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I am absolutely gutted to learn that Mimi Parker has died. I knew that she had been battling ovarian cancer, and that the outlook wasn't great, but I guess I was just hoping for the best. Low completely changed the way I thought about music, and Mimi's contributions to the band were a huge part of that. She doesn't just have one of the most emotive, pure voices I've ever heard -- her songs are works of angelic yet cryptic beauty, and she was an absolute master of minimal drumming. My heart goes out to Alan and the rest of her family and friends.
The first time I saw Low, they were touring for Trust. It is still the best show I have ever seen. I had only recently gotten into them when my sister bought me their then-newest CD, Things We Lost in the Fire, for Christmas, and it quickly became my favorite album -- I was seriously spreading the word of Low like it was the fucking gospel. I hadn't heard Trust yet when I saw them, but I was utterly transfixed from the moment they opened with "(That's How You Sing) Amazing Grace". And I will never forget how completely silent the crowd was when they played "Laser Beam", one of Mimi's best and most beloved songs. It's a strangely comforting feeling to be in a club full of people, none of whom are saying a word, and it takes a truly special artist to command that kind of attention.
Obviously, I bought Trust at the show, and proceeded to listen to it while getting high about 50 times over the course of the next 6 months or so, getting to know its every tiny detail. I love that the first sounds you hear aren't the instruments, but the space -- it's like they have you step into the cathedral where the album was recorded before they start playing. Mimi's two solo songs, "Tonight" and "Point of Disgust", are flickering candles on an album full of oppressively dark, crawling dirges. A lot of critics didn't like those dirges too much, but as a doom metal fan (particularly when the record came out), tracks like "Time Is the Diamond", "The Lamb", "John Prine", and "Shots & Ladders" were like answered prayers to me. Elsewhere, they flirt with uptempo rock ("Canada") and sing-song-y folk rock ("Last Snowstorm of the Year", "La La La Song"). The album's kinda all over the place, and that's why I love it.
And then there's the aforementioned "(That's How You Sing) Amazing Grace". There are countless songs about death, dying, and mourning, and many of them are very good. But Low has a way of tapping into otherwise rarely explored emotional territory, and on this song, they do so masterfully. To me, it's cut of the same cloth as "Murderer", a song that they wrote right around the same time. Both songs deal with mortality, and the anger that we can feel when someone is taken away from us too soon. In "(That's How You Sing) Amazing Grace", the titular song, once sweet and uplifting, becomes an instrument of torture and submission: a reminder of both the unfairness of our world and the brutal indifference of mortality.
I feel like I'm supposed to end this on a positive note, but I don't know how. Thank you, Mimi, for helping me to understand life a little better. Rest In Peace.
Track listing:
1. (That's How You Sing) Amazing Grace
2. Canada
3. Candy Girl
4. Time Is the Diamond
5. Tonight
6. The Lamb
7. In the Drugs
8. The Last Snowstorm of the Year
9. John Prine
10. Little Argument with Myself
11. La La La Song
12. Point of Disgust
13. Shots & Ladders
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I am just devastated. RIP Mimi.
ReplyDeleteYes thank you, Mimi. I lack this one, thx
ReplyDelete“Low’s Mimi Parker has died” was the first thing I read on my phone when I woke up this morning. Whatever motivation I had to get up and face the world was instantly dashed. So I stayed in bed listening to Low songs for the next several hours. Their music has always resonated profoundly... but on this day, it did so more than ever. R.I.P.
ReplyDeleteGutted is a reasonable response to Mimi's passing. Hers was a voice the just went right through you.
ReplyDeleteIt's a sad day. Thank you. RIP Mimi.
ReplyDeleteI'll echo Loco, the first thing I saw when I woke up today was a text from one of my best friends ever since middle school, we grew up together and together listening to Low. It was a hard way to begin a day but I was glad it was the first thing I saw and that it came from someone that I knew understood. I lost my father to cancer just three weeks ago. I'm still shattered and trying to get my feet on the ground and the passing of this person I never knew personally but knew through their music, for decades, has taken me right back to square one. I feel shaken by what her family and loved ones must be feeling. My only comfort is the music that changed me and moments like this, where I've come to a safe space that I visit every night and see that you've posted a heartfelt dedication and acknowledgment of just how amazing this person is and to see some words from other strangers who understand. Thank you for this post and thank you Mimi. It's been a hard day. Another of many.
ReplyDeleteKnew I’d come here to see a nice write up about mimi. I never saw Low live. I’m just so upset. I discovered them through you many years ago
ReplyDeleteI am absolutely fucking shattered by the news.
ReplyDeleteamen. a tremendous loss.
ReplyDeleteI lived in Duluth around the time this record came out and attended the record release show for "Trust" at The Sacred Heart Music Center, where this album was recorded. I was a fan before, owning "Things We Lost in the Fire", but this experience elevated me into a super fan. Let me tell you that this record sounds exactly how they sounded inside that structure, particularly the song "John Prine" stood out to me. When I listen to it; still to this day, I get goosebumps.
ReplyDeleteI bought this record that night and received autographs from all the band members, including Mimi. I remember Al coming off stage and asked me (an utterly awestruck introvert) how they sounded. I gushed at how amazing it was, yet Al was stressing about certain things not sounding right to him.
It was one of the few shows I've ever attended alone and almost didn't go, but I'm glad I did as it was the most impactful performance I have ever seen. I'm grateful to have been there. After that I would go on to see many more Low shows, not only the Duluth area, but Loring Park and the Minnesota Orchestra Hall in Minneapolis, and even The Metro in Chicago.
Life got busy, but I always came back to these songs. A few weeks ago I introduced my brother in law to this record, recounting my experience. I even started looking at their tour schedule, hoping to catch another performance if possible. This news landed at a time when I was really getting back into their music and it hurts.
I'm glad their music remains a time capsule, and hopefully future generations can be soothed and inspired by this beautiful work.
"John Prine" was a major highlight for me, too -- I remember getting goosebumps during the extended "sha la la la la laaaaa" denouement. "Little Argument with Myself" was another standout.
DeleteI saw them 4 more times -- for The Great Destroyer, Drums & Guns, The Invisible Way, and when they opened for Slowdive. All great shows -- the Drums & Guns one was particularly amazing, really helped me to wrap my head around the record -- but nothing could top that first one. I definitely feel lucky to have seen them when I did.
i was a latecomer to Low's music. i always preferred the loud and ugly to the slow and beautiful. but when their music finally clicked and made sense it hits you harder than you expect. They all seemed like lovely people and the latest album is just mind blowingly perfect. i was hoping she would be fine too and it really sucks that bad things happen to good people.
ReplyDeleteGreat remembrance of Mimi. Thanks for the words.
ReplyDeleteLovely tribute,I wholeheartedly share your sentiments, Mimi Parker will be missed, she was truly one of a kind.
ReplyDeleteI'm rarely in the right mood for listening to LOW but... BUT once in a while they are here!
ReplyDeleteBitter loss
Beautiful stuff.
ReplyDeleteDo you have a link for their B-sides record 'A lifetime of temporary relief?'
I do:
Deletehttps://mega.nz/file/OKAABRaJ#JWtVXaDue61I0TidSETznrBoJlYpipCfvScz3O5xB9U