DAVID BARRY
Don Rauf of Life in a Blender.
Some songwriters seek to celebrate New Jersey. Others, though, are more interested in telling it like it is.
Natural beauty meets man-made ugliness in the lyrics of the dark and disturbing “Paterson Falls,” by veteran New York alt-rock band Life in a Blender. “Paterson Falls, through the old chain-link/Throw your garbage over, and watch it sink,” sings frontman Don Rauf in his deep, resonant voice, over a slow, somber beat. He adds that while there is salsa playing in town, “You won’t hear a footstep by Paterson Falls.”
Later, he is joined by his bandmates on a group-vocal portion of the song that turns nightmarish: “A patch of grass is urine-soaked/Where breaking workers come to smoke/Who in their factories inspect/The scarves we tighten ’round our necks.”
Paterson Falls, of course, refers to the Great Falls of Paterson (which really are spectacular, even with the broken beer bottles), and the song came out on the 2002 Life in a Blender album, Tell Me I’m Pretty.
New Jersey celebrated its 350th birthday in 2014. And in the 350 Jersey Songs series, we marked the occasion by posting 350 songs — one a day, from September 2014 to September 2015 — that have something to do with the state, its musical history, or both. To see the entire list, click here.
CONTRIBUTE TO NJARTS.NET
Since launching in September 2014, NJArts.net, a 501(c)(3) organization, has become one of the most important media outlets for the Garden State arts scene. And it has always offered its content without a subscription fee, or a paywall. Its continued existence depends on support from members of that scene, and the state’s arts lovers. Please consider making a contribution of any amount to NJArts.net via PayPal, or by sending a check made out to NJArts.net to 11 Skytop Terrace, Montclair, NJ 07043.
