New Song of the Day #21: Lisa O’Neill feat. Pete Doherty “Homeless in the Thousands”
A timely song from the Dublin singer. And the launch a daily(-ish) new(-ish) feature.
Today in America, the politics of demonizing displaced people are about to get more terrifyingly real. In Ireland, singer/songwriter Lisa O’Neill has issued a quiet challenge, channeling an unhoused person adrift in a land of plenty via this hushed ballad.
Subtitled “Dublin In the Digital Age,” the references are culturally specific — the narrator is born to a mother “in a laundry” (ie: a home for so-called fallen women, recent-historically; see The Magdalene Sisters) and a father who lost his job “at Dublin Bay” (making this a sequel-of-sorts to her powerful “Rock The Machine”). There’s a sharp-edged pun on “change” — situational change; pre-Venmo spare change. And I like how her delivery intensifies after the couplet “all our heroes would be reelin’/ and rollin’ in their graves/ If they saw the state of/ O’Connell Street today.” Peter (aka Pete) Doherty, of The Libertines, complicates the narrative with a flickering trans-national tale of immigration and family.
The song’s official video, below, is heavy: a single, unbroken, shin-level POV shot from a city sidewalk, framing a hand extending a paper cup that’s ignored by passers-by for the clip’s five-plus minutes. I’ve also included a potent performance from Tommy Tiernan (which I gather is something like Ireland’s Tonight show).
O’Neill posted a statement about the song on the Rough Trade Records website. Key points:
Kindness is a human strength.
Housing is a human need.
The problem will not go away by unseeing
I soft-launched New Song of the Day in Substack Notes earlier this month. Not all of y’all use Notes, and I wanted these top-shelf tracks easier for you to locate. So I’m making it a regular feature of New Music + Old Music. This will also let me to stretch out a bit, and punch the posts up with extra links when necessary.
So in addition to my regular New Music + Old Music newsletters, subscribers will receive New Song of the Day Monday through Friday (more or less) in their email inbox and Substack homepage feed. I’ll prioritize Bandcamp links for listening when possible, to make it easier to support artists directly. I’ll also continue posting to Notes, so you have a heads up.
For paid subscribers, I’ll continue to periodically compile these in easy-access playlists w/ bonus cuts, in multiple streaming platforms.
However you receive them, I hope these songs provide a welcome distraction with your morning coffee or evening whatever — a shot of beauty to savor, ponder, and help your days go easier. Lemme know how you’re liking them.
With gratitude,
Will