Joe Goodkin: A Modern Day Bard

By Charlie Schutt and Louise Eskina

Joe Goodkin is a gifted folk-opera singer from Chicago. He went to the University of Wisconsin-Madison where he first found his love for classic literature. He went to college with little idea of what he wanted his future aspirations to be. This changed when he took an ancient Greek and Greek mythology class from former Classics professor Barry Powell. Through this class he found a deep passion for Classics. He proceeded to become a classics major and began writing his first collection of songs, The Odyssey. He started researching Homer’s Epics from different points of view. From reading it himself to seeing spoken word performances, he watched and learned as much as he could about The Odyssey.

When writing his music to tell the Greek tales he uses harsh words to attempt to invoke great emotion in his music. He spends tedious amounts of time to make the story as harsh and close to the story as possible. When an audience member asked him what his advice was when having art block he responded, “There’s no such thing as art block. You just aren’t satisfied with what you're making.” He goes on to detail how when he feels an art block he continues to make and write songs. He continues with it till he is satisfied with what he is making. This is how he made a cluster of songs at once that he was mostly satisfied with. This is the process he used for his most recent album, “The Blues of Achilles”. Listening to Joe’s performance of the Iliad is an experience in its own right, but listening to it live is a whole different story. Getting the chance to hear him introduce and explain each song was unforgettable, and I am honored to have heard it.

I’ve listened to the album live, as well as the recorded version. So, I’m going to give you a general overview of the album, and then talk about my favorite songs.

REVIEW: Joe Goodkin bleeds personality. You can hear it when you speak with him, and you can hear it in the passion he has for his music. That same passion and personality permeate everything about “The Blues of Achilles.” Although the piece is based on a pre-existing story, the themes of grief and love are very close to Goodkin’s heart, and he feels a personal connection to the stories that he has essentially translated into music form. There’s somewhat of a hollow feel to every chord played on the album, and that’s not a bad thing. Joe has spoken about how he specifically selected a resonator [guitar] for this piece because of the sound and the design. I think that the one-man act also adds to the personal and lonely feel of the album. The only instrument used is the beat-up resonator, and it pairs well with the familiar but enchanting vocals from Goodkin. However, as much as I love the sound of the album, what truly floored me were the lyrics. It’s hard to write your own lyrics well, but it’s an even bigger challenge to retell a story all while doing so in the confines of rhythmic and rhyme patterns. However, Goodkin faces this challenge head-on and absolutely triumphs. Some of the most emotional verses I’ve ever heard have come from “The Blues of Achilles''. I think the reason for that is the simple fact that Goodkin identifies with the characters that he’s writing for, and almost feels a connection to their stories because of what he chose to do with the album. Besides this, Goodkin keeps a consistent pace and progression throughout the album. Songs connect to each other more than once, and you feel as though you’re reading a book in music form. All in all, it's an amazing collection of music, and I would encourage anyone to find it on YouTube or Spotify.

Now for my personal favorites:

#5: The War Lullaby

“Like a farmer in autumn, harvesting wheat/ So blinded by rage I can barely see/ Leaving the bodies as feasts for the flies/ Quietly humming my war lullaby”

The imagery of “The War Lullaby'' is simply incredible. The way that Goodkin presents the horrors of war makes you feel slightly uncomfortable, but for good reason. Rather than writing a song about killing his enemies, Goodkin compares it to putting them asleep with a “war lullaby”. What more could you ask for? To me, if they ever made a film about the story of the Iliad, I sincerely believe that “The War Lullaby'' could back up one of the most emotional scenes. Goodkin’s slow strumming and carefree vocals make war seem like a playdate, and killing seem natural and pleasurable.

“Oh how it feels to put my sword right through ya/ The guts comes tumbling out/ Your brains fly through your mouth/ And the rivers run red with our humanity”

All in all, the gory fifth track on the album comes in fifth, and for good reason.

#4: Don’t You Be Afraid My Friend

“Don't You Be Afraid My Friend” is the shortest song on the album, coming in under two minutes. It’s a song that I would consider “short and sweet”. The lyrics to “Don’t You Be Afraid My Friend” are relatively simple, but one line at the end of the song gave me the largest gut-punch of the album.

“Don’t you be afraid my friend/ Once I’m dead they’ll burn me too and we’ll be together again.”

The way that Goodkin makes the horrors of war seem so natural is my favorite part of the album. But you can also tell that he understands the bonds that soldiers have to one another both in life and in death. If you want another example of this, listen to “In the Mud”.

#3: What Kind of Love

In terms of love songs, “What Kind of Love'' seems so familiar, and yet it also feels groundbreaking. The love songs of today are mass-produced media marketing. They’re hollow and void of any actual emotion. Goodkin’s piece sits on the other side of that coin. The song that he wrote from Patroclus to Achilles is deep, vulnerable, and it’s sung from one man to another. These brothers in arms cared deeply about one another, and that’s an incredible emotion to be able to convey.

“What kind of love is deeper than the sea/ Stronger than the iron of a shield/ Born in the heart, brighter than the sun/ So certain that it will never yield/ What kind of love goes higher than the sky/ Somewhere out beyond the broken blue/ Underneath my skin, darker than the night/ That’s my love for you”

#2: Hands of Grief

The second song on the album happens to be my second favorite, and in my opinion, this was a great start to the story. Most of the time, I’m more excited about the lyrics than about the sound, but in this case, I just can’t get over the guitar work that Goodkin does. There’s a folksy, street performer sound to the song, and it flows with the message of the song. It sounds as if Priam just picked up Goodkin’s resonator and sang the words that were on his mind after his son’s death.

“I’m before you on my knees/ Kissing the hands of my grief/ My son was cut down in the fighting/ And your hands took him from me”

#1: Grief of Our Hands

If it wasn’t for this companion piece, “Hands of Grief” would have been my favorite song. And, just as “Hands of Grief” was the second song, “Grief of Our Hands” was second to last. It closes the chapter the same way it opens. The only reason that I consider this better than “Hands of Grief '' is because it uses the earlier song to its advantage, tying back not only rhythmically, but also in the message that’s being given. “Hands of Grief” tells the story of Priam talking to Achilles about the death of his son, and “Grief of Our Hands” consists of Achilles and Priam sharing their experiences of loss. The lyrics contain beautiful lines such as:

“So I’ll bathe your son’s body/ Until it’s clean of dirt and sand/ And with the tears you’ve left behind here/ I’ll wash the grief off of my hands”

All in all, “The Blues of Achilles” is an amazing album by an amazing musician, and these five songs are only a piece of the story that Goodkin weaves together. Take some time out of your day to give the album a listen, and you might be surprised at what you find.