Written by Adrianne Lenker,[11] the song's lyrics uses negation to describe something,[12] with Lenker repeating the use of "not" or "nor" at the beginning of each line.[13]Bob Boilen of NPR described the song's subject as "the inability to describe what that something is, only to be able to explain what it is not."[14]
The second half of the song is instrumental and features a guitar solo played by Lenker.[15]
Performances
"Not" was performed live by Big Thief on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert on October 10, 2019.[16] Claire Shaffer of Rolling Stone described the performance as a "hard-rock spin" on the song with "distorted" guitars and "manic" drums, comparing Adrianne Lenker's "wailing" vocals to that of emo music.[17] Ben Kaye of Consequence of Sound called it "an impassioned performance that demonstrated why they're one of the most engaging groups to emerge from the folk scene in some time."[18]
The band performed "Not" as well as "Two Hands" and "Forgotten Eyes" on CBS This Morning on October 26, 2019, as part of the program's Saturday Sessions segment.[19][20][21]
Critical reception
The song was praised by Pitchfork, who named it Best New Track upon release and called it "a towering statement from a group constantly leapfrogging over themselves."[22]BBC Music compared Lenker's guitar solo to that of "Neil Young at his peak."[23]
The song was also cited as one of Barack Obama's favorite songs of 2019 in a Spotify playlist compiled by Obama at the end of the year.[24]
"Not" appeared in several publications' year-end lists. NPR Music named it the best song of 2019 with Bob Boilen writing, "No song in 2019 felt more searing, more perfect, than 'Not'".[14]
In November 2019, "Not" was covered by Matt Berninger, vocalist and frontman of The National, during a solo live performance at the sixth annual Dream Serenade benefit concert in Toronto.[34][35][36]
On September 4, 2020, Hamilton Leithauser released the live album Live! at Café Carlyle, collecting 10 recordings made during his residency at the New York City Café Carlyle. It includes a cover of "Not".[40][41]
Personnel
Credits adapted from the liner notes of Two Hands.[11]
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