:
The Blue Dot Sessions, “Balti”
Mandy Patinkin, “Finishing the Hat” from Sunday in the Park with George

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Music used:
The Blue Dot Sessions, "Spark"
Rod Stewart, "Every Picture Tells A Story"

Charlotte's book:
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Episodes referenced:
Anselm Kiefer: bit.ly/31gUSwW
Sarah Sze: bit.ly/3NRnGmr

Support the show:
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Today, the art world - and, as he would attest, the world world too - lost a giant, and we're re-releasing our episode from September 2020 in his honor. RIP, Claes Oldenburg, and thank you for plucking art from its spotless frame and returning it to our messy, magnificent plane. Hope you're enjoying that great big floor pie in the sky.

See the images:
bit.ly/3hcHjVq

Music used:
Django Reinhardt, “Django’s Tiger”
The Andrews Sisters, "Bei Mir Bist Du Schoen"
The Blue Dot Sessions, “Cradle Rock,” “Sylvestor,” “A Little Powder,” “Our Only Lark,” “Town Market,” “Contrarian,” “The Rampart”
Joe Dassin, “Les Champs-Elysees"

Support the show:
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What goes up into the sky must come down into the earth, and fortunately for us we’ve got Sarah Sze, mistress of materials, memory, and meaning, helming the journey.

This episode was produced with support from Storm King Art Center.

See the images:
bit.ly/3NRnGmr

Music used:
Django Reinhardt, “Django’s Tiger”
The Andrews Sisters, "Bei Mir Bist Du Schoen"
The Blue Dot Sessions, “Plate Glass,” “Leatherbound,” “The Onyx,” “Silent Ocean,” “ZigZag Heart,” “Curious Case,” “On Top of It”
Evan Blanch, “Where The Streets Have No Name (Instrumental)” (U2 cover)

Episode sponsor:
www.visualartspassage.com

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Betcha never realized how deeply color colored your world - and the world - until you found yourself dancing down the diagonal of this showstopping print.

This episode was produced in partnership with the Harvard Art Museums. The exhibition "Prints from the Brandywine Workshop and Archives: Creative Communities" is on view until July 31, 2022.

Music used:
The Andrews Sisters, "Bei Mir Bist Du Schoen"
The Blue Dot Sessions, “Valley VX,” “Forgot His Jam,” “Dear Myrtle,” “Lakeside Path,” “Paramo Ocho,” “White Limit,” “Bivly”

See the images:
bit.ly/3MzWc47

Support the show:
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This episode was produced in partnership with the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston.

See the images:
bit.ly/3tXx80o

Music used:
The Andrews Sisters, "Bei Mir Bist Du Schoen"
The Blue Dot Sessions, “Pigpaddle Creek,” “Temperance,” “Highway 94,” “Floating Whist,” “Danver County,” “Mr. Graves,” “Willow Belle”
Joe Dassin, “Les Champs-Elysees"

Support the show:
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The Lonely Palette is on maternity leave until early March, which means that we've been turning to the archives to feature episodes specific to the many shades of motherhood. This episode, from March 2020, tackles the noble melons, jugs, and knockers that nourish the gazes and stomachs of the world. So why are we so disgusted when a woman – and specifically performance artist Patty Chang - saves a little bit for herself?

See the images:
bit.ly/33DsB4P

Music used:
The Andrews Sisters, "Bei Mir Bist Du Schoen"
The Blue Dot Sessions, “Flatlands 3rd,” “Louver,” “Sino de Cobre,” “Dorica Theme,” “The Dustbin,” “We Shall Know Speed”

Support the show:
www.patreon.com/lonelypalette