When a corporation runs a “we’re in this with you” commercial, addressing either the pandemic or the current protests against systemic racism and police violence, it can often ring a bit hollow. But when someone like Aaron Lee Tasjan says it, that feels about as sincere as you can get.
He began his Tuesday evening livestream, part of NPR Music’s Live Sessions series, affably reeling off songs from behind a keyboard in his East Nashville home studio. Each was relatable in its portrayal of anxiety, confusion, heartbreak or frustration, with an acidic tang that made the sentiments of grace, humor and hope each contained all the sweeter.
The seven-song set featured tunes from Tasjan's three most recent releases: 2016’s Silver Tears, 2018’s Karma for Cheap and the 2019 acoustic-focused alternate version Karma for Cheap: Reincarnated. That last record included a previously unreleased song called “My Whole Life Is Over (All Over Again),” which Tasjan played during the livestream, and it was the emotional peak of the performance. You can find something worth holding onto in plenty of songs in this time of chaos. But the story in “My Whole Life,” about still feeling whole and maybe even being able to laugh at yourself in spite of constant discouraging news, feels particularly comforting.
A little later, after Tasjan had switched over to his acoustic guitar, he played “I Love America Better Than You.” It’s a kind of contemporary analog to the late, great John Prine’s “Your Flag Decal Won’t Get You Into Heaven Anymore,” calling out hypocrisy and exceptionalism. But its particular brand of biting and self-effacing humor is very much Tasjan’s own. As he introduced the tune, he offered up a little benediction.
“I appreciate you voting in the face of voter suppression,” Tasjan said. “I appreciate anybody with the humility to ask themselves what they can do in their life every day to change systemic racism — what we can do about the project of whiteness. Hey, man, we’re reckoning with a lot of stuff right now, and it’s a good thing. We need our world to change. It is changing, for the better I think, and that makes me very happy.”
