Welcome to Resist Psychic Death: This week, Hurray for the Riff Raff's Alynda Segarra invites you to join them in a special new space they carved out in the corner of the Internet. Available via Substack, the publication will be a channel for community, purpose and positivity, gathering all that keeps their spirits lifted – and reminding us what's most important. "I feel like I'm at the beginning of a new chapter artistically and personally," writes Segarra. "Social media platforms hurt my soul. I want to be able to communicate with you in a way that is direct and more honest, a way that is less harmful for the both of us…I want to connect as a real person, going through shit and trying to create something beautiful along the way."
"'Resist Psychic Death' is the name of one of my favorite Bikini Kill songs, a song that changed me on a cellular level when I was a kid. These lyrics have stayed with me all these years later because they are a public commitment. It beckons us to join. It's difficult in our society to live a radical life. It's difficult to live of intention, beauty, romance, aliveness, and empathy…Most social media only leads me further away from what I care about. So let's try something different."
Every Sunday, Segarra will use Resist Psychic Death to share writing and thoughts on grief, love, change and spiritual connection, as well as dispatches from the road, deep dives into the stories behind their songs, and intimate revelations about the things they're currently obsessed with – whether it's João Pedro Vale and Nuno Alexandre Ferreira, or Love Island USA and Vanderpump Rules. Demos, covers, playlists and other surprises will also be uncovered.
Subscribe to Resist Psychic Death at hurrayfortheriffraff.substack.com, and read the inaugural post about transformative hardships of touring, the shifting culture around musicians' mental health, hyperventilating on the side of the road, smoking weed laced with PCP at age 13, and discovering profound inspiration during three glorious days in Porto: HERE
Later this month, Hurray for the Riff Raff returns to the stage for a performance at the Americana Honors & Awards, where they are nominated for Album of The Year. Named by Pitchfork, Rolling Stone, Vulture, Entertainment Weekly, Stereogum, Paste, SPIN and myriad more as one of 2024's best releases thus far, The Past Is Still Alive is a record that sees Alynda Segarra "etching their own story into the American songbook, and asserting that they belong there" (The New York Times). Finding fans in everyone from Elton John to Eileen Myles, it's been hailed as "the next great American road album" (The Atlantic) and "a nearly mythic version of their own life story" (NPR Music). Earlier this summer, Segarra sat down with Hanif Abdurraqib to discuss its creation process and so much else for the GRAMMY Museum.
Watch Alynda Segarra and Hanif Abdurraqib in conversation for the GRAMMY Museum: HERE
On the heels of dozens of sold-out tour dates, a run of shows with Norah Jones, tapings of Austin City Limits and CBS Saturday Morning, appearances at Aspen Ideas Fest and beyond, Hurray for the Riff Raff will hit the road again this fall, with tickets and info available HERE. Ahead of Australia and additional festivals, Segarra also made a second visit to Track Star, following up their viral game of guess-the-artist with a performance of highlights from The Past Is Still Alive – and a sultry cover of Marcy Playground's "Sex and Candy."
See Hurray for the Riff Raff take the money in their original showing on Track Star, and watch their brand new live session, out today: HERE
