"This record really was a next chapter for me in my life and as an artist, this time in my life that I thought was an ending suddenly was like, oh my God, it's only just beginning," Hurray for the Riff Raff, aka Alynda Segarra, tells Song Exploder host Hrishikesh Hirway on the show's latest episode, about their track "Alibi," from the album The Past Is Still Alive, a live performance of which can also be heard on the new recording Live Forever. "Especially when this song came out and the way that people responded to it, it felt immediately different than any other time in my career. It just felt like, whoa, I'm not giving up on this." You can hear the episode here.
"This record really was a next chapter for me in my life and as an artist, this time in my life that I thought was an ending suddenly was like, oh my God, it's only just beginning," Hurray for the Riff Raff, aka Alynda Segarra, tells Song Exploder host Hrishikesh Hirway on the show's latest episode, about their track "Alibi," from the 2024 album The Past Is Still Alive, a live performance of which can also be heard on the new recording Live Forever. "Especially when this song came out and the way that people responded to it, it felt immediately different than any other time in my career. It just felt like, whoa, I'm not giving up on this." You can hear the episode on Spotify and Apple Music here:
Segarra created The Past Is Still Alive during a period of personal grief, when they found inspiration in radical poetry, railroad culture, outsider art, the work of writer Eileen Myles, and activist groups like ACT UP and Gran Fury. They use their lyrics as a way to immortalize and say goodbye to those they have loved and lost, and to honor both the heartbroken and the hopeful parts of themselves. "Segarra has created an epic tale of life on the road, a nearly mythic version of their own life story that stands alongside other great American musical travelogues," exclaims NPR Music. "Career-defining." Rolling Stone says: "Segarra has honed their craft into a cohesive, astonishingly realized singer-songwriter record ... the best batch of songs Segarra's ever written." Paste calls it "a celebratory measure of love, sanctuary, and defiance ... In their hands, the trauma of the present day is a prelude to the possibilities of a better tomorrow." You can get it and hear it here.
Hurray for the Riff Raff recently released Live Forever, a double album captured live over the course of two sold-out summer nights at the Old Town School of Folk Music in Segarra’s new home of Chicago. Spanning 14 songs, Live Forever presents their acclaimed 2024 album The Past Is Still Alive in its entirety, as well as a selection of set-defining staples, like “Pa’lante,” "Pyramid Scheme," and LIFE ON EARTH’s “Precious Cargo” and “Rhododendron." You can hear it now and pre-order it on double vinyl and CD, due May 8, here.
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