Colin Caulfield, known primarily for hosting the hit television series Gardening With Colin and also for playing bass and keys in DIIV, has released a new single. “Second to None” is a delicate and feathery soft rock tune with beautifully layered vocal harmonies during its catchy and tender hook.
Upon first listen, I thought the song may have been a loving ode to the cat who has been frequently visiting Colin’s garden, as his Instagram stories have been documenting an increasingly stronger bond between to the two. Taking a closer look reveals more serious matters within the lyrics. Said Colin about the song, in a chat with Atwood Magazine:
“I wrote this song in 2018 after hearing about a string of drug overdoses in the NYC artist community. Time goes by and death unfortunately becomes normal. All you can do is reach out to the people you still have and cherish your time with them. ‘Second to None’ is about needing to tell someone you care about them and how sometimes it takes something terrible to remind us of what’s important.”
Our current world of pandemic-prompted distancing gives the song a greater relevancy, as never before has staying touch with those we can care been more important. And while other artists have been releasing music now with messages fitting of our time, many are going for the home run swing approach of assembling a huge team of musicians to come together for a song with the tone of “we are the world and we are all in this together”. These ambitious campaigns have been successfully in raising lots of awareness and donations to causes that need them. It’s important to look out at the larger world and think about how we can help make things better, but we can also direct that same gaze at the immediate world we lives within and the person-to-person relationships that we have. Although making a positive impact on lives of others can be a big showy gesture, it doesn’t have to be. Sometimes all it takes is a phone call.
Listen to the song below and reach out to someone you care about.