NPR

On 'Tell Me How You Really Feel,' Humanity Is Courtney Barnett's Superpower

The Australian songwriter's new album charts an internal landscape that holds anger and compassion in equally stunning measure.
Courtney Barnett's songwriting relies on lyrics that can craft entire lives from precise, intimate details, then seamlessly reveal their emotional resonances to dizzying effect.

I don't remember exactly where I was the first time I encountered the phrase, "Men are afraid women will laugh at them; women are afraid men will kill them." But I remember how the idea, based on words originally written by Margaret Atwood, made me feel: I remember nodding, then burning up, then laughing. It's a perfect set-up, making you expect a trite men-are-from-Mars, women-are-from-Venus gag before gutting you with mortal fear. It's not a laughing matter, the specter of male violence women live with constantly. But the idea that our most tangible and persistent fear could be facing mockery? Now that's a

You’re reading a preview, subscribe to read more.

More from NPR

NPR1 min readAmerican Government
Donald Trump's Mar-a-Lago Classified Documents Case Is Delayed Indefinitely By Judge
The classified documents trial had been scheduled to begin May 20. But months of delays had slowed the case as prosecutors pushed for the trial to begin before the November presidential election
NPR4 min read
Last-minute Candidate José Raúl Mulino Wins Panama's Presidential Election
José Raúl Mulino was set to become the new leader of the Central American nation as authorities unofficially called the race Sunday night after his three nearest rivals conceded.
NPR3 min read
'Long Island' Renders Bare The Universality Of Longing
In a heartrending follow-up to his beloved 2009 novel, Brooklyn, Colm Tóibín handles uncertainties and moral conundrums with exquisite delicacy, zigzagging through time to a devastating climax.

Related Books & Audiobooks