Nashville-based band The Tell-Alls present their latest single, “Modern Day Mother Teresa,” an indie-folk ode to the selfless nurses and healthcare heroes of the COVID-19 pandemic who have risked their own lives to save countless others.
Over the last 2 years, there have been countless events that have inspired a seemingly endless amount of art, musical or otherwise. The pandemic alone has delivered modern masterpieces from across the entire artistic spectrum, ranging from the dark and despairing (think Bo Burnham’s Inside) to the tranquil and optimistic (thank goodness for Taylor Swift). Kenny Buono with his project, the Tell-Alls, offers up his own inspired piece of sunshine, a wonderful George-Harrison-in-Laurel-Canyon style homage to our world’s true, undisputed heroes – healthcare workers. “Modern Day Mother Teresa” is a tribute as well as a documentation of what these workers have been put through, serving as a reminder to the rest of us who have had it relatively easy, considering. “Another double shift in the ICU/When PPE gets low, reuse.” Our doctors and nurses have shown up every single day and answered the call no matter how tired, hopeless, or defeated they may feel in order to protect us. The Tell-Alls want us all to take a minute to reach out and make sure we say thank you.
Musically, this song is a beautiful bouquet of flowers. It’s a light, acoustic-rock track that just really brings a smile to your face; all of it a big nod & a wink to the Traveling Wilburys. It doesn’t bend genres, it doesn’t reinvent the wheel, it doesn’t sound like nothing you’ve ever heard before. However, Buono set a goal to write a song that would honor our heroes, make them feel seen, and maybe put a quick smile on their face. That mission was accomplished, and that is the deciding factor of great art.
Kenny and the Tell-Alls project know what they do well, and on “Modern Day Mother Teresa” they don’t pretend to be something they’re not. This song is authentic, honest, and true and that is all we should ask of our artists and songwriters. So thank you to the Tell-Alls, but most importantly thank you to our healthcare workers.
Written by Tim Clark
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