Kevin Bronson on May 8th, 2020

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Rosie Tucker wonders whether the pandemic will really “end,” or if our normal has simply been altered permanently. In today’s edition of Buzz Bands LA’s QUARANTUNES, Tucker talks about humming for days on end before slowing down, and shares a playlist to go along with your 3 p.m. cup of coffee.

THE LATEST FROM ROSIE TUCKER

Rosie Tucker broke through in a big way in 2019, releasing the full-length “Never Not Never Not Never Not,” followed by the so-sweet-you-could-just-eat-it single “Ambrosia.” The new year brought more of the artist’s unvarnished but literate earnestness in the form of the single “Brand New Beast.” Last month, though, brought an interesting turn: a cover of 2003’s “Arrow” by prolific anti-folk musician (and comic book artist) Jeffrey Lewis. “For me, it’s a song of disassociation, born in the uncanny space where the onslaught of time bends beneath the weight of present circumstances,” Tucker says of the tune. “Consider the crap on the nightstand: at once innocent and sinister, it towers over the apartment, the building, the whole city around it, if you believe in the city at all. The song’s speaker struggles to square his solipsistic impulses with knowledge of the wider world, collapses into a flurry of questions before ascending to sleep, where he will certainly dream alone.”

Tucker adds, “I hope people like our version, but I’d be just as pleased if they hated it and started listening to Jeffrey Lewis instead.”

HOW ARE YOU HOLDING UP AND WHAT ARE YOU DOING TO MANAGE THE ‘STAY AT HOME’ EDICT?

Rosie Tucker: How I’m doing varies from day to day — sometimes, I feel like I’m humming with anxiety for days straight, but there’s also a lot I really enjoy about the slower pace of life. I’m listening to new music for the first time in a long time, and running regularly, and taking long walks, and making art for fun.

WHAT ARE YOU MOST LOOKING FORWARD TO WHEN THIS IS OVER?

Rosie Tucker: Honestly, it’s been dawning on me that this isn’t necessarily going to ‘end’ as much as we are going to adapt to a new normal. Mayor Garcetti’s announcement (that large gatherings like concerts were likely to be suspended until at least 2021) kinda catalyzed in me a great sweeping sense of uncertainty that I’ll get to enjoy public life the way I used to for the foreseeable future. Life has already been transformed in such a precarious way for so many people, given job losses, given pre-existing health issues. How are we going to protect workers from getting sick? How are we going to protect people who suddenly can’t work from getting kicked out of their homes?

I’d give a lot to tour again. I’d give a lot to have band practice again! Or to sit in a diner on a hot summer night after a gig …

ANYTHING WE SHOULD KNOW ABOUT THIS PLAYLIST?

Rosie Tucker:I’ve been enjoying a lot of pop music and a lot of older songs, chill stuff for enjoying in your living room with the windows open and your 3 p.m. cup of coffee, so that’s what I’m aiming for with this group of songs.