E002: An Ode to Adeem the Artist
Kate,
I’ve spent a lot of time lately organizing my music library. As you know, I buy a lot of music on BandCamp,
and I’m trying to cycle through my music and make sure I listen to all these purchases every once in a while. Post-election blues, I’ve found myself drawn to a few specific artists - though namely the discography of Adeem the Artist.
Adeem is “a seventh-generation Carolinian, a makeshift poet, singer-songwriter, storyteller, and blue-collar Artist.”1 Their work mostly deals with Christianity & the South & being Queer. I learned of them when they opened for the Mountain Goats…last year? It was 4/20, and Adeem appeared to be very high. They could not string a sentence together. But from the first line of “I Never Came Out” (and sneakily slipping a bit of “Going to Georgia” in there) I was hooked. I loved the sound, I loved the message, and I was captivated by what immediately made sense at as a Mountain Goats connection.
I’ve now seen Adeem three times - that first show, and then two tours at Milkboy here in Philadelphia. Adeem’s demeanor was much the same as the first - I think they spent at least half the time in banter as they did in songs, and the banter is never totally coherent. But what they do have to say is important and relevant, and they bare their soul on that stage (and in various other spaces) every night. And this is the kind of country music I want to hear, from people who have something to say.
To be fair, I’m not overly familiar with Adeem’s work - I mostly have listened to the same four “albums” over and over. But these are some of my favorites.
“I Never Came Out” - putting this first because I think it should be the first song you hear from Adeem’s mouth.
“Fast Cars” - this single is so fun. Pedal to the metal because he's Lord.
“Going to Hell” - They play country songs in heaven but in hell they play ‘em loud.
“Cast-Iron Pansexual” - again, lyrically so impressive. Take this as Adeem’s introduction to all that their work offers.
“I Wish You Would’ve Been A Cowboy” - I think I already shared this one with you upon the death of Toby Keith?
“One Night Stand” - the lead single off of their newest album! Sounds like something that you would hear on a country station if it weren’t a queer country ballad.
“Rotations” - a sweet retrospective on parenting.
“There We Are” - a poem about love!
“Fervent For the Hunger” - reminds me of that Julian K. Jarboe quote about humanity sharing in the act of creation.
“For Judas” - I have a playlist of songs about Judas, and this one might be my favorite? What if we imagined the relationship of Jesus and Judas to be a traitorous romantic one? And what does it mean to be a traitor? (Also, no one has sung about the northeast Minneapolis Arts District so romantically.)The harpist on this track is Lizzie No, who I have also seen in Philly! Because of Adeem! Networks on networks!
I love Adeem’s confidence and wordsmithing to capture these myriad complicated feelings about themselves and the American South in which they grew up/live, and finding a place in a musical genre that has a rich history/tradition of foregrounding such stories, and yet feels totally absent in mainstream industry. In this month, I’ve relished in returning to these songs that feel closest how I would want to articulate all that I’m sitting with at the moment.
Take a listen,
Emily
Taken from Adeem’s BandCamp bio. ↩