Memories blossom on Hurray for the Riff Raff’s latest record

There is no way to stop the passage of time or to avoid loss, but there are ways to keep those you’ve lost with you; celebrating them may even make the past feel as vibrant and alive as the present.

That is what Hurray for the Riff Raff songwriter Alynda Segarra aimed to do with their latest album, The Past is Still Alive.

“It’s like you get on the train and you are just watching all of these memories pass you by from out the box car door,” Segarra tells World Cafe during a video call.

In this session, Segarra talks about bringing those memories to life, including the memory of their father, who passed away shortly before they made the album. They also talk about our cultural stories and memories — concepts like the brooding, lone cowboy fascinated Segarra— and how they play with this classic American trope in their music and album art.

This episode of World Cafe was produced and edited by Miguel Perez. Our senior producer is Kimberly Junod and our engineer is Chris Williams. Our programming and booking coordinator is Chelsea Johnson and our line producer is Will Loftus.