A belated album trivia moment plus that Weakerthans cover

Where I cover Springsteen because New Jersey.

Like every songwriter ever, I reference a lot of things that other people might not pick up on. Most of the time they’re subtle things that I don’t even mean for folks to catch, or sometimes I name our first EP a clear reference to a book on affect theory. Sometimes I throw in a fun one, like mentioning the Freehold Mall in “The Possibility”, which a lot of Jersey folks have told me they think is pretty funny. It’s at least entertaining to me, ok?

So when I wrote “Chicago Style Pizza is Terrible”, a song about trying to find your own space at your own speed in a place whose history hasn’t always been welcoming, I wanted to be able to place it. I mention the Empress Hotel, a gay resort in Asbury Park where Worriers stayed for a few nights after playing a couple shows at my favorite venue House of Independents. The song is set at the beachfront spot where we had a balcony with an ocean view (it was December, we’re not that fancy). It’s a lovely place, but our stay inspired something bittersweet.

Fast forward to this past November, before our album was released. I started covering a Bruce Springsteen song that he originally wrote for the Ramones. It’s an easy one, same four chords the whole damn time, but it’s one of my favorites. I’m posting a cover of it below, but check out the upper right corner of the song’s original artwork before you listen. This is completely, 100%, swear on my life a coincidence.

If you’re looking for another edition of “Lauren covers the songwriters they obviously adore”, here’s a song by the Weakerthans, played by members of Jeff Rosenstock, PUP, Hard Girls, and Bomb The Music Industry (and me!) recorded in our respective homes. This is a fun thing that wouldn’t have happened were it not for “the situation right now”, so that’s kinda neat. Enjoy!