With the release of Los Campesinos! new album coming up in Febuary I wanted to get serious for a moment and talk about how much this band means to me. I’ve been listening to Los Campesinos! for over 6 years, this band shaped my interest in music and personality since i was 14 and a lot of their music helped me get through my personal struggles with anxiety and depression. My tattoo of a magpie in a noose is heavily insipred by the song Selling Rope (Swan Dive to Estuary) from their last album. I don’t think its a surprise to anybody whos heard the lyrics that this song is about suicide, about jumping off a bridge because you’re so blinded my depression you don’t think anybody will miss you. “No passing car stops, not a single jaw drops as my wallet and keys sink before, a splash all I left in the world.” For a long time I felt like i was the magpie, sitting on the noose on the brink of death but somehow still flying. I felt there was no end ik sight to this pain I was feeling. I’ve come a long way, I’ve found some meaning and hope in the future, ive found people who make me feel loved and important, people who i could never hurt in the way that suicide would hurt them. The thoughts still linger in the darkest parts of my brain but i can fight them because i know what im alive for. This tattoo is going to stick with me forever through each high and low as a reminder of who i am, where i came from, and the music that carried me through it all. Thank you Los Campesinos!, the whole world deserves to hear your music. Can’t wait for the new album.
