Boombox Blitz: Whoa Dakota & Tuxedo Wildlife rework John Prine’s ‘In Spite of Ourselves’
Two of Nashville’s finest come together to honor the past and their own blossoming, and perfectly imperfect, relationship.
Welcome to Boombox Blitz, an artist spotlight series showcasing overlooked singers, songwriters and musicians who are quietly taking over the world.
John Prine might be gone, but his work lives on through our headphones. He could write a song ⏤ and not the kind you simply sing along to, but one that provoked you to think deeper about life, love, and death. Two imperfect people come perfectly together with “In Spite of Ourselves,” the title cut to Prine’s 1999 studio album, originally featuring Prine with Iris Dement. 21 years later, two of Nashville’s finest come together to honor the song’s legacy but also find their own voice within its pages. Whoa Dakota and Tuxedo Wildlife‘s Collin Gundry (real life partners) slip into the sly quirkiness with a snug fit; their own naturally offbeat inflections are warm, inviting, and quite appetizing.
“In spite of ourselves, we’ll end up a-sittin’ on a rainbow / Against all odds, honey we’re the big door-prize,” they sing in unison on the hook. ‘We’re gonna spite our noses right off of our faces / There won’t be nothin’ but big ol’ hearts dancin’ in our eyes…”
Dakota’s songbird chirp wraps tightly around Gundry’s earthier timbre, and together, they beckon you forward into their world. The visual, compiled of home video footage, hits at the heart of their relationship, a goofy one full of happiness, hope, and adoration. Originally performed for Consequence of Sound, “In Spite of Ourselves” is the kind of song that “has meant so much to us in the evolution of our relationship. Few people can capture the truth of what it’s like to deeply love another person. It’s not always pretty or tidy,” Dakota posted. “Sometimes you hate each other and then in a split second can be reminded of why you fell in love in the first place. Only Prine can write a song like this. He’s the only person who can use ‘sniffing my undies’ and ‘more balls than a big brass monkey’ and convey the essence of deep, lasting love.”
Furthermore, it also encompasses Dakota’s journey in “reaching for dreams,” she said, “and chasing the endless goals and successes of life, what really counts is making it through with someone. When it’s all said and done you had the pot of gold all along because you did all the chasing alongside your best friend. Someone who really got you. Who saw your flaws and your weird, gross habits and still said, ‘Yea. I choose her.'”
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