“I like rivers, I like rivers.” That’s how Aesop Rock opens “By The River,” his new song, and that line is not figurative. Aes, the veteran underground-rap eccentric, is getting ready to release his new album Integrated Tech Solutions, and we’ve already posted first single “Mindful Solutionism.” That song is a slightly satiric discussion of humanity’s history with technology. “By The River,” by contrast, is literally just a song about how Aesop Rock likes rivers.
Aesop Rock produced “By The River” himself, and he spends most of the song listing all the pleasant sights that you might find at a river: “Sailboats, fisherman, skinny-dipping swimmers/ Kids turning rocks over, catching little critters / Eagle in the pine tree, eyeballing dinner.” He describes a brief moment of eye-contact connection that he once had with a beaver. He says some funny things about New York’s East River: “It’s not the kinda water where you’d throw a Triple Lindy/ If you get some on your skin, they probably notify your siblings.” It’s a charming song, and you can hear it below.
Integrated Tech Solutions is out 11/10 on Rhymesayers.
