little known fact: i have ANOTHER song called “something you wanted”. i wrote it with mike viola, and it fucking rules. obviously before i ever release it, i have to come up with a different name for it...because having 2 songs with the same name feels douchey.
THIS “something you wanted” was written with one of my most favorite humans & co-writers, sean douglas. he and i also wrote “used to be”, “way way back”, “blush”, “impossible things”... as well as a bunch of others in the vault. he’s a monster.
this is one of those songs where the album version kicks total ass (thank you david baron!) but the stripped down version just has a THING... a weird sort of swagger magic.
when i do solo shows in the future, i wanna put this one in every set. maybe i’ll put the other “something you wanted” in there too and play them in a row... or maybe i’ll just write 8 more “something you wanted”s and put them all on my next record... concept albums are underrated.
about feeling like i'm drifting further and further out in a sea of noise and losing whatever hold my music had on people's attention... and the embarrassing amount of self-esteem i have wrapped up in it.
i wrote "simple chords" with mike viola during lockdown in his backyard in eagle rock. i'd drive down and sleep on a couch in my then-manager's empty office. wild. fuckin'. times.
ehud lazin and i shot this at swedish american hall, a beautiful church of reverb and vibe. my favorite venue in the city.
"can't we be simple / can't we be free / less like an island / more like the sea / i wanna be lovers / i wanna believe / in the sound of simple chords / not the sound of slamming doors / but i don't think you listen anymore"
pre-show parties include a Q&A, a mini-set made up of songs we won’t be playing in the show that night (that you can VOTE to hear) and rad, pre-show party exclusive merch… including a signed tour poster… oh, and you’ll get early access to the venue and crowd-free access to the merch booth.
it’s a fun way for us all to connect before the main event. the parties will start approximately 1.5 hours before doors. if it were summer in the 70s, i'd be doing this out of the back of my pickup truck in the venue parking lot, and i'd have a hibachi! #tailgate
couple notes: these "hangs” will NOT include a contact portion. i’ll remain up on stage the whole time, but will still be interacting. me getting sick is just too risky for the tour. hopefully, we can go back to the usual hugging and personal photos next go round.
ps- you’ll need to have a ticket to the show in order to attend the pre-show party.. if you buy a pre-show ticket, but don’t have a show ticket, you won’t be able to get in.
pps- because of the 2 shows in 1 day thing, dallas & minneapolis will NOT have pre-show parties. my apologies.
in fact, it might be the only one i’ve ever written that just lives in the good. no longing, no “other people suck / you’re amazing”… all sky.
i find it hard to write like that, about joy. but if the last bunch of years have taught me anything, it’s how immensely fortunate i am. and i wouldn’t be anywhere near this life (we’re talking DEEP DEEP woods) if it wasn’t for my wife, and the love and empathy and patience she constantly shows me.
"music used to be / everything to me / now it’s just the soundtrack to you"
MY NEW ALBUM, BOSTON ACCENT, IS NOW OUT IN THE WORLD!!! 2 years after it was finished, it’s launched… hallelujah! it feels brand new AND like a time capsule all at once.
i wanted to make a real singer/songwriter record this time. an “inspired by cat stevens, joni mitchell, paul simon, tom petty” kinda record… which is something i’ve been running away from since Ernst. i realize now that this whole album is about acceptance. whether it’s the cover photo (where i’m looking INTO the camera… which i’ve never done), or the songs (paying SERIOUS homage to my massachusetts roots), or the song arrangements (with me & my acoustic guitar at the center)… it’s about taking what i used to see as my "limitations” and leaning into them as strengths (thanks covid!). it’s kinda nerve wracking, tbh. but, it’s also a long time coming. (though i am only 28.😂)
i’ve really come around to the idea that nothing's permanent. i don’t like it, but i think i’m finally starting to accept it. (thanks covid!)
i like the idea that people find each other in this mess and help each other survive. in that way, even the relationships that don’t last forever kinda do.
it’s compound interest. that’s what life is. all our loves and losses influencing who we are, changing our course, recalibrating us. nothing’s wasted.
this song is super springsteen to me. two people finding each other in a place they don’t feel a part of. harbors in the tempest.
family's complicated, and where you’re from vs. where you're going can be a real tug of war. sometimes, it’s just easier to process a subject like that through the lense of fiction… or in this case, MOSTLY fiction. telling a story like that allows you to show parts of yourself with more vulnerability and honesty than you probably could otherwise.
i'm real proud of this song. it’s like a little movie. we shot this version at my studio a couple weeks ago. michael (www.colemanfilm.com/) did a killer job... i love the springsteen/brilliant disguise vibe. i played it down twice, but this is the 1st take. it’s almost always the 1st one, right?… before you know what you’re supposed to be doing.
i think that’s one of the greatest lessons of the last couple years - that most of our time is spent chasing THE PROMISE of something amazing... at the expense of what is ACTUALLY amazing.
my new song is called pictures. it’s kind of a mantra. life is finite and time moves forward, whether we want it to or not. this song is my reminder of that. if i can surrender to NOT being in control, and instead find beauty and inspiration in the minutes i am living in... well, that’s just gonna be a way better life, isn’t it? it’s also gonna be a much healthier place to work from when i try and shape the future i want to see.
i could not be more stoked to present to you all the video for my new song, GERMAN CARS.
it was dreamed up by the insanely talented bill long (www.billlong.net) who i’ve been lucky enough to be friends with since we met @ sleep away camp in 1982.
there are so many elements working in harmony in this.. the fade ins & outs, the subtle nods to new england... before he made the video, bill interviewed me about the song and i find new details every time i watch it. it's made with total love and mastery...
i especially love that he included sylvester & mr. beasley, who left our family in 2020 & 2022. we miss the shit out of both of them so much. it’s a gift to have them forever immortalized here.
enjoy bill's greatness. i'm so glad you finally get to see this...
Matt Nathanson
Matt Nathanson
one camera, one take…
little known fact: i have ANOTHER song called “something you wanted”. i wrote it with mike viola, and it fucking rules. obviously before i ever release it, i have to come up with a different name for it...because having 2 songs with the same name feels douchey.
THIS “something you wanted” was written with one of my most favorite humans & co-writers, sean douglas. he and i also wrote “used to be”, “way way back”, “blush”, “impossible things”... as well as a bunch of others in the vault. he’s a monster.
this is one of those songs where the album version kicks total ass (thank you david baron!) but the stripped down version just has a THING... a weird sort of swagger magic.
when i do solo shows in the future, i wanna put this one in every set. maybe i’ll put the other “something you wanted” in there too and play them in a row... or maybe i’ll just write 8 more “something you wanted”s and put them all on my next record... concept albums are underrated.
2 weeks ago | [YT] | 13
View 0 replies
Matt Nathanson
one camera, one take...
this song's about us.
about feeling like i'm drifting further and further out in a sea of noise and losing whatever hold my music had on people's attention... and the embarrassing amount of self-esteem i have wrapped up in it.
i wrote "simple chords" with mike viola during lockdown in his backyard in eagle rock. i'd drive down and sleep on a couch in my then-manager's empty office. wild. fuckin'. times.
ehud lazin and i shot this at swedish american hall, a beautiful church of reverb and vibe. my favorite venue in the city.
"can't we be simple / can't we be free / less like an island / more like the sea / i wanna be lovers / i wanna believe / in the sound of simple chords / not the sound of slamming doors / but i don't think you listen anymore"
3 weeks ago | [YT] | 12
View 0 replies
Matt Nathanson
now that’s what i call…A TOUR!! 🎉 and it starts IN 4 DAYS(!!) i can’t wait to hang together again!
if you still need tickets, go get ‘em: mattnathanson.com/tour
& the pre-show, mini-set parties are gonna rule too. get those tix here: mattnathansonvip.myshopify.com/
3 years ago | [YT] | 3
View 0 replies
Matt Nathanson
hey all… VERY(!!) excited to announce that i’ll be doing pre-show parties/hangs this tour!
they are ONSALE NOW -> mattnathanson.com/tour
pre-show parties include a Q&A, a mini-set made up of songs we won’t be playing in the show that night (that you can VOTE to hear) and rad, pre-show party exclusive merch… including a signed tour poster… oh, and you’ll get early access to the venue and crowd-free access to the merch booth.
it’s a fun way for us all to connect before the main event. the parties will start approximately 1.5 hours before doors. if it were summer in the 70s, i'd be doing this out of the back of my pickup truck in the venue parking lot, and i'd have a hibachi! #tailgate
couple notes: these "hangs” will NOT include a contact portion. i’ll remain up on stage the whole time, but will still be interacting. me getting sick is just too risky for the tour. hopefully, we can go back to the usual hugging and personal photos next go round.
ps- you’ll need to have a ticket to the show in order to attend the pre-show party.. if you buy a pre-show ticket, but don’t have a show ticket, you won’t be able to get in.
pps- because of the 2 shows in 1 day thing, dallas & minneapolis will NOT have pre-show parties. my apologies.
3 years ago | [YT] | 37
View 2 replies
Matt Nathanson
“soundtrack” is a love song.
in fact, it might be the only one i’ve ever written that just lives in the good. no longing, no “other people suck / you’re amazing”… all sky.
i find it hard to write like that, about joy. but if the last bunch of years have taught me anything, it’s how immensely fortunate i am. and i wouldn’t be anywhere near this life (we’re talking DEEP DEEP woods) if it wasn’t for my wife, and the love and empathy and patience she constantly shows me.
"music used to be / everything to me / now it’s just the soundtrack to you"
3 years ago | [YT] | 8
View 1 reply
Matt Nathanson
MY NEW ALBUM, BOSTON ACCENT, IS NOW OUT IN THE WORLD!!!
2 years after it was finished, it’s launched… hallelujah!
it feels brand new AND like a time capsule all at once.
i wanted to make a real singer/songwriter record this time. an “inspired by cat stevens, joni mitchell, paul simon, tom petty” kinda record… which is something i’ve been running away from since Ernst. i realize now that this whole album is about acceptance. whether it’s the cover photo (where i’m looking INTO the camera… which i’ve never done), or the songs (paying SERIOUS homage to my massachusetts roots), or the song arrangements (with me & my acoustic guitar at the center)… it’s about taking what i used to see as my "limitations” and leaning into them as strengths (thanks covid!). it’s kinda nerve wracking, tbh. but, it’s also a long time coming. (though i am only 28.😂)
listen to it now: mattnathanson.lnk.to/bostonaccent
3 years ago | [YT] | 59
View 4 replies
Matt Nathanson
i’ve really come around to the idea that nothing's permanent. i don’t like it, but i think i’m finally starting to accept it. (thanks covid!)
i like the idea that people find each other in this mess and help each other survive. in that way, even the relationships that don’t last forever kinda do.
it’s compound interest. that’s what life is. all our loves and losses influencing who we are, changing our course, recalibrating us. nothing’s wasted.
this song is super springsteen to me. two people finding each other in a place they don’t feel a part of. harbors in the tempest.
springsteen had mary. i had JV.
🎥 - Coleman Film
www.colemanfilm.com/
3 years ago | [YT] | 8
View 1 reply
Matt Nathanson
family's complicated, and where you’re from vs. where you're going can be a real tug of war. sometimes, it’s just easier to process a subject like that through the lense of fiction… or in this case, MOSTLY fiction. telling a story like that allows you to show parts of yourself with more vulnerability and honesty than you probably could otherwise.
i'm real proud of this song. it’s like a little movie. we shot this version at my studio a couple weeks ago. michael (www.colemanfilm.com/) did a killer job... i love the springsteen/brilliant disguise vibe. i played it down twice, but this is the 1st take. it’s almost always the 1st one, right?… before you know what you’re supposed to be doing.
3 years ago | [YT] | 16
View 0 replies
Matt Nathanson
we miss so much of life in pursuit of… life.
i think that’s one of the greatest lessons of the last couple years - that most of our time is spent chasing THE PROMISE of something amazing... at the expense of what is ACTUALLY amazing.
my new song is called pictures. it’s kind of a mantra. life is finite and time moves forward, whether we want it to or not. this song is my reminder of that. if i can surrender to NOT being in control, and instead find beauty and inspiration in the minutes i am living in... well, that’s just gonna be a way better life, isn’t it? it’s also gonna be a much healthier place to work from when i try and shape the future i want to see.
listen to "pictures" out now: mattnathanson.lnk.to/pictures
3 years ago | [YT] | 7
View 0 replies
Matt Nathanson
i could not be more stoked to present to you all the video for my new song, GERMAN CARS.
it was dreamed up by the insanely talented bill long (www.billlong.net) who i’ve been lucky enough to be friends with since we met @ sleep away camp in 1982.
there are so many elements working in harmony in this.. the fade ins & outs, the subtle nods to new england... before he made the video, bill interviewed me about the song and i find new details every time i watch it. it's made with total love and mastery...
i especially love that he included sylvester & mr. beasley, who left our family in 2020 & 2022. we miss the shit out of both of them so much. it’s a gift to have them forever immortalized here.
enjoy bill's greatness. i'm so glad you finally get to see this...
3 years ago (edited) | [YT] | 10
View 0 replies
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