Look, we know the “name a more iconic duo” meme is very 2016, but we’re taking it out of retirement, because we dare you to name a more iconic duo than TIFFY and Sad13. The mavens of Massachusetts DIY and alt-rock have teamed up for “IRB,” the latest single from the project of Tiffany Sammy that features Sadie Dupuis (also of Speedy Ortiz fame) on guitar.
But there’s another iconic duo in the studio: Creative passion and burnout. “You’re always on, and they’re all the audience,” Sammy sings on the chorus of “IRB” (short for “indie rock band”). The song’s soft-punk pep belies its exhaustion; “IRB” a slumped-over thumbs-up, a gesture from someone who’s a few frustrations away from tapping out entirely, yet still holding out for the best. Otherwise known as the emotional state of anyone who’s been pursuing a livelihood in the arts for more than five years.
“I wrote this when I felt very burnt out by playing music and being in a band,” Sammy says. “There’s that saying ‘Find a job you enjoy doing, and you will never have to work a day in your life.’ Well, that’s just not true! I love making music and performing, but it is work and energy you expend. All the minutiae just fried me. There’s another famous saying ‘write what you know’ — well, most of what I know is being in a band.”
Tune in below.