Chris Canipe has penned a song to encompass the state of the American body politic at this moment. “Barely Stitched” lists examples of the crassness, the fragmentation, the division, dysfunction, climate change and the dystopian and impersonal technological permeation of our lives. In the jangle-y melodies and wryly melancholic vocals you can hear almost a resignation to the way complete disaster and dissolution seems to have trickled into and inundated society. You get a sense that the songwriter knows that so much of this feels like we have collectively let go of the wheel and not attended to the things that make society functional and how it can feel completely overwhelming if you haven’t learned a coping mechanism or five like disassociating a little to get some distance from the chaos. In that sense it’s reminiscent of the attitude one heard in some of those 1980s Camper Van Beethoven songs wherein it’s clear the songwriters are taking the subject matter seriously while noting the absurdity of the situation. Listen to “Barely Stitched” on Bandcamp. Canipe’s new album Monuments released January 9, 2026.
Queen City Sounds and Art 
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