Premiere: Stephie James empties the American dream on ‘Steve McQueen’

Stephie James was living with a singing cowboy—whose love for Steve McQueen movies backed their entire relationship. “There was a TV in the house, and it seemed like the only thing that ever played on the TV were Steve McQueen marathons,” James remembers.

The song, premiering today on B-Sides & Badlands, might be titled “Steve McQueen” but the movie icon has very little to actually do with the song’s jangly lyrics. “Sure, he’s the king of cool, and iconic, and dreamy, but his movies aren’t really my favorite films—especially that era—by a mile,” says James. “And fittingly, they’re kind of background content in my lyrics. I like Steve McQueen, but not like 70’s Pacino, or Brando, or Dennis Hopper, or Cassavetes films. That’s the stuff I really love. The McQueen films don’t really stand out for me, outside of the context of these lyrics.”

James, possessing a reedy and rustic vocal, barrels through the lyrics with feverish abandon, situating the Steve McQueen marathon as the ample backdrop to a story dissecting the mundanity of homelife and the American dream. “I like Steve Mcqueen but you’re the man of every hour for me,” she sings. “So it seems, while his marathon is on the TV, you watch while I iron your blue jeans.”

“Isn’t this the real American dream?” she then ponders. Her question falls like glass through the air, rumbling and slick. It ultimately hangs in the air, with James never finding the answer to such an existential inquest.

As one of the “only co-writes I’ve ever done,” James penned the lyrics over guitarist Nick Bourgeau’s chord progression. At the time, the two songwriters were in a band together while living in Detroit. “It was a true collaboration,” says James. “After it was written, it went through many versions.”

While playing in Nikki Lane’s band, James would launch into a honky-tonk version of “Steve McQueen,” much to her creative satisfaction. “She used to tell me that if I didn’t record it, she would record it first,” recalls James. “It was on tour with Nikki that someone pointed out there was already a Sheryl Crow song called ‘Steve McQueen.’ I remember being pretty bummed when I first learned that—as if I could be the first person to reference an icon like Steve McQueen in song.”

The song underwent several more arrangements until the album version (streaming above) was tracked at The Bomb Shelter “almost totally live,” explains James. “We were loosely playing around with a beat from a Velvet Underground song, and it evolved from there with a more upbeat rock-n-roll vibe. Our guitarist Matt Menold added the organ as an overdub after we tracked the bed live as a four-piece band.”

“Steve McQueen” samples Stephie James’ debut LP As Night Fades, out this Friday (March 1).

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