Congress has cut federal funding for public media — a $3.4 million loss for LAist. We count on readers like you to protect our nonprofit newsroom. Become a monthly member and sustain local journalism.
Remembering musician Mimi Parker, co-founder of the rock band Low
Listen
• 3:37
ELISSA NADWORNY, HOST:
Mimi Parker has died. She sang and played drums for a rock band that for nearly 30 years was both a critical and cult favorite.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "LULLABY")
LOW: (Singing) I sang the words I meant.
Support for LAist comes from
AILSA CHANG, HOST:
Mimi Parker co-founded the band Low with her husband Alan Sparhawk. They had known each other since elementary school. They had two children together. Low's first album came out in 1994. Last year Low recently released its 13th album, called "Hey What."
NADWORNY: Their music has often been slow and spare. But it's changed over time. In 2021, Mimi Parker and Alan Sparhawk told NPR producer Lee Hale that after all these years, they were still searching for new ways to create harmonies amid discord.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "HEY")
LOW: (Singing) Told me that I never could contain - went back and wept in the car beneath the shade.
MIMI PARKER: I've been pushing towards the beauty, and I know Alan sometimes focuses on...
ALAN SPARHAWK: Chaos.
Support for LAist comes from
PARKER: ...The chaos.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "HEY")
LOW: (Singing) Maybe that's the last thing you should say. Hey.
PARKER: It's been a challenge to blend that together. And I guess that's maybe what we've been trying to do the whole time.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "MORE")
LOW: (Singing) I gave more than what I should have lost. I paid more than what it would have cost.
SPARHAWK: Mimi's voice really is such a powerful tool to cut through the noise.
Support for LAist comes from
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "MORE")
LOW: (Singing) I want all of what I didn't have.
SPARHAWK: A humanness against the violence.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "MORE")
LOW: (Vocalizing).
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "DAYS LIKE THESE")
LOW: (Singing) When you think you've seen everything...
Support for LAist comes from
SPARHAWK: I mean, I think early on, we knew that that's what we were bringing to it. And, you know, I was immediately - probably the overriding thought for me in the band, especially when it first started, was like, I want to figure out a way to accommodate what you want. I think that we can figure out a way that we both do what we are wanting to happen in music.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "DAYS LIKE THESE")
LOW: (Singing) Everybody just chased by dreams. That's why we're living in days like these again.
PARKER: I mean, it sounds like compromise is what you're describing, but I've never felt like the music...
SPARHAWK: Oh, no.
PARKER: ...That we've created has been a compromise.
SPARHAWK: Yeah. I think it's always beautiful, and it's always as crazy as I've ever...
PARKER: Yeah.
SPARHAWK: ...Beyond my imagination.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "DAYS LIKE THESE")
LOW: (Singing) It isn't something you can choose between. It isn't coming in twos and threes.
CHANG: Mimi Parker and Alan Sparhawk of the band Low. Their latest album "Hey What" was one of NPR Music's best albums of 2021.
NADWORNY: Parker suffered from ovarian cancer. In a statement, Sparhawk urged fans to, quote, "keep her name close and sacred. Share this moment with someone who needs you. Love is indeed the most important thing." She was 55 years old.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "DAYS LIKE THESE")
LOW: (Singing) Maybe never even see, believe. That's why we're living in days like these again. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
As Editor-in-Chief of our newsroom, I’m extremely proud of the work our top-notch journalists are doing here at LAist. We’re doing more hard-hitting watchdog journalism than ever before — powerful reporting on the economy, elections, climate and the homelessness crisis that is making a difference in your lives. At the same time, it’s never been more difficult to maintain a paywall-free, independent news source that informs, inspires, and engages everyone.
Simply put, we cannot do this essential work without your help. Federal funding for public media has been clawed back by Congress and that means LAist has lost $3.4 million in federal funding over the next two years. So we’re asking for your help. LAist has been there for you and we’re asking you to be here for us.
We rely on donations from readers like you to stay independent, which keeps our nonprofit newsroom strong and accountable to you.
No matter where you stand on the political spectrum, press freedom is at the core of keeping our nation free and fair. And as the landscape of free press changes, LAist will remain a voice you know and trust, but the amount of reader support we receive will help determine how strong of a newsroom we are going forward to cover the important news from our community.
Please take action today to support your trusted source for local news with a donation that makes sense for your budget.
Thank you for your generous support and believing in independent news.
Chip in now to fund your local journalism
(
LAist
)
Trending on LAist
-
With less to prove than LA, the city is becoming a center of impressive culinary creativity. -
Nearly 470 sections of guardrailing were stolen in the last fiscal year in L.A. and Ventura counties.
-
Monarch butterflies are on a path to extinction, but there is a way to support them — and maybe see them in your own yard — by planting milkweed.
-
With California voters facing a decision on redistricting this November, Surf City is poised to join the brewing battle over Congressional voting districts.
-
The drug dealer, the last of five defendants to plead guilty to federal charges linked to the 'Friends' actor’s death, will face a maximum sentence of 65 years in prison.
-
The weather’s been a little different lately, with humidity, isolated rain and wind gusts throughout much of Southern California. What’s causing the late-summer bout of gray?
Best of LAist