Iowa City musician Anthony Worden has a busy couple of months ahead. His band Anthony Worden & The Illiterati will be releasing a live album recorded at one of our favorite places, Iowa City's Englert Theatre. He’s also playing with a new punk band called God’s Hand, and they’re releasing a record in April. Lots to look forward to from Worden, and it starts today with a new music video.
The song “$20” is from Anthony Worden & The Illiterati’s album Plain Angels, released last year. The video was inspired by a trip to Chicago last spring to see a band perform. While there, Worden and his friend had the idea to rent a flatbed truck and capture some images of Chicago’s North Side, as well as a few shots of Logan Square.
“We were focused on getting images of grit and city life,” said Worden. “The song was written with an emphasis on human struggle — how we throw away people in society, how people give so much and get nothing in return, or how we all have in the back of our minds that the climate is going to cause serious struggle sooner than later. It’s such a cliche but it’s almost a universal feeling now.”
"$20" is a great song by itself, and Chicago is an amazing city. The backgound that the city provides in this video is exactly what the song needed.
“As an Iowan, when I go to Chicago and hang out downtown, I see a lot of what I wanted to capture in that song, down to the street sounds that start the track,” said Worden. “Riding the train, you see homeless folks that just ride it all day because they don't have anywhere else to go. I didn't write the song about anyone in particular, but I think that is kind of what I wanted to get at. I don't think we could capture what a true Chicagoan could but I think Pat did a great job melding different images together.”
Anthony Worden & The Illiterati will perform at Octopus College Hill in Cedar Falls Friday night, with Joel Sires and Addison Payne also performing. The album Plain Angels is available on Bandcamp and streaming services, along with the rest of Worden’s music.
