Track-by-Track: Shitty Person Dishes on Their Record ‘Dignity’

Great records are always bolstered by great talent, like with the new Shitty Person EP Dignity. In a sense, this is just the solo project of songwriter Benjamin Thomas-Kennedy. But rather than guide the ship entirely alone, Thomas-Kennedy enlists the services of some true talent to help him write and record. Dignity features contributions from various musicians, most notably Tad Doyle, leader of the influential early grunge rock band TAD. Thomas-Kennedy recorded this album with Doyle at the latter’s home in Seattle. It also features the contributions of members of Master Musicians of Bukkake and Diminished Men. Various talented and reputable session musicians also contributed to this record, creating a handful of songs that meditate on shame and self-judgement.

Dignity is the follow-up to the Shitty Person debut Judgement, released back in 2018. Sonically, it is certainly a different record, but Thomas-Kennedy doesn’t want it to be viewed as a new direction. He has no real intention of etching out a defined sound or style for Shitty Person. He wants it to be a project that has no final form, one that has the freedom to move wherever he so pleases. Although his songwriting for this project tends to lean on the cynical side, there is a dash of hope within this release. After all, Thomas-Kennedy didn’t decide to title it Dignity for no reason.

Joining us today is Benjamin Thomas-Kennedy for an exclusive track-by-track rundown of Dignity, wherein he describes the origins and nature behind each song.

1. “Hedonistic”

Benjamin Thomas-Kennedy: “‘Hedonistic’ is the first new song I’ve written in years and the reason I was compelled to make this EP in the first place. Until vetoed by the rest of the band, it was originally called ‘Hedonistic Party Town,’ but neither title really does much to sum up its themes. My writing style tends to be stream of consciousness, but from what I can gather, the song is the story of a breakup with a phantom deity.

“Our protagonist trades his god for a life of immediate pleasure and in doing so stumbles upon a partner in crime. A love story emerges wherein a pair of lovers work to shed their maladaptive attempts at dopamine and rediscover each other in the process. It’s a heartwarming love story that manages to include the phrase ‘messy old fuck man.’ Classic Shitty Person.”

2. “Maurine”

“‘Maurine’ is one of the last songs I ever recorded with an old band I was in 20 years ago called The Ben Kennedys. Since it was never released, I was excited to tackle it with this crew. I guess it’s a love song too, but with a much sadder ending.

“Stylistically, it comes across as more wholesome than most Shitty Person material. But its acceptance of shame as the rightful victor over love brings that bummer-factor that this project savors so much.”

3. “Just Succeed”

“‘Just Succeed’ is from that same The Ben Kennedys era. It’s about the often misplaced anger brought on by a loved one’s failed suicide attempt. Like so much of this material, it was written from a misinformed part of the self that bypasses cognition and doesn’t have access to the full range of one’s value system. It’s always real, but not always right. It’s really just an attempt to make pain sounds as beautiful as possible. (Guitarist) Jim’s (Davis) solo still stabs me in the heart every time.”

4. “Clowns”

“‘Clowns’ is a cover of a brilliant song by Seattle’s University District legend Casey Snabel. No one else can make ‘dope souls fit’ seem like a perfectly reasonable thing to say. The earnest hope of this track feels eerily out of place on this EP, which I really like. (Cellist) Lori (Goldstone) and (vocalist) Allison (Eltrich) did an incredible job lushing out Casey’s staccato guitar writing style. And Simon (Henneman) honoured the source material’s melodica solo with a unique mastery that only he possesses.”

Shitty Person ‘Dignity’ album artwork

5. “Bottomhole”

“‘Bottomhole’ is a reimagining of the song ‘Butthole’ from our full-length debut album Judgement. It’s about the fact that the Judeo-Christian god acts like a dick constantly and everyone is just fine with it because he’s big or whatever. It may be a losing battle to go up against him; but it’s absurd to take that shit lying down. Nicole and (drummer) Dave (Abramson) bring loads of sluggish desperation to this one.”

6. “Dumbshit”

“‘Dumbshit’ is another reworking of a song from the full-length. Like ‘Hedonistic,’ it’s a study in self destruction as coping. This version removes the fun factor that the rock version has so that there can be room for more suffering. The song ends the EP with field recordings of actual suffering captured while I was getting my head stapled back together in the ER.”