In a couple weeks, we’ll have a new Courtney Barnett album, Things Take Time, Take Time. That drops on October 12, but what was released today is the latest single from the album, “Write A List Of Things To Look Forward To.”
Barnett spoke about the song in a July interview with Rolling Stone, saying of its origins, “I was just really sad. I was in a really dark place, and a friend […] said, ‘Why don’t you try to write a list of positive things in your life that you’re looking forward to?’ At the time, I was like, ‘Nothing. There’s nothing I’m looking forward to.’”
However, Barnett eventually came up with “like 25 verses” worth of items. She also noted, “I love that the song feels so fun. It sounds like you’re driving across a highway and it’s sunny. I love the juxtaposition of those things.”
She also said of the album more broadly, “On the one hand, nothing was happening to me last year. But at the same time, so much was happening! There’s that lyric in ‘Turning Green’ about flowers in the weeds — as in, finding beauty in a place where you least expect it. That’s my ongoing lesson for myself.”
Watch the “Write A List Of Things To Look Forward To” video above.
Things Take Time, Take Time is out 10/12 via Mom + Pop Music/Marathon Artists. Pre-order it here.