Help keep independent freeform radio alive. WFMU is presently in the midst of its 2016 fundraising marathon. To sweeten the pot Jeff Conklin, host of the weekly program The Avant Ghetto, has put together Songs to Fill the Air - a 12 track compilation of contemporary artists covering the Dead. One of the artists taking part is William Tyler with his take on "Attics of My Life" - which you can hear below, along with his notes on the track selection and WFMU.
William Tyler :: Attics of My Life
As someone who traffics in non-denominational hymns of a sort, albeit without words most of the time, I was drawn to "Attics of My Life." I have always felt that most of the key songs on American Beauty are almost like all purpose hymns that would be appropriate at funerals, weddings, school graduations, and birthdays. "Ripple", "Brokedown Palace", "Box of Rain", and "Attics" fit this model. The Jungian marriage of Dark/Light that the Dead always embodied better than any other band in the world is so stark in these fragile, timeless songs. There's something graceful, unsettled, and truly spiritual in them and they constantly bring me comfort and insight.
WFMU changed my life. When I was in my early twenties, and there was a sort of independent radio graveyard in the Nashville airwaves, I started listening online and I've been devoted since.
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