Titus Andronicus frontman and New Jersey-to-New York transplant Patrick Stickles wants you to know that he cannot keep a secret from his bodega guy. The second new song we’ve heard from the band’s upcoming album A Productive Cough is titled “Above the Bodega (Local Business),” and arises from Stickles’ desire to write the “ultimate” song about a relationship with one’s local deli clerk. Says Stickles, in a statement:
One quality that does much to define New York City life is the access to 24-hour consumption. The first floor of the apartment building in which I live is occupied by a deli-grocery, to which I give my patronage several times a day. As a result, I have developed a particular understanding with the staff there which I have not so far heard articulated in song. Thusly, I took it upon myself to write the ‘ultimate’ song explicating the bodega clerk-patron relationship. … No one knows the depths of my vice better than they who oversee the transactions which make it possible—in this way, the deli clerk knows me better than my own mother.
Or, as Stickles puts it in the accompanying video: “If I need to have a drink at 11 in the morning, he’s going to be the one to know.” The clip, directed by Ray Concepcion, features Titus Andronicus in the studio, accompanied by horn players, backup singers, and Stickles’s actual mom (who also appeared in a documentary video clip released last week). As you may recall, Local Business is a subject close to Titus Andronicus’ hearts; it’s the title of their third album, released in 2012.
A Productive Cough is out March 2, and we’ve already heard the sprawling, eight-minute lead single “Number One (In New York).” Watch and listen to “Above the Bodega (Local Business)” below.
