Son Little Eddie Pearson Portrait
(Photo by Eddie Pearson for Okayplayer)
Harpsichord synths and hip-hop beats get reimagined in Son Little's newest single, an emotional modern blues tune dubbed "Go Blue, Blood Red." On it, Little (government name Aaron Livingston) digs into the hardship and cynicism that envelopes the American political system, and in a conversation with Okayplayer, described it as a high-stakes game gone wrong.
"I was just thinking about how people...we grow up here with this idea of what a free country is and what democracy means," Livingston said. "But to watch--especially around this time--to watch election season which gets longer and longer. To the point that everything is election season you know everything is a campaign. You're watching a ping pong match, you know like: Ping Pong Match With Equal Prize Money At The End."
Livingston's new song, though, is nothing if not genuine and isn't entirely ruled by its own rhetoric. Shakers and clavinets dart along the far edges of "Go Blue, Blood Red," expanding its scope until it's as if an entire metropolis is living, breathing, going, stopping, shouting, sobbing and dying on the tape. This is a song that represents the nation's masses, sung at a time when its own elected representatives continue to flail and falter. "I think thats almost unquestionable," Livingston said. "It's like your watching like a debate but the debate is sponsored by the same people. it doesn't matter if they're blue or red, democrats or republicans--the money comes from the same place. you're kinda left like a non-participant in the same way, i feel that way anyway and it's incredibly frustrating. and "Go Blue, Blood Red" is speaking to that.
"All of it is a farce, you know? It's like a play and we're just suckered in. It's entertainment."
Whether you vote, protest, volunteer or abstain, the frustrations that prop up "Go Blue, Blood Red" will certainly resonate. Son Little's debut LP will be released on October 16th via ANTI Records, and you can pre-order it in both vinyl and digital formats here. Listen to the world premiere of "Go Blue, Blood Red" below.
