#17 Hiss Golden Messenger – I Need A Teacher

I was surprised when I heard this song at the supermarket last week. Is this song now too mainstream for me? Possibly for 17-year-old me, who worried about only listening to alternative or indie music. But I’ve been listening to 2019’s Terms of Surrender since it came out so I think I’m a true fan. I don’t believe in forsaking an artist or band when their music becomes popular and I would never begrudge a song I love being played as much as possible in any context.

The opening track of ‘I Need A Teacher’ is a strong start to the album. The twang of an electric guitar smacks you right in the face, with this almost funky picked guitar part sitting underneath. A warm bass, a strategic twinkle of a piano, drums and a tambourine. The vocal comes in and the lyric is strong:

Love me harder
Cry like a thunder
Kick the floorboards
Paint it a different color
Another year older
Debt slightly deeper
Paycheck smaller
Goddamn I need a teacher

As part of my research for this post, I was reading about MC Taylor, the man behind Hiss Golden Messenger. As many listeners of his music would have pondered – his chosen band name is not straightforward. In an interview in Salvation South, when asked about it, Taylor said:

There’s something faintly biblical about Hiss Golden Messenger. There’s something that has to do with the hiss of a cassette tape. And there’s something confusing about it. I’ve always been a bit contrary.

A Californian native, Taylor travelled around the US, working as a folklorist and writing songs in several bands, before settling in North Carolina and honing his folk sound.

‘I Need A Teacher’ is written in response to the North Carolina demonstration against budget cuts in public schools. The official film clip features real-life teachers who participated in the demonstration. I feel we’ve gotten something wrong in our society when the jobs that impact so many of us – teachers, nurses, social workers, childcare workers – are woefully underfunded. It makes sense when you think about the first verse in a school or teacher context.

The verse gives way to the chorus where things lift, with female backing vocals, a shaker and an electric piano padding out the soundscape.

The song may be about serious issues, but the vibe is vibrant and uplifting. I love the message in the second verse:

Though it aint easy

Give it away freely

It will come back to you eventually

Life can be so transactional, it’s nice to think about giving without an immediate reward. I’d like to think the universe will take care of us.

After the second verse, there’s an instrumental section, with a fuzzy guitar and what sounds like some kind of synth. While I often notice drums in songs as a defining feature, the drums here keep the momentum without sitting above everything.

The final chorus ends and we’re back at the verse riff, with guitars washing over you in waves of gorgeousness. The outro is a good instrumental chunk without any vocals, helping you appreciate how good this music is.

It’s hard not to listen to this album after this killer first track, so put it on your list this summer!


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