Other Brother Darryl: “Sometimes”

Can banjos “sparkle”? I mean, describing the sound of a finger picking a banjo string, is it ever appropriate to describe it as “sparkling”? Because that’s what I’m hearing on Other Brother Darryl’s latest single “Sometimes.”

The banjo, as an earthy folk instrument, is predisposed to occupy a saltier and more working class world of associations. You know, a world full of catfish, motor oil, yellowing teeth, and layoffs. Banjos don’t normally “sparkle,” which is verbiage reserved for fancier and schmancier items, though they do gurgle like a babbling brook, yammer like an alley cat, bray like a donkey, and cook like the summer sun.

But the words have got to follow where the music leads. Plus, like most small-time music writers, I’m extremely suggestible. There are stars on the cover for the single. Stars sparkle. There are stars in the lyrics to the single. Again, stars sparkle.

So when I listen to the song I am conditioned to compare the shimmer and twinkle of the plucked strings to the oscillating illuminations in the night sky. Despite the fact that Space, with a capital ‘S’, hasn’t given off a blue collar banjo vibe since guys with buzz cuts were crash landing lunar pods in the ocean.

In other words, vote ‘YES’ on Massachusetts Ballot Question #4 (“Regulated Access to Psychedelic Substances Initiative”) in November.

A "YES" vote supports this initiative to:

• create a Natural Psychedelic Substances Commission and Advisory Board to regulate the licensing of psychedelic substances and services,

• authorize the personal use of limited amounts of psychedelic substances by individuals 21 years of age or older,

• impose an additional excise tax at a rate of 15% on the sale of psychedelic substances, and

• authorize localities to levy an additional tax of up to 2% on psychedelic substances and regulate the time, place, and manner of the operation of natural psychedelic substance licensees.

Stream, share, buy to your heart’s content.

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