Exclusive: Grandaddy’s Jason Lytle Shares New Song, “Don’t Wanna Be There for All That Stuff”

When we spoke to Jason Lytle back in 2017, he characterized his solo music as “whiny and introspective” in comparison to the “vague and mysterious” lyricism he brought to his band Grandaddy’s songwriting. On Lytle’s new solo album, Arthur King Presents Jason Lytle: NYLONANDJUNO, he takes the best of both approaches, creating lilting, dioramic songs both panoramic and personal.

The latest track and video from Lytle, the meditative “Don’t Wanna Be There For All That Stuff,” is premiering here at Paste today. Set to a quietly droning synth, Lytle meanders through a valley of emotion and spirituality with only his plucked acoustic guitar. In an email, he explains that he let himself use only those instruments on the record, something he feared constraining his work when it actually revealed new depth:

I don’t feel that by constraining myself to the two instruments really kept me from entering into the songs or hitting certain emotions. I just felt I had to work a little harder and maybe slow down and let myself really listen and to feel what the subtle shifts and smaller nuances were doing to my head, and how that related to whatever the song was about … or what I was trying to write it about. I told myself early on: I definitely intend on using the nylon guitar and the Juno synth in any possible capacity and I was worried I would run out of tones or options … but at this point I feel like I barely scratched the surface of what this instrument combo could have done.

NYLONANDJUNO will also be part of a gallery installation put on by Los Angeles-based art collective Arthur King at 98 Orchard in New York City, opening Aug. 15 and running until Aug. 21. Part of the exhibition will be the film made by Mind Palace, the trio comprised of writer/director Ryan Baxley, set designer Brandon Schwartzel and photographer Alice Baxley.

Lytle explains that Mind Palace was a natural fit for the project: “I was already made aware of their ability and strength at being very resourceful, inventive and even kinda scrappily charming in their creative process.” Lytle gave the trio sketches of what he thought the songs would look like, and that when he finally saw the finished result, he was so amazed he “could get shivers, even teary-eyed by this type of thing. It’s all so rough and cobbled together and playful even … but it’s still so sweet and sad and expansive.”

You can watch the video for “Don’t Wanna Be There For All That Stuff” below. Arthur King Presents Jason Lytle: NYLONANDJUNO is due out on Aug. 16 via Dangerbird Records. You can find out more about the exhibition here, then keep scrolling to find a 2009 Lytle performance from the Paste vault and his new album’s tracklisting.

Arthur King Presents Jason Lytle: NYLONANDJUNO Tracklist:
1. Hitch Your Wagon To A Falling Star
2. Change Of Address / 433 Eros
3. Geese Over Sunlight Ace
4. Don’t Wanna Be There For All That Stuff
5. Dry Gulched On Rodeo Drive
6. 15 Items Or Lesson You
7. Iris Leader Evening Footage
8. Headed To The No Light District