February 11, 2014

three new songs from Josiah Johnson (The Head and The Heart)

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Today I ducked out of work for a long lunch and accompanied Josiah Johnson (from The Head and The Heart) across campus to our local NPR affiliate/college radio station KRCC for some wonderfully insightful interview questions, facilitated by your friend and neighbor Vicky, with three new songs performed by Josiah.

You may recognize the first (“I regret not leaving the light on”) from a video Jos and I made last summer in a parking garage in Boulder. That song has morphed to also have the chorus from the song “In The Summertime” from the very first chapel session I ever did (with them and in general).

As Josiah said today in the interview:

“The parking lot version of that that we recorded is half-done, and I actually finished it with a song that I wrote when I was in Colorado Springs in, like …November of 2010. I loved the chorus of this song ‘In The Summertime’ from a Fuel/Friends Chapel Session, and didn’t think much of the verses, and realized that the themes of this and that meshed well together.”

It’s nice seeing that synthesis of songs, and to get a good recording of it in the place it was mostly all born.

STREAM: Full interview with songs (some terrific questions and answers here)


All three of these songs were previously unrecorded as far as I can tell, and the second two are also pretty new at being out in the world. I just heard the second and the third songs for the first time this weekend at the Ivywild show.

The second song, “Take Me With You,” was inspired by a collage that fellow musician/visual artist Damian Jurado made, and it floored me when I saw it this morning — after my ear had already been so captured by Josiah’s song:

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DOWNLOAD THE THREE NEW SONGS:

I regret not leaving the light on (with “In The Summertime”)

Take Me With You
(with the added bonus of the lyric change – “I am ducked, and so are you,” on account of it bein’ on the radio)

The Basement

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Thanks, Vicky! We love you and KRCC.

11 Comments

  • So beautiful, I love his voice especially and the rawness of it.
    Can I download these? I only see the webplayer because I want to listen to it over and over!

    A Lyrical Dreamer — February 11, 2014 @ 8:25 pm

  • I’d love to have the mp3 for these 3 songs as well… if you can provide them! x Love

    RiffsAndTutus — February 12, 2014 @ 12:34 pm

  • Great interview. Good and talented guy. Nice work Josiah.

    Bryan Feddern — February 12, 2014 @ 1:14 pm

  • Hey guys – all these links *are* mp3 links – you just need to right click on the hyperlink title of the song, and select “Save File As.” Voila!

    browneheather — February 12, 2014 @ 2:19 pm

  • Thank you for sharing. I have only listened to the first song so far. It is great!

    Robyn — February 12, 2014 @ 7:37 pm

  • I just cried listening to The Basement. I wish he would collaborate with RebbekaMaria or the Hymn Boy.

    Robyn — February 12, 2014 @ 7:50 pm

  • I’ve been looking for ‘i regret not leaving the light on’ ever since Josiah played it in Paris at this small venue this november.. We had drinks with him and other band member of TH&TH at a bar after this, one for the books! My best to this talented guy..

    Martha — February 13, 2014 @ 12:29 am

  • [...] A great interview and three gorgeous songs from Josiah Johnson of The Head and the Heart. [...]

    Sending all my love to you | Fierce Like Beyoncé — February 13, 2014 @ 10:36 pm

  • The Head & The Heart is by FAR my favorite band ever and I love them so much I want to see them live so badly (although I would most likely have convulsions) (that was a joke but I’m slightly serious). ANYWHO these songs are top notch. Not gunna lie I cried a little. Or a lot. Okay.

    Meg — February 17, 2014 @ 6:29 pm

  • I love Josiah! Can’t wait to see them at COacHeLLa!! Another band that they remind me of is First Aid Kit! Check out their song “My Silver Lining”!!

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S2Fu4lGLUsk

    Christian — April 13, 2014 @ 4:46 pm

  • […] To kick off the encore, Josiah Johnson returned without the ban to unveil one of The Head and the Heart’s newest songs he wrote, “Take Me with You”. As he sat down on a stool with his acoustic guitar, a fan threw up a Cleveland Browns helmet hat for him to wear. Laughing, he put it on like a good sport and said, “You know I’m from Seattle, right?!” to which the crowd responded by woofing as only die hard Browns fans could. (You can stream and listen to this new song, plus two others in his interview with radio state KRCC here.) […]

    The Head and the Heart Bring Bright Lights & Soulful Harmonies to Cleveland | OyVegh — June 1, 2014 @ 4:26 pm

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Bio Pic Name: Heather Browne
Location: Colorado, originally by way of California
Giving context to the torrent since 2005.

"I love the relationship that anyone has with music: because there's something in us that is beyond the reach of words, something that eludes and defies our best attempts to spit it out. It's the best part of us, probably, the richest and strangest part..."
—Nick Hornby, Songbook
"Music has always been a matter of energy to me, a question of Fuel. Sentimental people call it Inspiration, but what they really mean is Fuel."
—Hunter S. Thompson

Mp3s are for sampling purposes, kinda like when they give you the cheese cube at Costco, knowing that you'll often go home with having bought the whole 7 lb. spiced Brie log. They are left up for a limited time. If you LIKE the music, go and support these artists, buy their schwag, go to their concerts, purchase their CDs/records and tell all your friends. Rock on.

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