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"Not" is a song by American indie rock band Big Thief, released as the first single from their fourth studio album Two Hands. It was released on August 13, 2019, by 4AD as a digital single alongside the album's announcement.[1][2][3][4][5][6][7]
| "Not" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Single by Big Thief | ||||
| from the album Two Hands | ||||
| Released | August 13, 2019 | |||
| Length | 6:07 | |||
| Label | 4AD | |||
| Songwriter(s) | Adrianne Lenker | |||
| Producer(s) | Andrew Sarlo | |||
| Big Thief singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
The song was nominated for Best Rock Song and Best Rock Performance at the 63rd Annual Grammy Awards.
"We found something between the four of us [...] It was like we were riding in the wind. I don't even remember at a certain point. We went somewhere."
The band debuted the song during a concert at Point Éphémère in Paris, France on March 28, 2018.[9][10] Getting the recording of the song exactly right was important to the band, and they later re-recorded it at Sound City Studios in Van Nuys, California.[8]
Written by Adrianne Lenker,[11] the song's lyrics uses negation to describe something,[12] with Lenker repeating the use of "not" or "nor" at the beginning of each line.[13] Bob Boilen of NPR described the song's subject as "the inability to describe what that something is, only to be able to explain what it is not."[14]
The second half of the song is instrumental and features a guitar solo played by Lenker.[15]
"Not" was performed live by Big Thief on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert on October 10, 2019.[16] Claire Shaffer of Rolling Stone described the performance as a "hard-rock spin" on the song with "distorted" guitars and "manic" drums, comparing Adrianne Lenker's "wailing" vocals to that of emo music.[17] Ben Kaye of Consequence of Sound called it "an impassioned performance that demonstrated why they're one of the most engaging groups to emerge from the folk scene in some time."[18]
The band performed "Not" as well as "Two Hands" and "Forgotten Eyes" on CBS This Morning on October 26, 2019, as part of the program's Saturday Sessions segment.[19][20][21]
The song was praised by Pitchfork, who named it Best New Track upon release and called it "a towering statement from a group constantly leapfrogging over themselves."[22] BBC Music compared Lenker's guitar solo to that of "Neil Young at his peak."[23]
The song was also cited as one of Barack Obama's favorite songs of 2019 in a Spotify playlist compiled by Obama at the end of the year.[24]
Accolades
"Not" was nominated for Best Rock Song and Best Rock Performance at the 63rd Annual Grammy Awards.[25]
Year-end lists
"Not" appeared in several publications' year-end lists. NPR Music named it the best song of 2019 with Bob Boilen writing, "No song in 2019 felt more searing, more perfect, than 'Not'".[14]
| Publication | List | Rank | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|
| BBC Music | The 20 best songs of 2019 | 19 |
|
| Billboard | The 100 Best Songs of 2019 | 56 |
|
| Consequence of Sound | Top 50 Songs of 2019 | 24 |
|
| Flood Magazine | The Best Songs of 2019 | 3 |
|
| The Guardian | The 20 best songs of 2019 | 12 |
|
| NPR Music | 25 Best Songs of 2019 | 1 |
|
| Paste | The 50 Best Songs of 2019 | 7 |
|
| Pitchfork | The 100 Best Songs of 2019 | 9 |
|
| Uproxx | The Best Songs of 2019 | 10 |
|
| Vice | The 100 Best Songs of 2019 | 20 |
In November 2019, "Not" was covered by Matt Berninger, vocalist and frontman of The National, during a solo live performance at the sixth annual Dream Serenade benefit concert in Toronto.[34][35][36]
In April 2020, a cover was released by former Red Hot Chili Peppers guitarist Josh Klinghoffer under the pseudonym of Pluralone.[37][38][39]
On September 4, 2020, Hamilton Leithauser released the live album Live! at Café Carlyle, collecting 10 recordings made during his residency at the New York City Café Carlyle. It includes a cover of "Not".[40][41]
Credits adapted from the liner notes of Two Hands.[11]
- Adrianne Lenker – songwriting, vocals, guitar
- Buck Meek – guitar
- Max Oleartchik – bass
- James Krivchenia – drums, vocals, mallets
- Andrew Sarlo – production, mixing, engineering
| Chart (2019) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Belgium (Ultratip Bubbling Under Flanders)[42] | 30 |
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