The following is a guest post. Tony, from A Way With Words, graciously accepted my offer for Media-thon Monday contributions. Check out his wonderful blog HERE.

Dan McCormick: An Emerging Folk Musician from the Midwest

I appreciate Kevin’s “Media Monday” invitation to feature a favorite emerging artist.  One artist I have my eyes (and ears) on is folk singer Dan McCormick.  McCormick is graduating from Hanover College (in Indiana), and is enrolled in an M.A. program at University of Louisville (planning to pursue a Ph.D. in English).  While at Hanover, he produced three albums (which can be accessed and downloaded free here).

Dan tells stories in his songs with word pictures that are vivid and non-sentimental.  His songs are succinct (many under 3 minutes).  They avoid clichés yet find poetic resolution.  They are vignettes, or, as in the title of his second album, “devotions” of a young man looking for the best in life but not afraid of the worst.

One song that really grabbed me as I listened to Dan’s work is called, “Sandy and Creole” which celebrates two distinct young women – one, a starry-eyed debutante – the other, a pill-popping femme fatale.  Through the wonder of the narrator, we fall in love with both of them.  The song works on a literal level – describing two alluring young women, but also philosophically, as we are drawn to both the idealism of Sandy and the nihilism of Creole.

I encourage you to hear Dan’s version of “Sandy and Creole” (by clicking on the title).  If you want to follow the lyrics, they are listed below. 

Sandy says that best friends will never grow apart,

and she makes faces at the clouds.

She cuts pretty pictures out of magazines,

and if it rains we watch T.V. without a sound.

 _

Creole fills her pockets with cigarettes and pills,

curing boredom with anything she can.

She says, “You can find your answer in the melody.

Forget the rest—it all means nothin’, man!”

_

And Sandy says she’s gonna be a star.

She says, “I’ve got this debutante thing down.”

Creole says, “I don’t care if I don’t have any money.”

And she sobers up and drives back into town.

_

Sandy gives me chewing gum and giggles all the time,

and we lay in circles in the grass.

She says we’re perfect just the way we are,

and she wonders how we can make the summer last.

 _

Creole pulls my jacket off and takes me by the arm,

and we dance like feathers in the air.

I can see her busted up and smiling,

tumbled over with blood in her hair.

_

And Sandy says, “Tell me all your dreams.

Can’t you hear that sweet angelic call?”

Creole says, “God is dead, so let’s get drunk instead,

and we’ll celebrate our luminescent fall.”

Check out the previous edition of Media-thon Monday HERE. For future contributions, contact me at:

kevindanielblog (@) gmail (dot) com