Let the Mystery Be (Iris DeMent cover)

Carrots and little sweet peas

This song speaks for itself.

Infamous Angel, the record this song is from, came out in the early ’90s. I was still working in record stores around St. Louis between Uncle Tupelo tours. If you’ve ever worked in a record store, I’m sure you’re familiar with the phenomenon of certain records becoming store favorites. These are the records that get the most spins on the house turntable. Not because one domineering employee hogs the stereo. But because it’s the kind of record that sits snugly at the center of a Venn diagram illustrating every employee’s personal taste.

In other words, almost anyone working would be apt to throw Infamous Angel on, and no one else would complain. A rare beast indeed. In fact, I remember putting it on at the very beginning of a late afternoon shift only to be told that one of the full-timers had just played it right before I clocked in. But no one asked me to find another record to spin. We all just shrugged and let it play. Iris DeMent, what a legend.

[Starship engineer’s note: If you dig Jeff’s writing about songs, you’re going to love Jeff’s upcoming book.]

I choose to let the mystery be.

This Week In Wilco, Etc.

2022 / May 29: Jeff Tweedy & Friends wrap up Solid Sound with a 23-song set. David Byrne from Talking Heads joins Wilco and friends and family on the last song, “California Stars.” The set is livestreamed and later officially released as Roadcase #98.

2000 / May 30: Mermaid Avenue Vol. II by Wilco and Billy Bragg is released on Elektra Records.

1972 / June 4: Happy Birthday Mikael Jorgensen!

“Let the Mystery Be” (Iris DeMent cover)