Lonnie Holley - "I Woke Up in a Fucked-Up America"

Photo by Tim Duffy

I don't know if it's truly possible to describe Lonnie Holley's "I Woke Up in a Fucked-Up America." I think the closest thing we have to it is free jazz, maybe? Except this song is loud, noisy, and dissonant. It might kind of be like some of the more experimental improvisational side projects of Sonic Youth, but this feels more controlled and like it has an actual purpose. From the song title alone I think we can all assume that this is an intensely political song, so you might be able to compare it to Childish Gambino's "This is America," but "I Woke Up in a Fucked-Up America" would be like Childish Gambino on crack. I'm also getting the slightest hints of P-Funk here, but very slight. I'm pretty certain that none of that makes any sense, but this is definitely a song worth listening to.

You can watch the video for "I Woke Up in a Fucked-Up America" below. MITH, the new album from Lonnie Holley, will be out September 21 on Jagjaguwar. It can be pre-ordered here. For more on Lonnie Holley, check out his website. His current tour dates are below the video.

Tue. July 17 – Atlanta, GA @ Atlanta Symphony Hall (w/ Animal Collective)
Mon. July 23 – Austin, TX @ Paramount Theater (w/ Animal Collective)
Wed. July 25 – Denver, CO @ Ogden Theatre (w/ Animal Collective)
Fri. July 27 – Chicago, IL @ The Vic Theatre (w/ Animal Collective)
Sat. July 28 – Los Angeles, CA @ The Broad
Sun. July 29 – Seattle, WA @ Moore Theater (w/ Animal Collective)
Mon. July 30 – Oakland, CA @ Fox Theater (w/ Animal Collective)
Tue. July 31 – Wed. Aug. 1 – Los Angeles, CA @ The Theater at the Ace Hotel (w/ Animal Collective)
Fri. Aug. 3 – Sun. Aug. 5 – Portland, OR @ Pickathon
Fri. Sept. 7 – New York, NY @ Metropolitan Museum of Art
Thu. March 21 – Sun. March 24, 2019 – Knoxville, TN @ Big Ears Festival