Birthday from p 21 state’s pristine face, they’re also represen- tative of status, or escaping one’s circum- stances to gain a more stable life. (There’s that great imagery about driving around looking at new homes as opposed to stay- ing home, and that line “Where Sunday af- ternoon felt like a tomb” could be Bazan being dragged toward something else be- yond his adolescent emoting.) For better and worse, that’s life in Arizona, and we all ultimately grapple with being OK with what we have (life in a mostly great state) and coveting something more grand (that’s often owned by neighbors). We’re locked in a permanent state of coveting and ac- cepting, and trying to find a kind of growth in that midst of that robust struggle. It’s a song about facing hard truths, and it speaks things about social yearning that more resi- dents should really hear. Protomartyr, “Don’t Go to Anacita” Speaking of life in modern cities, we have this gem from Michigan’s own Protomar- tyr. There’s no telling what city frontman Joe Casey actually had in mind, but the tune certainly fits places like Scottsdale and Tempe, especially with lines about “a hidden incorporated town ... that glows like zircon in a fire.” But, as Casey warns shortly thereafter, they’ve got “goon squads on patrol,” and any so-called urban oasis can turn out to be more sinister than you’d ever expected. Is the East Valley as bad as this titular city? No, even if lines like “Their god is such a strange, vindictive beast / He only blesses those who prosper” are fright- eningly perfect encapsulations of some of our local cities. Because, with the ever- increasing crawl of gentrification and simi- lar threats, it’s important to understand that things aren’t always as they seem. That lesson is important, as it helps us un- derstand the cities we call home and what they’re actually doing (or not doing) for their residents. So, find your “Anacita” in Phoenix or cities adjacent, but be cautious about any similar offerings of “technology and kombucha.” Sara Watkins, “Move Me” If you learn nothing else from this list, it’s that Arizona is a truly wonderful place. But if you learn two things, the other is that Arizona is also a maddening hellscape. As much as the city has to offer culturally, it can also feel like it’s stuck in the past so- cially or politically. So, where this song by Sara Watkins is about demanding some spark from your lover, it can also be about wanting more from your hometown. (“You like a clear drawn line, partitioned and de- fined/So you can rest knowing everything is as it should be/But I want you to move.”) Maybe that’s just about having more White Castles around, or finally making impor- tant collective progress. But it’s also about slowing down (“Talking quickly doesn’t leave much time for questioning”) and overcoming one’s own fears (“I won’t give you all I got/Cause I fear you’ll disap- prove”) to try and make things better de- spite the endless apprehension. It’s OK to love a place much like a person and to want more from it, and that ideal feels very cen- tral to a lot of people’s connections with Pedro The Lion’s David Bazan. Bob Andrews UTOW/Creative Commons Arizona as this ever-evolving thing. Noth- ing gets better if we don’t speak up or instead move to, like, Los Angeles. 22 FEB 10TH– FEB 16TH, 2022 PHOENIX NEW TIMES | MUSIC | CAFE | FILM | CULTURE | NIGHT+DAY | FEATURE | NEWS | OPINION | FEEDBACK | CONTENTS | phoenixnewtimes.com
