26 Comments
User's avatar
miter's avatar

Big question: Is it true you are related to Gerry Rafferty? If so, how, and how do you stop yourself from mentioning this all of the time?!

Expand full comment
Olivia Rafferty ✨'s avatar

um, yes! He was my Granddad's cousin -- they both grew up in Paisley in Glasgow and saw each other as often as cousins do. Later on in life I think they kind of stayed in touch but less and less... I think he sent my Granddad an email at some point. Sadly I never got to meet him but I always think that there's a part of him which is in my music and what I do!

Expand full comment
Olivia Rafferty ✨'s avatar

oh, and how do i stop myself from mentioning this all the time!? haha, well i think it's because i never met him that I can't ever 'lay claim' to him... also being someone's 'cousin twice removed' doesn't have a real ring to it. the cool thing is that when I released my first EP i got a scottish guy to do PR for it and he had done PR for Gerry's later albums, so that was a nice connection.

Expand full comment
miter's avatar

Ha! That's awesome, if it was me I would still be absolutely annoying about it, playing the baker street saxophone line everywhere and telling people "this is in my blood!" Good on you for being better than that.

Expand full comment
veritanuda's avatar

Stuck in the Middle with you, has so often been a refrain I have thought in real life, I cannot help but love that song too.

Expand full comment
Mills Baker's avatar

THAT HAD NOT OCCURRED TO US DUDE!!! Because of my last name, that man is a real figure in my life!

Expand full comment
miter's avatar

CRANK UP THAT SAX!

Expand full comment
Kevin McSpadden's avatar

What are your thoughts when something like the "6'5" blue eyes" kind of becomes a shit post but also the song of the summer? Does it cause any angst as a songwriter?

Expand full comment
Olivia Rafferty ✨'s avatar

I think there's a difference between shitposting songs and songs which people have obiviously come up with in a writing session for a label where they're tried to write sometihng that will do well in TikTok. i really love seeing people turn things into songs and have fun with it, tiktok is a great place for that, so the '6'5 blue eyes' song is all good in my books haha. it's when people attempt to create something viral, like that ABCDEFU song, that's when it's like "oh okay you're just trying to play the game rather than make it up as you go with the rest of us"

Expand full comment
Kevin McSpadden's avatar

I wouldn't say I "worry" about playing the game, but I definitely feel disappointment when I hear a catchy hook on TikTok and then when I check it out on Spotify it's just a terrible song.

Expand full comment
Jason Link's avatar

What would be an appropriate reparation for the English to remit to Scotland for selfishly murdering Nessie?

Expand full comment
Olivia Rafferty ✨'s avatar

give us Charles III.

Expand full comment
Mills Baker's avatar

How hard is it (and in what ways) to sustain belief in yourself as a musician? Like: I am always eaten alive by the sense that it's insane for me to even speak in public, let alone try to create anything! You're ludicrously talented, but I'm sure no one is free from self-doubt; how do you manage it?

Expand full comment
Olivia Rafferty ✨'s avatar

I do feel like a fraud a lot of the time but I always just counteract it with action. Just gotta keep doing things until I get to the point I don't feel like a fraud. I think a lot about that Ira Glass quote about having taste before you have skill/talent. I still feel like my talent level has to match up to my taste - its gotten way closer over the years - but I kind of trust that people are nice enough to let me get there without going "hey your music could be way better" during the process!!!

Also the one thing I realised after going to music school filled with a bunch of jazzers and nerds is that real-life people are amazed by what you do, because they don't see behind the wizard of oz's curtain. To the average listener or audience member, you are like this insane alchemist of feelings and melodies and talent, and I always try to remind myself of that. It's like watching someone paint, or cook really well, for me.

Expand full comment
Carol's avatar

Action cures fear :)

Expand full comment
David W. Friedman's avatar

I was surprised to see February's album purchase was Elvis Costello's Imperial Bedroom. Why surprised? Because of the other artists you mentioned in your post it seemed incompatible with your musical choices. I applaud your purchase and hope you enjoy it. I've listened to that album 100s of times. It's terrific!

The first album was either a Beatles LP (American version) or the Broadway Cast LP of "Hair" because my friend's father played saxophone on it.

Expand full comment
Olivia Rafferty ✨'s avatar

Costello has always been a favourite of mine! My parents had Spike and This Year's Model on vinyl and that's what got me in. One of my favourite works of his is the album he did with Burt Bacharach, Painted From Memory. But Imperial Bedroom is also so good. Honestly, he's such an incredible songwriter and I could happily bounce from album to album.

Expand full comment
David W. Friedman's avatar

I am currently in the process of recording a cover of his cover of Brinsley Schwarz’s “(What’s So Funny About) Peace Love and Understanding”. It should be done this weekend.

Expand full comment
veritanuda's avatar

Fascinating insights, and of course it is all new to me. For sure, when we feel stuck in a rut, it is very hard to pull ourselves out of it. Self motivation is a skill, not an automatic given. Same with confidence and satisfaction. We all too often set unrealistic goals for ourselves and expect to just leap frog there in one bound. The truth is, dedication and drive are the only things that we really need in good supply. That and inspiration.

I empathise with your writing process and myself can often find the muse abandoning if try too hard. In those cases I have to just walk away, do something completely different and return later with fresh eyes and fresh ideas.

That being said, it is an artist's lot, methinks, to never be truly happy with what they do, and I am often shocked and perturbed that I re-read something from years previous and am either surprised at how good it is, or notice something needs changing to make it just a little better than it was.

As to Après Moi, I kinda concur, though I have to say I heard Regina's version first, so that might have something to do with it. Peter Gabriel's, as you say, is more cinematic in grandeur and tone. Personally, I too think I am drawn to Regina myself because of her passion and quirkiness too it. Her live version, is particularly compelling.

Though I have to say, each time I hear Peter sing "After me comes the flood" I am drawn back to his "Here Comes the Flood" song which is an entirely different discussion

Thank you for sharing, and doing this. I am fortunate to have stumbled across you and very happy to support you in your endeavours.

Expand full comment
Olivia Rafferty ✨'s avatar

I completely agree with looking back at old work and realising it was better than I originally thought! I often think I need to give myself more credit for the things I've written in the past -- there's always something there. And thank you for stumbling across me! Thanks for your support :)

Expand full comment
veritanuda's avatar

Indeed. We are our own worst critics I find, and so it is good when you share and other people like your work too.

Well, I hope to see you tomorrow so we can discuss it some more, then :)

Expand full comment
Mills Baker's avatar

Wait I thought of another one: did you see “Wild Rose” and what did you think of it?!

Expand full comment
Olivia Rafferty ✨'s avatar

yes it's one of my boyfriend's favourite films. i enjoyed it but as a Scottish person it's always grating seeing non-Scottish actors play those roles lol!

the part I cried at was when she finally got to Nashville because i totally remember that feeling of when I moved to Canada and thought that all my magical dreams would finally come true... (spoiler alert: they didn't). it was a really heartwarming movie.

Expand full comment
Mills Baker's avatar

sick, what a relief; it really worked on me but one never knows from afar whether something’s been done well, and e.g. most New Orleans movies are catastrophes (not all!). I enjoyed the hell out of that little movie! I just like seeing that “loving songs,” like those kinds of songs, is still intelligible to people. i worry!!!

Expand full comment
Jason Link's avatar

Also, how did you decide which order to place the songs in on the album? Is there a progressive nature to the album, like you start with track one and by track eight you have had Character Growth(TM) or is it just a jumbled collection of songs?

Expand full comment
Olivia Rafferty ✨'s avatar

i knew which song i wanted to go first, and i knew which song I wanted to go last, and they kind of have a Character Growth ™️ reasoning behind them? Especially the last song, I felt like it had the appropriate final message for the album. As for the others, I thought about where singles usually sit in an album (the first half) and also how each song felt going in to each other. You've got to have the right exchange of energy between songs, I think.

Expand full comment