|
|
|
|
|
|
HOME | ABOUT | BIOS | EMAIL |
|
 |
| |
Friday, May 02, 2008
REELING
Stew
The Naked Dutch Painter and Other Songs
Image Entertainment : 2002
[Buy It]
JEEZ LOUISE
Zumpano
Look What the Rookie Did
Sub Pop : 1995
[Buy It]
Gift horse, mouth: I bitched about spring in my last post and got a week of rain and chill in return. But now the weather may be turning. There's a chance that it'll be the springest spring that every sprang, as the homeless guy muttered to himself as I passed by him this morning. In that spirit I offer two happy pop songs, as befits the springiest spring etc. Though they are quite different--one is Canadian, for godsake--here are five things that the two songs have in common.
1. Both are relatively recent. This is intentional. Last week's selections were all from jazz and popular singers of thirties, forties, and fifties. When my wife read that earlier post, she said, "People will think you're 70," which hurt my feelings as I am only sixty-seven.
2. Both are songs by artists who have gone on to bigger and excellent-but-not-necessarily better things. Stew created the Off- and then On- Broadway musical "Passing Strange," which ensures that more people will know that he is one of the most accomplished (this is a fancy way of saying "best") psychedelic/soul songwriters of the century. Carl Newman, Zumpano's lead singer and main songwriter, went on to form New Pornographers. As it turns out, I prefer the old pornography.
3. Both are indie. I guess. Or are they? See Alex's long, excellent post of earlier this week to resolve the issue. He did the heavy lifting; this post hides behind uplift and light. But if you want to consider the question "What is pop?" to go along with "What is indie?" feel free. Or, better, yet, return to Alex's post and take part in the ongoing colloquy. It is a highly demanding adult conversation that I will not replicate, even in part, here. It seems like the wrong setting. (A friend who read a draft of this post hinted--and then came right out and said--that the process of gushing about pop songs is inherently juvenile. "Teenagery," she said. Maybe. Sourpuss!)
4. Both are perfect. That's why you may find yourself experiencing pleasure when you hear them, or (if you already know them) experiencing both pleasure and the memory of pleasure. They are like girls who are so beautiful that they don't have a bad angle. In fact, I will now irresponsibly and teenagerishly declare that they are the only two songs of the last fifteen years where I wouldn't change a note. For comparison purposes, here are the number of notes I would change in a few other songs:"The Song is the Single": 3
"Endicott": 2
"Generation Landslide": 3
"Nicotine and Gravy": 8
"Albatross": 1
"Badge": 7
"Umbrella": 3
"Small Stakes": .5
"Jambalaya": 82 5. Both are above.Labels: ben, pop
posted by Ben
LINK |
|
|
|
|
|
|
 |
