SHOWCASE: PATRICK PARK

"But I hope I''m around to see when your cracks start to show, and you finally take your turn choking on the seeds you've sown."


Patrick Park, a talented singer with two albums under his belt, is probably best known for his songs being featured on former trendsetter The O.C. One of these, 'Life is a Song', was even the final song played on the series, where the music was like another castmember. This is important because the music supervisor on The OC, and later Grey's Anatomy, was my hero Alexandra Patsavas, and finds like Park are the reason why I hold this woman in such high esteem.

I myself learned about Park after his song grabbing the coveted final spot in the OC's series finale, but little did I know that it would be just the beginning. A bit of a hunt brought me his other OC-featured song, 'Something Pretty'. Both songs took a while to grow on me, but a month or so later I spent the whole hour-long drive to visit my sister listening to his two CDs, and I'd realised this guy was someone I really, really enjoyed listening to.

His stuff isn't flashy or exciting in the conventional sense, but his strength is in his simplicity. It's mostly him and a guitar, with little more in a way of background to his fantastic vocals and lyrics. I've detected religious undertones in his songs, but unlike many he doesn't use music as a soap box to preach about God, it just feels like another subtle piece of him in his music, just like his anti-war sentiments that I agree more with. He's sitting at a healthy #24 on my LastFM list, and I'm hoping he'll continue to rise as I listen.

Patrick Park - Life's a Song (Sendspace link)
This is a song about not taking life for granted, but without fearing death; of living in the now instead of chaining yourself to your past; and refusing to be a hypocrite by preaching a good afterlife and yet fearing death. I myself make no apologies for my atheistic beliefs, but I agree with Park that no matter what, life is a miracle and it should be celebrated, not wasted while we twitch at every possible threat to our well-bring.

Patrick Park - Something Pretty (Sendspace link)
His other best-known song, Something Pretty comes from the perspective of a road-weary traveller ready to set down his burden, leave behind his loneliness, and find some sort of beauty in the world. It's a song of epiphany, of personal revelation and, ultimately, moving beyond your flaws to become something better.

Patrick Park - Pawn Song (Sendspace link)
Quite possibly my favourite song from Park, this is a rousing anti-war song reminding us of the dehumanising effect of armed combat. It describes an unspecified revolution, where the men march in the streets ready to be mowed down by the stronger enemy without any true thought, the person inside lost to the machine of war. It reminds us ultimately that while 'some fool's still thinking there peace at the end of a gun', the soldiers lose something vital they'll probably never get back.

Patrick Park - Business of Oblivion (Sendspace link)
A newer song, though the release from whence it comes is a mystery to me. It's a bit more rough'n tumble and directly political than most of Park's work, sharing some of 'Pawn's anti-war sentiments while condemning the idea of conformity for conformity's sense. It touches on the war, on global warming and environmentalism, but it all comes down to the heartless businessmen running the world's economy, viewing the world as a 'generator', taking what they can and watching the dominoes fall in their wake.

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Patrick Park is an outstanding musician, and I'm betting this is only the beginning. His latest album came out this year, which means new material should be rare for a while, but I'll be waiting. While I do, get your hands on his CDs and enjoy.