I’m a big fan of Neko Case, particularly Fox Confessor Brings the Flood, but hadn’t realized she was writing a Substack. This moving essay is about the recent death of a couple of her animals and promises that the memoir she’s releasing early next year should be quite good:

Norman was more difficult. Our dynamic was different. I was his herd leader and caretaker, but he was so intelligent he could never have been considered a “pet” or sports equipment or an “other.” Not that I would have wanted a relationship resembling any of those choices with him. The evolutionary bond we share is more tenuous, but more sacred. For all the cruel things horses are subjected to they should have been killing us day one, yet they are not wired that way. There are some horses that go rogue and attack people but they are few and far between. 99.9% of accidents and injuries related to horses are human negligence and error. Horses are more akin to elephants and orcas. Intelligent, social creatures that depend on a great deal of movement and variety for their physical and mental wellbeing. They have deep bonds with their herd mates (and sometimes their people) and their communication is subtle, but sometimes brutal and quite beautiful to observe. They play, they fight, they problem solve, they groom each other and have excellent senses or humor when given the freedom and encouragement and space to be themselves. He was a touchstone of calm. How will life be without him? I have no choice but to find out. Thanks to him I can set down my anxiety and wade into it. I am open and resigned. It’s the only shape grief will tolerate to get through it.

I still see him in the grass of the meadow, lying on his side, at peace. His gray hair covering his black skin at the seam along his belly. Strands of his mane and tail held up by the grass along the edges. His form surrounded by Queen Ann’s Lace, bedstraw, black eyed Susans, and lucious clumps of goldenrod, many of which contained a big tigery garden spider of a similar yellow-orange hue. He was witnessed and accepted by his favorite spot. It was so very beautiful. He looked like a viking there in that meadow where he spent a great deal of his fourteen years with me. My dear friends Michelle and Doug came to witness him as well as my exceptional, kind neighbor, Allen who stood by with the backhoe to bury him. Then there was my fantastic vet who was weeping openly, and of course, ManFriendJeff and my other horse, Boon. It’s important for horses so bonded to know what is happening to each other so they understand. As I said, horses are incredibly intelligent… I knelt over Norm’s massive head and told him how much I loved him and thanked him for being the great teacher he was. I was not crying, yet giant, heavy drops fell from me and thudded onto his beautiful face. I tenderly removed his halter. It was all ok. He was no longer struggling to breathe from the asthma he had developed in the past month. Michelle handed me Boon’s lead. Boon came up to Norm’s body and sniffed curiously a few times. He then lifted his head and called out to Norman. We all lost it and cried together. Had Boon seen him go? I hope he did. It’s been a week since his death and he still seems present somehow.
    -A Good Death: And Happy Endings (Neko Case, Aug 16, 2024, Entering the Lung)

(Reviewed:26-Aug-24)

Grade: (B+) Orrin C. Judd

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Neko Case Links:

    -WIKIPEDIA: Neko Case
    -ARTIST SITE: NekoCase.com
    -SUBSTACK: Entering The Lung (Neko Case)
    -TWITTER: @NekoCase
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    -REDDIT: r/NekoCase
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    -INDEX: Neko Case (NPR)
    -ENTRY: The New Pornographers (MetaCritic)
    -ENTRY: Neko Case (MetaCritic)
    -ESSAY: A GOOD DEATH: And Happy Endings (Neko Case, Aug 16, 2024, Entering the Lung)
    -AUDIO: Neko Case In Concert (NPR: Live in Concert, April 9, 2006)
    -AUDIO: Studio Sessions: Neko Case Has Been Through Hell And Back (Talia Schlanger & Kimberly Junod, 7/12/18, NPR: World Cafe)
    -AUDIO: First Listen Live: Watch Neko Case, k.d. lang And Laura Veirs Perform Their New Album (Dave Christensen, 6/20/16, NPR: Live in Concert)
    -AUDIO INTERVIEW: Neko Case, k.d. lang And Laura Veirs On The Art Of Working Together (NPR: Weekend Edition Sunday, 6/19/16)
    -ESSAY: My Flaming Hamster Wheel of Panic About Publicly Discussing Poetry in This Respected Forum (Neko Case, November 18, 2007, Poetry)
    -VIDEO: Neko Case, 2012 5 Under 35 Celebration’s Host (National Book Foundation)
    -PROFILE: That Wild Creature Neko Case (Chris King, August 19, 2024, Common Reader)
    -PROFILE: Neko Case Is Still Fighting: On her seventh solo album, the alt-country heroine presents the tragedy, the comedy, and the joyful grossness of humanity—along with some of the best songs of 2018 (Rob Harvilla May 30, 2018, The Ringer)
    -INTERVIEW: ‘I Love What Human Voices Do Together’: An Interview with Neko Case: Neko Case talks about collaboration, women warriors, women inventors, men with excellent falsettos, losing her home to a fire, and feeling lucky in ‘a great sea of loss.’ (Will Hermes, 6/08/2018, Longreads)
    -AUDIO INTERVIEW: Gloria Steinem; Tina Fey; Neko Case (BBC Woman's Hour, 19 Dec 2015)
    -PROFILE: Neko Case defies easy categorization: Case is widely admired for her powerful, full voice that — on songs like her impassioned “Star Witness” — can sound like siren and Greek chorus rolled into one. (The Associated Press, 3/04/09)
    -PROFILE: Neko Case Is a Warm, Tight Hug: Bliss is scarce these days. The relentless drumbeat of grim news, wretched behavior and ugly attitudes can make moments of unadulterated pleasure feel even more intense than they might otherwise. (Preston Jones, February 11, 2019, Dallas Observer)
    -PROFILE: Neko Case's amazing coincidence: Neko Case's amazing coincidence -- The alt-country singer discovers she has a long-lost relative when watching a documentary about female wrestlers (Michael Berick, February 7, 2005, Entertainment Weekly)
    -PROFILE: The miseducation of Neko Case: Neko Case always feels a special something when she comes back to Vancouver. (Francois Marchand, Apr 07, 2015, Vancouver Sun)
    -PROFILE: Will star power eclipse New Pornographers? (Robert Thompson, 4/16/10, Reuters)
    -INTERVIEW: This is 52: Neko Case Responds to The Oldster Magazine Questionnaire: "I dye half of my hair. I like the silver at the front, but I missed the red so I compromised." (Sari Botton, Aug 30, 2023, Oldster)
    -PROFILE: Neko Case shows just why you should never miss her at Friday’s Liberty Hall show (Nick Spacek, 4/08/24, PitchKc)
    -INTERVIEW: Rediscovering Mystery: Neko Case’s Baker’s Dozen (Quietus)
    -INTERVIEW: Neko Case on Affirming Her Legacy with Wild Creatures Collection: After three decades as an acclaimed songwriter, Case discusses her much-deserved career retrospective, which received a physical release last month. (Katherine Yeske Taylor, July 10, 2023, Flood)
    -INTERVIEW: Neko Case on Songwriting, Production, and Being Real: So Much Possibility (Bren Davies, Sep/Oct 2018, TapeOp)
    -INTERVIEW: Four on the Floor: Neko Case Interview (Jason Verlinde, February 2009, fretboard)
    -PROFILE: Neko Case Is Telling The Truth: With new album Hell-On, Neko Case has become more uncompromising than ever, both in her music and how she thinks about the world. (Anne Helen Petersen, June 9, 2018, Buzzfeed)
    -PROFILE: Wild Thing (Daniel Menaker, Feb. 13, 2009, NY Times Magazine)
    -PROFILE: How to write a great song, according to singer-songwriter Neko Case: “[Songwriting] is work. Experience, selection, taste. None of those things are something that happens to you. You’re not just an antenna.” (Emily St. James, Jul 21, 2018, Vox)
    -INTERVIEW: eko Case: Thrice All American (Interview by Michaelangelo Matos, Perfect Sound Forever)
    -INTERVIEW: After a Quarter-Century in the Game, Neko Case Is Finally Looking Back: The singer/songwriter discusses her new career-spanning compilation and teases upcoming New Pornographers music (Morgan Enos, April 21, 2022, Consequences of Sound)
    -PROFILE: Natural Talent: Neko Case: Critically-acclaimed singer/songwriter Neko Case speaks on her love of nature, her ties to Vermont, and her “Entering The Lung” newsletter (Vermont Magazine, Mar 22, 2022)
    -PROFILE: How Neko Case Finally Unleashed Her Feminist Rage: The singer and songwriter has spun tragedy into plainly angry action on her new album, “Hell-On.” (Joe Coscarelli, May 24, 2018, NY Times Magazine)
    -INTERVIEW: Neko Case Bonus Interview: Finding the Right Words (Matt Fink, 10/25/13, Under the Radar)
    -INTERVIEW: Neko Case on How Female Solidarity, Farm Animals and Beyoncé Inspired Her New Album: The singer-songwriter on the personal epiphanies and evolving process that led to writing and producing her first album in five years. (Simon Vozick-Levinson, 05/3/2018, Billboard)
    -INTERVIEW: Neko Case Talks New Album, Inclusivity & Sweden (M.K. Koszycki, 1/24/19, District Fray)
    -PROFILE: Who’s the Man? (John Seabrook, September 16, 2013, The New Yorker)
    -INTERVIEW: Neko Case on her new album and moving on from tragedy: 'I've always been a person who fights' (Hanif Abdurraqib, May 30, 2018, EW)
    -INTERVIEW: Neko Case on the Power of Music and the Preciousness of Time (Kevin Cole, 11/04/19, KEXP)
    -PROFILE: A sense of community for Neko Case (David Bauder, September 4, 2013, Seattle Times)
    -INTERVIEW: Looking Back, Moving Forward | 15 Minutes with Neko Case (Jenn Walker, November 8th, 2016, SubMerge)
    -INTERVIEW: Neko Case :: The Aquarium Drunkard Interview (The Aquarium Drunkard, 12/02/15)
    -INTERVIEW: Neko Case on Her House Burning Down, Why #MeToo Is Just the Beginning: Singer-songwriter also discusses her dusky, brilliant new album, 'Hell-On' (Kory Grow, June 5, 2018, Rolling Stone)
    -INTERVIEW: Neko Case: “Wild Creatures” in America (Brandon Wetherbee, 9/01/22, District Fray)
    -PROFILE: Ramblin’ Woman Neko Case: The alt-country star explains those cryptic lyrics, her wanderlust, and why there’s humor in growing up poor. (Kiera Butler, March/April 2009, Mother Jones)
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    -
    -PODCAST: Episode 141: Neko Case: “Last Lion of Albion” (SongExploder, August 1, 2018) -
    -ESSAY: How Neko Case Destroyed Prog Rock for Me (Scott Elingburg, Analogue)
    -ESSAY: Smoking Cigarettes with Neko Case (Rachel Stevens, 08/20/2022, KEXP)
    -ESSAY: Every Neko Case Album Ranked From Worst to Best: From Blacklisted to Hell-On, sorting through and breaking down Neko Case's solo efforts (Consequences of Sound, 12/30/22)
    -ESSAY: Fifteen Favorites: The Neko Case Edition (Zackary Kephart, 10/30/22, The Musical Divide)
    -ESSAY: The 12 Best Neko Case Songs (John Verive, November 12, 2015, Paste)
    -ESSAY: “The Harder I Fight”: Neko Case on Parents, Depression, and Her New Album (Emily Hornsby / 9.3.13, Mockingbird)
    : A quiet storm of changing meter. (Rebel Music Teacher)
    -ESSAY: I’m With Her: Gender, Fame, and the Exquisite Oddness of Neko Case (Jeff Goodwin, Jul 1, 2018, Medium)
    -ESSAY: “Oh, Shadowless” is Neko Case’s Loudest Lullaby (Allison Kinney, February 23, 2023, Two Story Melody)
    -
    -
    -ARCHIVES: Neko Case (Internet Archives)
    -ARCHIVES: “neko case” (AV Club)
    -REVIEW ARCHIVES: Neko Case: Fox Confessor Brings the Flood (Metacritic)
    -REVIEW: of Fox Confessor Brings the Flood (altrockchick: Classic Music Review)
    -REVIEW: of Fox Confessor Brings the Flood (Bradley Bamberger, Medium)
    -REVIEW: of Fox Confessor Brings the Flood (Jonathan Bloy)
    -REVIEW: of Fox Confessor Brings the Flood (Ken Tucker, NPR)
    -REVIEW: ofFox Confessor Brings the Flood (Douglas Wolk, Rolling Stone)
    -REVIEW: of Fox Confessor Brings the Flood (Jonathan Keefe, Slant)
    -REVIEW: of Fox Confessor Brings the Flood (Paul Haney, Tiny Mix Tapes)
    -REVIEW: ofFox Confessor Brings the Flood (Adrien Bergrand, Tiny Mix Tapes)
    -REVIEW: of Fox Confessor Brings the Flood (Ethan’s Greats)
    -REVIEW: of Fox Confessor Brings the Flood (Sputnik Music)
    -REVIEW: of Fox Confessor Brings the Flood (Sylvie Simmons, The Guardian)
    -REVIEW: of Fox Confessor Brings the Flood (No Depression)
    -REVIEW: of Fox Confessor Brings the Flood (Kenneth Partridge, Billboard)
    -REVIEW: of Fox Confessor Brings the Flood (Ryan Dombal, Pitchfork_
    -REVIEW: of Fox Confessor Brings the Flood (Cole Waterman, Spectrum Culture)
    -REVIEW ARCHIVES: Neko Case: Hell-on (Metacritic)
    -REVIEW: of Hell-On (Mark Joseph Engleson, Americana Highways)
    -REVIEW: of Hell-On (Eric R. Danton | listen, dammit)
    -REVIEW: of Hell-on (Ben Salmon, Paste)
    -REVIEW: of Hell-on (Jill Riley, The Current)
    -REVIEW: of Hell-on (Carl Wilson, Slate)
    -REVIEW: of Wild Creatures (justin Cober-Lake, Pop Matters)

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