The song that made Courtney Barnett want to become a singer
Australian musician Courtney Barnett is one of contemporary music’s most idiosyncratic voices, known for her observational and witty lyrics, which she delivers with her distinctive blunt drawl. Drawing on themes from love to depression and womanhood, Barnett’s lyrical talents are as impressive as her ability to craft musically catchy indie anthems.
After beginning her career as a member of various bands, from Rapid Transit to Immigrant Union, she eventually started making her own music. In 2013, Marathon Artists repackaged her two early EPs to form The Double EP: A Sea of Split Peas, which impressed critics. Two years later, Barnett released her debut album, Sometimes I Sit and Think, and Sometimes I Just Sit, featuring one of her signature songs, ‘Pedestrian at Best’.
The album was released to critical acclaim, with Barnett becoming a fast-rising indie star – even receiving a Grammy Award nomination for ‘Best New Artist’ the following year. Since then, Bartnett has collaborated with other artists, such as Kurt Vile, who released a joint album, Lotta Sea Lice, with the singer in 2017.
Her second solo album, Tell Me How You Really Feel, was released to further acclaim in 2018, with songs such as ‘City Looks Pretty’ exploring isolation and ‘Nameless, Faceless’ dealing with misogyny and male violence. Three years later, Barnett shared her third album, Things Take Time, Take Time, which was reviewed favourably, although it was not lauded as highly as her previous releases. Still, Barnett’s status as a champion of witty yet thought-provoking lyricism hasn’t gone away, and in 2022 she was the subject of a documentary, Anonymous Club.
However, Barnett might not have achieved the same levels of success had she not dedicated her adolescence to consuming lots of music, inspiring her to pick up a guitar and write her own songs. In an interview with Red Bull, Barnett revealed the song that made her want to become a musician.
She picked out Queen’s ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’, stating, “I got really obsessed with Queen when I was about 15 or 16. I don’t know what it was. I just love the songs, they’re incredibly well-written. Total pop songs, but so deep and technical. I remember reading a thing saying that Brian May refused to tour the world until he finished his degree in mathematics and physics because he wanted something to fall back on if the music thing didn’t work. I thought that was so cool.”
It’s an unsurprising pick, considering that ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’ is regarded as one of the greatest songs ever recorded, topping the charts for weeks upon its release in 1975. It even holds the record for the most-streamed song from the 20th century.
Revisit the track below.
