Bartees Strange explores his journey from 'Farm to Table'

Anyone still waiting for their dream job will appreciate the meandering career path of Bartees Strange: As a teenager, he seemed to be destined for greatness on the football field in Oklahoma, then ended up... as a spokesman for the F.C.C.

"I was the deputy press secretary, so I did a lot of pitching for the chairman," he tells NPR's Morning Edition. "One of those things was pitching a lot and fielding phone calls from NPR – so shout out to you guys." More work in D.C. followed: "After that it was the labor movement and then the climate movement, for about 10 years."

Now, Bartees Strange is one of the hottest names in what you might call "alternative rock," the subject of glowing profiles and recognition from indie stars like Phoebe Bridgers and Courtney Barnett.

Stylistically, there's a little bit of everything in his music – a subject that he's covered in many interviews. But on a new album, Farm to Table, he explains that the subject of family has taken center stage.

This interview has been edited and condensed. The broadcast version of this conversation will air Mon., June 20.

Leila Fadel, Morning Edition: On this new album you're writing a lot about family, so first I want to get to know them a little bit. Your dad's a scientist with the military and your mom's a musician and educator?

Bartees Strange: My dad was an engineer in the military, but now he works at FEMA. My mom, she was an opera singer and an educator her entire life.

FEMA... that's not an easy job these days.

No, it's not. He works on the flood program – oh my gosh yeah, it's a tough gig.

So there's a song, "Heavy Heart," and in it