STUDS #7💪: Homesick

Guest contributor Kristin DeMarr joins me to discuss 5 songs of longing for home

Hi Wormheads!

For this latest installment of the STUDS series, I have a very special guest collaborator.

Kristin DeMarr, who writes the captivatingly personal and musical All the Things She Said newsletter, came to me with the perfect entry for Same Title Utterly Different Song.

No songs came to my mind right off the bat, but Kristin had two well-known tracks prepared to get us started. I’m sure some of you might have come up with one or more of our five finalists (plus the two bonus picks). Or perhaps another one we hadn’t thought of. YouTube/Spotify playlists of all these songs can be found at the end of this post.

Before we get to this week’s STUDS #7, I wanted to share the results from STUDS #6: “Superstar.”

Lavender Sound (Max Freedman) was my guest, and we explored 5 superstar Superstars. Did we get a clear winner?

Nope! The Superstar STUDS crown goes to both Jamelia and Lauryn Hill! Did you get your vote in for this one? Come on, let’s get more than 11 votes for STUDS #7!

Not Sick, Not Home

Steve: Kristin, welcome! What is your song title choice, and how did it come to you?

Kristin: Hi Steve! Thank you so much for inviting readers to collaborate on this series! It was very timely because earlier that day (when you sought collaborators), I was thinking about two songs with the same title: “Homesick.”

I had been putting together a playlist for a different kind of collab, and as I put the song “Homesick” by The Cure on it, I was also (still am!) in the midst of a complete and total Noah Kahan obsession and had been playing his song titled “Homesick” quite a bit. So, I was like, “Hey! Same Title, Utterly Different Song!” I don’t think The Cure and Noah Kahan could be any different from each other! And the songs themselves have only the similarity of the title.

Steve: I can’t believe The Cure’s “Homesick” didn’t come to mind for me, as Disintegration is probably in my top-10 albums of all time. And this song gives me the chills every time I hear it. Even thinking about it can elicit full-body goosebumps.

I think I came to “Homesick” late, like many fans, as it was not included on the original vinyl release of Disintegration. It is on the CD (which is the format I have) as a bonus track and is now available on a double-vinyl reissue.

What do you love about The Cure and Disintegration/”Homesick”?

Kristin: Disintegration would also be in my top 10 albums of all time! I just remember driving around, listening to it super loud in my car and letting the music surround me. I’m not surprised “Homesick” didn’t immediately come to your mind because the title doesn’t appear within the song anywhere. The closest is:

“Inspire in me the desire in me to never go home/To never go home”

So, it’s not even about being homesick? Kind of about not wanting to go home?

Steve: That is so Robert Smith to have a song title that is thematically the opposite of the lyrics! This song reads to me like it’s about the end of a relationship, of having one more romp in the hay before saying goodbye. The line “All the everything you win turns to nothing today” symbolizes that for me. It’s interesting to try to determine who the “I” and the “you” are in this song. It kind of feels like the same person. I did some research, and Robert Smith said this song is about the attraction of forbidden fruit. So who knows?

Kristin: I agree with your interpretation here. “Just one more and I’ll walk away” really made me think of that last romp, lol. So, an affair, or “forbidden fruit,” also makes sense — especially with the lyrics I quoted above. I probably never would have read it that way, mostly because I had just graduated from high school and was interpreting it through my own experience of still living at home.

Steve: You mentioned that Noah Kahan’s “Homesick” also inspired you to choose this song title. What is it about his song that connects with you?

Kristin: I’ve been completely obsessed with Noah Kahan since I heard “Dial Drunk” a couple of years ago. Whenever I would have my Alexa play “Dial Drunk,” it would follow with more Noah Kahan songs, and this was one (of quite a few) that really stood out to me and quickly became a favorite. I spent about 8 years living in northern Wisconsin, which seems somewhat similar weather-wise (cold most of the year). And the lines: ”The weather ain’t been bad/If you’re into masochistic bullshit,” make me laugh and remind me of the weather in northern Wisconsin (which I will never be homesick for!).

Steve: I had never heard this song before, but I like it. His voice reminds me a bit of Brett Dennen. I love the lines: “I got dreams, but I can’t make myself believe them / Spend the rest of my life with what could have been.” It’s about, I think, how it can seem like the place you grew up in hasn’t grown up, yet you are compelled to go back. Where “time moves so slowly, you can feel your organs failing.” That line confused me at first, because I would think that time moving super fast would make me feel like my organs were failing. But I prefer time moving slowly, so that might be my bias.

Kristin: I’m not familiar with Brett Dennen, so going to have to check him out. Noah Kahan is such an incredible lyricist! So many lines in this song are so great! And the more context you have through other songs and other information about him, the more interesting they get. I do think you hit on what this song is about. There are a lot of lyrics in other songs talking about people moving on or not moving on… generally, the ones who move on are the ones who also move away, or it seems like that to me, anyway.

Steve: I definitely figured out who I was after moving away from home. I need to dive deeper into Noah’s music!

Since we found so many great “Homesick” songs, The Cure and Noah Kahan won’t make our 5-Artist ballot, but we’d love to get your thoughts on those songs as well as the others we’re about to share with you.

So let’s jump into our five contestants for the STUDS ballot.

STUD #1: Durand Bernarr, VIC MENSA

Kristin: I had never heard of Durand Bernarr or Vic Mensa before. And I’m pretty surprised to see it’s a song from 2026! It sounds like it was taken right from the 70s R&B/Funk/Soul (not sure what the right genre is here lol). It reminds me of Marvin Gaye or Isaac Hayes. It totally has that “Let’s Get it On” vibe.

Steve: I was familiar with Vic Mensa. Not super familiar, but he’s been a part of the Chicago rap scene for more than a decade. He has written about his sobriety for a few years now. He seems to do a lot of collaborations, like this one with Durand Bernarr.

I can’t believe I wasn’t familiar with Bernarr, especially as his brand of new neo soul is totally my thing. He’s even won a Grammy and has performed and recorded with Erykah Badu, the Internet, Anderson .Paak, and many others.

And yes, he released his 4th album, Bernarr. a couple of months ago, and I’m listening to it as I type this. So far, I’m loving it. I can see it making my top-10 at the end of the year. It’s way more varied, stylistically and lyrically, than I expected.

And here’s where I’ll repeat my bad joke/pun….he needs to record an album with Durand Jones (of Durand Jones and the Indications fame) and call their project….wait for it….Durand Durand.

Is that the sound of crickets, awe, or groans?

“Homesick” is totally a bedroom jam. It’s full of sexy lines, like: “I’ll admit that I need your touch / Just the thought of the sheets on my body / That’s when the real party’s starting / It’s that kind of night.” The homesickness referenced here is “home, sick without your love.”

As a queer-identified artist, this song reads mostly straight (“She wild/she wanna get planked in the nude”), but he does show up to the party in furs, and later says — in probably my favorite line of the song — “I’m the shit, but I can’t fertilizer.” I love that many modern bedroom jams are fluid, and that it’s not a pose; it’s more “anyone can be invited.”

Kristin: So this one is kind of in line with the Cure’s “Homesick” lol. But definitely more about the person who can’t wait to get home to get in bed with their person. He’s out at some fancy party (“dressed to the nine”), but just wants to be home - which makes me wonder why his lady didn’t go with him? And there is a section where he says, “Why I got my location on, you got yours off?/That feels inequitable/I’m in the club and these girls half-naked.” Hmmmm… But, yeah, he still just really wants to get home and in the sheets with his lady.

Steve: Indeed. I need some cooling off. What’s our next track?

STUD #2 - Kings of Convenience

Kristin: I’d never heard of Kings of Convenience before. These guys totally remind me so much of Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young. This one I would put more in line with Noah Kahan’s “Homesick” in some ways. It has those beautiful folk harmonies.

Steve: I get a lot more Simon and Garfunkel than anyone else. This song feels like it’s been around since the late 60s. Before looking at the lyrics, the music filled me with a wave of nostalgia that almost overwhelmed me. Just two guitars and two voices, and I have an intense desire to hug the person next to me. Or be hugged by them.

This Norwegian duo has been around since 2000, though they’ve taken extended breaks between records several times. I was tangentially aware of them and their sound, but hadn’t intentionally listened to any of their music. This definitely changed after discovering them in our “Homesick” song search. I played their 2004 “Riot on an Empty Street” album, on which this song is the first track, and it enveloped me like a cozy blanket on a chilly night.

I could be wrong, but I think this is kind of a band origin story song. The first verse details discovering an album (that hints at Simon and Garfunkel) in a box of records in a parent’s house as a young adult. And then it jumps forward years later, with the narrator “searching boxes underneath the counter / On a chance that I’d find / A song for someone / Who needs somewhere to long for.”

Kristin: Oooh yes! Simon and Garfunkel too! It does sound somewhat like a band origin story! I listened a few times before checking the lyrics, and now I want to go down a rabbit hole of researching the meaning. When I checked the lyrics, the second two lines of “But I can’t stop listening to the sound/Of two soft voices blended in perfection/From the reels of this record that I’ve found” were highlighted, and when I clicked it, it said that the lines were meta and talking about the singers themselves. So, that’s interesting. (genius.com).

I will definitely have to check out more of their stuff! They are very comforting!

Steve: This song conjures the feeling of homesickness about as perfectly as I can imagine. To return to the band you referenced earlier, it brings to mind CSNY’s “Our House,” which is kind of a homesick anthem.

I moved around a fair bit as a child and teen, so homesickness is less a feeling of longing for a physical structure or place than a feeling of being free. Free from the encumbrances of adulthood. Earning a living, paying bills, cooking meals, caring for kids, or elderly parents.

What does homesickness bring up for you?

Kristin: A lot really! We moved a couple of times when I was young, but then spent most of my childhood in one home (from 2nd grade through high school), so in some ways that place will always be where home is for me. My mom moved us out one night while my stepdad was at work. I spent a long time after moving from there feeling like nothing ever felt like home again and missing that feeling, if that makes sense?

During my first year of an MA program at the University of Arizona was when 9/11 happened, and that made me homesick for my family, so my ideas of “home” switched from a specific physical place to becoming more about just being around family. Tucson felt a world away from my family in Iowa. I ended up taking a leave of absence there and moving back to Iowa. I finished my MA at a college here and got married the same year.

A year or two into the marriage, we moved to Northern Wisconsin to be close to my ex’s “home,” which is probably a little bit different, as it was more about a place of belonging for him. He was born and raised on the Lac Courte O’Reilles reservation.

I felt homesick a lot while we were there.

Steve: Yeah, you are showing that homesick can mean different things at different times in life and represent both a physical location and an emotional one.

I’m curious what “homesick” means to our readers. What stories and emotions do these songs conjure?

STUD #3: Atlanta Rhythm Section

Steve: My association with ARS is with their more Yacht Rock-oriented hits, “So Into You,” and “Imaginary Lover.” Songs I love, but are definitely slicker with a perfect blend of R&B and smooth rock. “Homesick” is way more Lynyrd Skynyrd than Little River Band. The guitar riff that starts this song and returns throughout is thick and sweet, like molasses sweet. It’s a riff that has become an earworm for me. This song is from their 1981 LP Quinella. Most of their recognizable songs are from the ‘70s, so this is just past their heyday, but having listened to the entire album, I’d say Quinella might be their best. I say this having not listened to their entire catalog, so let’s amend my comment to: I was more than pleasantly surprised by how end-to-end inspired this southern rock album is.

Kristin: I hadn’t heard of Atlanta Rhythm Section. The funny thing is, the whole time I was thinking this song reminds me a lot of “Sweet Home Alabama.” And I’m not super well-versed in that genre, so I just checked to see who sang “Sweet Home Alabama,” and, yeah, Lynyrd Skynyrd. I know I should know this, but sadly, if you asked me to name a Lynyrd Skynyrd song, I wouldn’t be able to. But just now looking at their songs, I absolutely know quite a few (and love them!) LOL! I’ll have to check out the Atlanta Rhythm Section’s more “Yacht Rock” stuff.

I like how the lyrics here are “He’s homesick for days back home/Homesick for home, sweet home/Yes, he is,” which is almost a call to “Sweet Home Alabama.”

And “Where were you in ‘69?” I was born in ‘69!!

STUD #4: Grace VanderWaal

Steve: I had never heard of Grace VanderWaal before. I can’t recall if you or I found her song.

I love the spare production, the voice and guitar, with added light percussion and some keyboards on the later verses. It’s only two and a half minutes long, which feels too short, as it was building and expanding emotionally, and then it just stops. I guess that accurately represents the feeling of “all I ever wanted/never did exist at all,” which is a great line. But I do feel like this could have been a 5-minute epic, slowly building even more, and then maybe stripping itself back down at the end.

Kristin: I don’t remember who found this one either! But, I love it! She’s right up my alley! After hearing this, I started following her and saved her albums and EPs to listen to later. “Homesick” is a very short song, and yes, the abrupt ending is like, wait…I don’t think you were done there! And checking Spotify to see if it glitched.

With the lyrics, I also would have liked the song to go on longer because I have questions! It’s a bit hard to determine whether she is homesick for a childhood she wished she had vs what she did have: “I’m craving arms that never held me like a mother/Whose love’s so safe, it’s deadly” or whether it’s about not having a child… “by a child who never was.” But, honestly, the more I read the lyrics, the more I’m thinking she’s homesick for the childhood she wished she had.

Steve: So I did some more research and discovered that Grace had won America’s Got Talent when she was 12 years old! She sang and played the ukulele. I’m glad I learned this after listening to this song, as it might have influenced my appreciation (just a little bit). And it makes me read into the lyrics of this song a bit more closely, knowing that Grace’s childhood was definitely altered by this experience.

STUD #5 - Jobi Riccio

Steve: I really wanted to include this gorgeous track by Jobi Riccio. I became a big fan of hers after hearing her perform live on the radio at an Americana festival a couple of years ago. I had no idea who she was, only that her songwriting and her voice were hitting me deeply. I ended up sitting in my car for 20 minutes outside my house, waiting for her or the event host to reintroduce her. After they said their name, I immediately went inside and streamed her 2023 album, Whiplash. If I’d heard it in 2023, it would have made my top-10.

That her biggest musical influences are John Prine and Joni Mitchell makes perfect sense.

Her brand-new album, Face the Feeling, was just released, and it’s rawer, with a no-nonsense energy that reminded me of Lucinda Williams. I need more time with it to decide if it’s as good as Whiplash, but there’s no denying that Jobi is the real deal. Expect to see her name for decades to come.

Kristin: I love that you sat in your car until she was reintroduced! I would have totally done the same. When I hear things I like, I must know who it is! I get soooo frustrated when my Shazam doesn’t catch something! It will bug me for the rest of my life!! There was one day at a brewery where everything that came on was right up my alley, and I was trying to Shazam every song - Shazam only caught one, and it was “Sometimes” by Mannequin Pussy. I talked to the bartender, and she said it was another bartender’s Spotify, not a “station” or playlist or anything - that she just plays a song and lets it go. The other bartender was on a break; otherwise, I may have asked her to share her Spotify history lol. (It took a lot of restraint not to go try to find her! LOL).

And, I have to say, if I had heard anything by Jobi Riccio before, I would have needed to know who she was immediately. She is also right up my alley, and I absolutely love this track!! I will also be checking out her entire catalog.

Her voice (and music) reminds me a bit of Jewel. Maybe a little more production, but it definitely has that same great folk vibe. And after listening to her new album “Face the Feeling,” she was reminding me a bit of Julia Steiner from the Ratboys.

Her idea of homesickness within this song is one I can absolutely understand (if I’m interpreting it correctly). It seems to be a nostalgic desire to return to “home” at a specific time (the childhood-teenage years). “Homesick for a home I don’t have/Heartsick for a life I can never get back.” Like, when we become adults and move out, life gets so much more complicated, and we kind of lose something in the process (even though we also gain a lot).

Steve: Thanks so much, Kristin, for this perfect STUDS choice and for joining me here to discuss these great songs and dive into a juicy topic.

Kristin: Thank you so much, Steve, for the opportunity to join you for a STUDS episode! What a fantastic way to be exposed to some great artists who might otherwise have been missed!

• I hope you really give these Homesick candidates a good listen and vote, vote, vote!

• Maybe I should create “I Voted For STUDS” stickers? Would anyone buy one if I did?

• What song/s stood out for you here? Were you familiar with any of these?

• And I’d love to hear your stories of feeling homesick. Come leave a comment and join the discussion!

• Next time we will have Mark Nash as a special guest for STUDS. If you’d like to be a part of this, shoot me a message or email, and we will make it happen!