I wrapped my pink around me like a blanket

July 24, 2023 1:45 PM

CW: Spoilers! A 1989 song about soul searching has maintained cultural relevance for three decades, but the band has also long been the target of homophobic jokes. Fans are savoring a moment of vindication.

Brandi and Catherine Carlile's cover for the extended soundtrack

posted by praemunire (52 comments total)

This song was very important to queer teenage me in the 90s. Here it is covered by a local pop punk band that was also very important to me - “Closer to Fine” by Sicko.
posted by skycrashesdown at 1:55 PM on July 24, 2023 [4 favorites]

I never cared one way or the other about this song for most of my life, but now that I'm out as a trans lesbian it makes me cry every time. Maybe it's just the estrogen, but who knows?
posted by Faint of Butt at 1:55 PM on July 24, 2023 [30 favorites]

Cis het woman here who also loved it. It came out right when I was beginning college and that's the big "who the fuck am I and what do I want of life" period, so...yeah.

I swear I read somewhere that during the first season of The L Word there was a sort of Almost Famous moment of a bunch of the cast singing along to "Closer To Fine" on a road trip; I never saw the show, but when I read it I thought "yeah, that kinda tracks."
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 2:14 PM on July 24, 2023 [7 favorites]

I'm sorry -- that's really lovely FoB and I'm extremely happy for you and I'm so glad you're living the life you deserve, and it pains me to have to say this, really, it does, but:

MetaFilter: Maybe it's just the estrogen, but who knows?
posted by The Bellman at 2:16 PM on July 24, 2023 [23 favorites]

Bambach, who discovered the Indigo Girls during singalongs led by counselors at youth summer camp, saw “Barbie” on opening weekend in Atlanta and said there were screams of joy and recognition when “Closer to Fine” played onscreen.

Yep, ultimate 90s Girl Scout campfire sing-a-long, the gold standard. Loved its use in Barbie, since Barbieland's ethos reminded me of nothing so much as the Girl Scouts. I'm going to end up rewatching it back to back with Troop Beverly Hills one of these days, I'm sure.
posted by the primroses were over at 2:22 PM on July 24, 2023 [5 favorites]

I'm so glad to see them getting the credit they are due. They've been there all this time and paved the way for so many other artists and have (from what I've read) been nothing but generous and kind throughout.
posted by dawkins_7 at 2:31 PM on July 24, 2023 [3 favorites]

I will always remember the "Pop-Up Video" of this song, for this one comment. "Moe Howard found that he was better able to relate to Larry than to his own brother, Curly Howard. He was Closer to Fine."
posted by dannyboybell at 2:34 PM on July 24, 2023 [19 favorites]

Saw them at a small venue here in London a couple of years ago. A stunning show.
posted by Optamystic at 2:37 PM on July 24, 2023 [1 favorite]

A sweet, sensible, and inspiring song. I love the sound as well as the lyrics.

Have a couple of books from people talking about the same journey.

Poser: My Life in Twenty-three Yoga Poses by Claire Dederer

Reconceiving My Body by Gil Hedley
posted by Nancy Lebovitz at 2:42 PM on July 24, 2023

This was part of the omnipresent dorm soundtrack of 1993, to the point that "Your Roommate Plays The Indigo Girls" was instantly relatable. It's not in the same compartment of my brain as Ani DiFranco, but it's right next door and sometimes knocks on its door to ask to borrow pans or tools from time to time.
posted by phooky at 2:47 PM on July 24, 2023 [26 favorites]

As I mentioned in the Barbie thread, if you're a Southern woman* of a certain age, you knew or were the girl who had lyrics from this amazing song under your senior picture. (For Southern boys**, it was often "What a long strange trip it's been.")

When Shepherd asked what the lyrics were, I was like, "It's 'I spent four years prostrate to the higher mind; got my paper and I was free.'" He paused and then went, "Oh that is a very high school quote for sure."

* often the granola hippie types
** also the granola hippie types
posted by Kitteh at 3:11 PM on July 24, 2023 [7 favorites]

I knew it was a hit song, of course, and was still sort of evergreen, but I had no real idea of the . . . cultural weight, I guess, across multiple cultures & ages, until I saw Barbie yesterday (Sunday afternoon, so not a full house) and when that scene came on you could hear every woman in the audience go "Ahhhhh . . ." in a "yes, of course, that's the perfect song for this scene" kind of way.
posted by soundguy99 at 3:22 PM on July 24, 2023 [6 favorites]

Oh dear. I really want to like the Indigo Girls. I like what they stand for, and who they are as people. But knowing this is on the soundtrack makes me just a bit less excited to see the Barbie movie.
posted by eviemath at 3:25 PM on July 24, 2023 [1 favorite]

"Closer to Fine" is a perpetual favorite at a friend's singing parties. The harmonies lend themselves to a group, and when we sing it, everyone is bringing their own memories of the song to the effort in a warm and lovely way.

"The less I seek my source for some definitive" could not be more perfect for Barbie, quest and message.
posted by MonkeyToes at 3:28 PM on July 24, 2023 [3 favorites]

knowing this is on the soundtrack makes me just a bit less excited to see the Barbie movie

Well, it's Greta Gerwig. If you were expecting there'd be no Sincerity...
posted by praemunire at 3:35 PM on July 24, 2023 [3 favorites]

I'm so happy that song isn't just a part of the soundtrack but is actually a part of the plot of the movie. Indigo Girls have been a constant companion of mine since their eponymous album was released and I've followed them all along the way. That a new generation is going to discover them through this movie makes me feel very warm inside.
posted by hippybear at 3:52 PM on July 24, 2023 [12 favorites]

This was part of the omnipresent dorm soundtrack of 1993, to the point that "Your Roommate Plays The Indigo Girls" was instantly relatable. It's not in the same compartment of my brain as Ani DiFranco, but it's right next door and sometimes knocks on its door to ask to borrow pans or tools from time to time.

That's how I know the song, from living in dorms in that era. It really was omnipresent.
posted by Dip Flash at 4:29 PM on July 24, 2023 [4 favorites]

"Representation in culture is the biggest, the single most important thing I think for people to fully embrace themselves,” she said. “You need all these different examples of who you’re allowed to be, and the answer is anybody — you’re allowed to be anybody.”

from "singer-song writer" Katie Pruitt.

That puts it extremely well and very persuasively.

I hadn’t really known much of anything about the Indigo Girls beyond name familiarity, but if I’d also known they were lesbians, I would have sought out their music.
posted by jamjam at 4:30 PM on July 24, 2023 [1 favorite]

The first time I heard this song was on the late lamented WFNX out of Boston, and when it ended, the DJ said, "Well that was great, let's hear it again!" -- and he played it again.

I went to see the Indigo Girls on that tour, before they were huge: it was maybe 100 people in a small club on Commonwealth Ave, and it was just the two of them and a drummer. So great: 30+ years later, I still have fond memories of that show.

So, yeah, I was totally happy to hear that song on the soundtrack. It's always been one of my favorites (although my personal fave is "Watershed").
posted by suelac at 4:34 PM on July 24, 2023 [8 favorites]

I was fortunate enough to interview them for my mountain college newspaper back in the late '80s. They were brilliant and generous. Put on a great show, too. I remember talking with a lesbian friend about them a bit later, and she told me how like a small betrayal it felt when Michael Stipe's voice came on during "Kid Fears". Ah well.
posted by Shotgun Shakespeare at 6:17 PM on July 24, 2023 [1 favorite]

We’ll it’s Greta Gerwig. If you were expecting there’d be no Sincerity…

I don’t know what this means?

(And hippybear, you’re not helping me maintain my enthusiasm to see the movie!!)
posted by eviemath at 6:45 PM on July 24, 2023

Just go see it. It's stupid and fun and very very pink.
posted by hippybear at 6:53 PM on July 24, 2023 [1 favorite]

I've seen them in concert several times (always a great show), but my favorite was at some sort of convention for librarians in Atlanta in the early 2000s. Our friend was in the town for the convention and scored us tickets (neither I nor my partner are librarians). It turns out that Emily's mom IS a librarian, which answered my question of how that convention managed to get the Indigo Girls to perform.

Anyway, it turns out a ballroom full of very very enthusiastic librarians makes for a great Indigo Girls concert.
posted by uberfunk at 6:54 PM on July 24, 2023 [14 favorites]

I've got a LOT of (minor) connections with this band and the duo, but I'll just mention this. The Indigo Girls were an anchor of Atlanta's lesbian folky scene in the late 80s, and the girls getting signed to a major label (and their success in general) was a big effing deal. I remember when they put out the call for the video photo shoot, and those that showed up were pretty thrilled to see themselves make the final cut.
posted by intermod at 6:55 PM on July 24, 2023 [5 favorites]

I don’t know what this means?

I was inferring that you didn't want them on the soundtrack because you think their music is kind of corny. But there is some inherent corniness in a Gerwig flick.
posted by praemunire at 6:59 PM on July 24, 2023

I saw the Indigo Girls once and it was a great show. It was a fraught trip, though.

We were in two cars and we had the tickets. I forget what happened but the care behind us got delayed. There was issue at the box office the eventually got resolved (it was mostly a pre-cell phone era).

When we were going back, we got lost and were pulled over twice (although no tickets either time because they realized we didn't know what we were doing). A 3-hour trip turned into about 5 hours and ... well, it was college so we were all 19 and 21 so we could handle it.

Honestly, though, no regrets. It was amazing.
posted by edencosmic at 7:07 PM on July 24, 2023

This is one of those perfectly crafted albums that truly encapsulated a moment in time, namely as others have mentioned, freshman year of college. My husband, god love him, put this album on in the car this weekend. Without consciously knowing most of the lyrics, I sang along with every - single - word. On the entire album. It was as if all those late nights with the Walkman on repeat inscribed them on my very bones. Anyway, can't wait to see Barbie!
posted by platinum at 7:13 PM on July 24, 2023 [3 favorites]

So, my "discovering the Indigo Girls" story goes thusly: El Paso radio station KLAQ had a program manager who took a shift as a DJ, and he would often debut new music during his slot. Magic Mike, as he was known, was like a lighthouse guiding me to various musical shores across many of my formative years.

One day he played this song, Prince Of Darkness, saying it was his favorite track off this new album. I didn't catch the name of the band, but did know the name of the song. Cut to me later that week at my local Hastings [RIP] and I was looking through things, having forgotten that I wanted to know about that Prince Of Darkness group, when I heard a song playing in the store, Secure Yourself. The vocal style immediately popped me back to Magic Mike's recommendation and I asked at the counter who this was and if the album had a song called Prince Of Darkness on it. It was Indigo Girls, and yes it did, and I bought the album.

It was a very sideways way to find one of the most important influences in my life.

EDIT to note: Closer To Fine wouldn't come out as a single until several months after the album was released.
posted by hippybear at 7:22 PM on July 24, 2023 [2 favorites]

....it turns out a ballroom full of very very enthusiastic librarians makes for a great Indigo Girls concert.

Here, have this "Best Sentence I Will Read All Week" award.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 7:50 PM on July 24, 2023 [8 favorites]

I'm the opposite of eviemath -- I am more excited now that I know there's sincere Indigo Girls on the soundtrack, having missed the trailer.
posted by Alterscape at 7:51 PM on July 24, 2023 [5 favorites]

Indigo Girls was the first real concert I went to with friends. Reading this thread it seems surprising that’s what three seventeen and eighteen year old boys would choose. But, as the article notes, the intelligence and harmony of their songs is incredible. I became a true fan when Rites of Passage came out the next year, and still have pretty much every lyric of those two albums memorized. Many made up the rotation of quotes in my .sig file back then n the 90’s when that was a thing.
posted by meinvt at 8:14 PM on July 24, 2023 [1 favorite]

What’s not to love about close harmonies, smart lyrics, great musicianship and a group that has been together for almost 40 (?!) years? I’ve always been surprised that Indigo Girls are talked about as though they’ve disappeared, to be honest.

Anyway, I’m glad that another group that has kind of flown under the radar (despite winning a Grammy?!) is getting known by a new generation. Thanks Greta and as always, thank you Indigo Girls.
posted by ashbury at 8:36 PM on July 24, 2023 [5 favorites]

Straight dude who has been an Indigo Girls fan since Swamp Ophelia, which is still in my top five records of all time. And Closer To Fine has some of the best lines, so quotable. "Darkness has a hunger that's insatiable, lightness has a call that's hard to hear" ... yes Emily, but you and I can hear it, cos we're listening to you.

Four Indigo Girls songs always on my feelgood playlist on whatever the current device is:

* Closer to fine
* Get out the map
* Peace tonight
* Least complicated

Not very interested in Barbie, but love any chance to talk about the Indigo Girls.
posted by ademack at 11:23 PM on July 24, 2023 [2 favorites]

They will be remembered as some of the finest songwriters of our generation, I’d bet money on it. I’m an Atlanta girl so I’ve loved them since their debut… do a deep dive on the lyrics. Start with any album and really soak them in. Amazing. And I hear or think about something new every time I listen, even after 30+ years.

I CANNOT WAIT to see this movie!!
posted by pearlybob at 3:45 AM on July 25, 2023 [2 favorites]

Four Indigo Girls songs always on my feelgood playlist on whatever the current device is:

To those four, I will add Hammer and a Nail and Southland in the Springtime

Thanks to the Indigo Girls for teaching me to harmonize and for introducing me to Buffy Saint Marie and for timeless wonderful songs that take me back to high school and college in TN and FL.

Thanks y’all - you’re the greatest - woo ooo ooo

Also, if you haven’t listened to the Amy Ray Band, you are in for a treat.
posted by jilloftrades at 5:09 AM on July 25, 2023 [3 favorites]

think their music is kind of corny.

Corny? No. Just musically boring/not-good.
posted by eviemath at 5:12 AM on July 25, 2023 [1 favorite]

I was the only person I knew into the Indigo Girls in college. (To the point of them once being referred to "that band that you like.") I haven't been too excited by their most recent works, but I've had their 2nd through 4th CDs on my phone for probably over a decade.
They might be on one of Tig Notaro's Netflix specials for a couple of songs.
posted by Spike Glee at 6:25 AM on July 25, 2023

It's okay to not like things....
posted by Alterscape at 7:34 AM on July 25, 2023 [1 favorite]

Well, eviemath, perhaps it will then cheer you up to learn that a Matchbox Twenty song gets at least as much airtime.
posted by praemunire at 8:01 AM on July 25, 2023 [6 favorites]

My friend had a date cancel so I went with him to see them play in SLC in the 90s. David Wilcox opened! I girl I worked custodial with at BYU walked up to the front of the stage and stared at Wilcox until the ushers returned her to her seat. She got thrown out of school later for shoplifting a book on feminism from the campus bookstore. Good times.
posted by mecran01 at 9:04 AM on July 25, 2023 [2 favorites]

learning to play Prince of Darkness on guitar was the first time I learned a 9 chord. I wasn't aware the Indigo Girls had received so much grief over the years. I guess I shouldn't be surprised.
posted by sineater at 9:09 AM on July 25, 2023

One day he played this song, Prince Of Darkness, saying it was his favorite track off this new album. I didn't catch the name of the band, but did know the name of the song. Cut to me later that week at my local Hastings [RIP] and I was looking through things, having forgotten that I wanted to know about that Prince Of Darkness group, when I heard a song playing in the store, Secure Yourself. The vocal style immediately popped me back to Magic Mike's recommendation and I asked at the counter who this was and if the album had a song called Prince Of Darkness on it. It was Indigo Girls, and yes it did, and I bought the album.

Interestingly, because both Prince of Darkness and Secure Yourself have pretty overt Christian imagery, the local CYO in my small town in the early 90s thought they were a Christian group and tried to claim them as their own. Us goth weirdos, knowing the Girls to be lesbians (it wasn't confirmed until much later, but we knew), just grinned at their inevitable letdown.

I (straight cis guy with numerous LGBTQ family members) have seen the Indigo Girls in concert something like 6 times over 25 years, starting with the Shaming of the Sun tour and most recently with Brandi Carlile. The self-titled album, Rites of Passage, Swamp Ophelia, and Shaming of the Sun remain in heavy rotation. Their songwriting is impeccable and they put on a helluva show. Glad to see them continuing to get well-deserved attention.

If you want a weird treat, check out the version of Jesus Christ Superstar they did with other Atlanta musicians in the mid-90s. A live version is available on YouTube.
posted by Ben Trismegistus at 9:13 AM on July 25, 2023 [4 favorites]

Some later IG songs that fit in with vibe of the ones mentioned above are

Perfect World
Feed And Water The Horses

And their late era song I will champion until I die because I love it so much

Fleet Of Hope
posted by hippybear at 9:51 AM on July 25, 2023

And I should mention the Amy song I'm obsessed with which is Tether. It's not a song for everyone, though.
posted by hippybear at 9:55 AM on July 25, 2023 [2 favorites]

perhaps it will cheer you up to learn that a Matchbox Twenty song gets at least as much airtime.

Also no, and this is getting into bizarre levels of assumptions?? I’m not sad, just slightly less enthused about a movie that I will eventually see on hearing that a song that I, personally and no shade on anyone who has different musical tastes, find boring is apparently significant in the film.
posted by eviemath at 9:57 AM on July 25, 2023

Also no, and this is getting into bizarre levels of assumptions?? I’m not sad, just slightly less enthused about a movie that I will eventually see on hearing that a song that I, personally and no shade on anyone who has different musical tastes, find boring is apparently significant in the film.

It's not as significant as this thread would make it seem. It's a short running gag that occurs maybe 3-4 times in the movie. We can certainly choose to read more into it if we like (and we wouldn't be Mefites if we didn't read too much into things), but liking or disliking the song shouldn't have any impact on your enjoyment of the movie. (Which, by the way, I enjoyed very much.)
posted by Ben Trismegistus at 10:14 AM on July 25, 2023 [4 favorites]

a Matchbox Twenty song gets at least as much airtime.

I don't actually recommend anyone visit it, but there's a subreddit called "guitarcirclejerk" which mostly exists to mock cliches and conventional wisdom and assumptions in musician and guitar player/owner/buyer culture.

There is no small amount of glee there that a major plot point of the movie mocks the cliche of "guy plays "sensitive yet masculine" song on acoustic guitar while girl gazes at him adoringly."
posted by soundguy99 at 11:56 AM on July 25, 2023 [1 favorite]

There is no small amount of glee there that a major plot point of the movie mocks the cliche of "guy plays "sensitive yet masculine" song on acoustic guitar while girl gazes at him adoringly."

I mean they emphasize the "If I want to push you around I will, if I want to push you down I will", so I think implied violence that Barbie felt in the movie then have that song played at her is 100% perfect. It actually makes me happy that it's being re-exposed for the crappy attitude it is instead of the grunge-adjacent angsty gen-X smash hit it was originally.

None of that applies to the Indigo Girls song- that one was great then and is great now.
posted by The_Vegetables at 12:02 PM on July 25, 2023 [6 favorites]

A bit attached to this topic: Billie Eilish: "What Was I Made For?", Barbie & Songwriting [Zane Lowe interview, 34m]
posted by hippybear at 2:05 PM on July 25, 2023

This song came on at the bar last night and a brand new friend and I discovered that she's an Amy, I'm an Emily, and together, we did a really credible harmonized sing-along to general acclaim from the table.
posted by merriment at 5:22 PM on July 26, 2023 [3 favorites]

OMG "Watershed" yes yes yes.
posted by nkknkk at 2:30 PM on July 28, 2023 [1 favorite]

I finally saw the movie today (and loved it!) and my only quibble about using Closer to Fine in it was that I wish it hadn’t been in the trailer - having it come up as a surprise would have made it even more perfect because of how it worked with the plot. It was super difficult not to sing along.

Surprised to see people naming favorites and no one naming Galileo. That’s probably my favorite of theirs, especially for the harmonies and the longing. And (speaking of longing), their cover of Romeo and Juliet easily surpasses the original.

I’ve only been to about five concerts in my life, and one of them was to see Indigo Girls. I’m a bit sad they put a remake on the soundtrack- I’d love for the original to give them their own Kate Bush moment.
posted by Mchelly at 9:51 AM on July 30, 2023