Yep. Another one. Screw you all. Both of you. Maybe. This is what happens when I get no feedback.
Song #1: Cousins by Vampire Weekend (Contra, 2010, Track 7)
Well, somehow Vampire Weekend has managed to be picked twice in a row, which is quite strange given the fact they only have the two albums on my MP3 player, as compared to about a half-dozen Ben Folds albums or collections.
Well, the music is as lively as to be expected from a Vampire Weekend song, once again containing
( bar drums and guitar) no instruments I can identify. To be perfectly honest, I don't enjoy this song as much as "Mansard Roof". Both are fantastic songs, don't get me wrong, but this song just doesn't do it for me as much musically. Still, lively, jumpy and generally fantastic.
I've already been over the vocals of Koenig. A plesant contrast to over the top, fantastical music, as the vocals are firm and rather to the point. Plesant enough. The opening of the song certainly shows he puts a lot of effort into his singing.
Now, lyrics. If you thought the meaning of "Mansard Roof" was about as clear as mud, you've seen nothing. "Cousins", just like the previous Vampire weekend song can have three interpretations:
1. Defending the somewhat wealthier backgrounds the group are often criticized about having, showing how they have to act different and turn their backs on their heritage. I don't quite follow the logic of the arguement.
2. A discussion of heritage in general, how people react to their families and heritages, whether they're rich or poor. I get it, but it's still a pretty damn broad interpretation of an entire song.
3. My personal choice, this song seems to basically be a song-length middle finger to music critics. The line that absolutely cinches this for me is "You greatest hits 2006, little list-maker". For the record, I reviewed the Hottest 100 of 2007, so clearly I'm not the target of this song. Whatever the take on the song, it is as usual filled with strange but fascinating imagery, and basically a life of its own.
Song #2: Pull The String by Jonathan Coulton (Thing A Week Four, 2006, Track 11)
A brief warning. This may be the most obscure track to have appeared in a 3 Songs so far. To put that in perspective, I have looked at one of the worst (I hope) Kinks tracks from an album in the sixties, and this song seems to be more obscure. What is my basis for this? I have a website which I use for both lyrics and song meanings, inventively named Song Meanings. This is the first track to not appear there so far. That's pretty damn obscure, especially considering that they have 79 other Jonathan Coulton songs.
Now, the music in this track is absolutely phenonminal, with soft rock or even pop style backing music.This is, unlike the majority of Coulton's work, not a parody or comedic song, and I really think he is more than capable of pulling it off. If the vocals were more mundane, I'd easily write this off as the latest single from an indie rock act attempting to appeal to a mainstream crowd. That's just what it sounds like to me.
The vocals, even for Coulton, are outstanding. He manages to put an incredible amount of emotion in a song which could easily have failed without it. As previously stated, Coulton is a fantastic singer most of the time, but he really went the extra mile with this track.
Lyrically, this song is rather basic, but still interesting. The song seems to be about a celebrity who has become famous through something no-one can figure out, which seems to have a dark side, the revelation of which could end their fame. The last verse seems to indicate that they either commited suicide or "pulled the string" in a grand move, rendering them fameless. I might be taking this too literally, however. The song could have many different interpretations about fame, life, love, reality or secrets, but I won't go into these too much as I figure that different interpretations work for different people. My personal interpretation is that the character is a work of fiction, brought into existence by media and imagination, which takes on a life of its own, sustained only be speculation and gossip, as any hard facts would destroy the character. All in all, a very interesting and broad set of lyrics.
Song #3: Deeper Water by Paul Kelly (Deeper Water, 1995, Track 5)
Now, I probably haven't had much of a discussion of the fantastic work of Paul Kelly yet on this blog, mainly because the genre is normally far from what I normally discuss. Basically, Kelly manages to discuss the themes present in Australian country and folk, but makes the music much more accessable. He is one of the greatest songwriters in Australian history. Not debateable. "Deeper Water" just happens to be my favourite Paul Kelly track, so I'll try to keep myself unbiased.
Musically, this song is soft rock, with a basic guitar and drum set up. A decent, well rounded sound aided by the occasional use of a piano. The way in which the music reflects the incidents being described in the song is fantastic. The music managing to slow and grow at appropriate times is quite brilliant. A basic sound used to great effect.
Vocally, Kelly is just fantastic. His voice is simple and undramatic. For example, Jonathan Coulton is very emotional about what he's singing about, and shows it through his voice. Kelly doesn't focus on the emotion of the song through his voice, relying more on his lyrics. This probably ends up as a simple choice of preferences, but I think both work due to the style of music. Coulton has either understated or overstated lyrics, which gain their strength from his voice. Just try reading the lyrics. The humor or passion is gained from Coulton, not his lyrics. Kelly is the complete opposite, injecting only a little emotion into his songs, relying on his descriptive and emotional lyrics to grab the audience.
The lyrics are certainly the peak of the song. The basics of the song is explaining the circle of life via a single man. The first scene is him and his father at the beach, followed by his first sexual experience (which can also be seen as the boy becoming a man). Next, his complicated relationship with a woman he marries and then finding out he will be a father. The last two scenes are of his wife dying and then, finally, of him taking his daughter to the beach. This is where poetry and narrative meet in a fantastic collaboration. Although there is a clear narrative, it is told through clear and lovingly depicted scenes. This story could be easily told through a series of home movies or even paintings, but Kelly used the medium of song, which is the art at which he excells. The line I find is the most accurate for describing the mood of the song is "And the man gets a shiver right up and down his spine". This summises the song for me, and is exactly what happened when I heard this song for the first time. And the second time. And right now, listening to it on repeat whilst writing about it. The frankness with which Kelly discusses matters creates this feeling the most. The second verse is a sex scene, and I'd say this is what startled me the most. The use of sex to create a sense of bluntness? I've to date only seen this done once before, in the book "World War Z", used in a similar manner, so as to show how upfront and honest the character was being. All other times, sex is used to arouse rather than set this kind of style. The sex described, in Kelly's kind yet removed voice adds power to the scene, rather than reducing it's standing. The use of death, to be perfectly honest, startled me much less upon first hearing. than the use of sex. This creates a kind of balance between the positive (such as that of pop) and the negative (of rock and country) showing just how much Kelly is a genre hybrid. Finally, I do like the theme of water, the recurring use of the beach and the phrase "deeper water". The phrase indicated that the man's life is taking on more and more responsability, becoming more an adult each time. I like that taking his daughter to the beach is where he realises just how mature and responsible he has to be, possibly due to the memory of how he felt when he was in a similar position to his daughter. I'll stop ranting...for now.
Winners:
First Category: Music:
All of these songs have fantastic music, especially the last two. I feel that Vampire Weekend went too far in trying to be a spectacle, especially in comparison to the simplicity of Coulton and Kelly. Both are catchy, yet simple tracks with a drum and guitar based tune. I feel that Kelly just nabs this one, becuse his music is slightly catchier. Coulton is a close second.
Second Category: Vocals:
Well, this is easy. Coulton. Kelly is a bit too unemotional, which I feel works with the music, but I'm attempting to look at the vocals independently for the most part. Koenig is OK, but doesn't do anything extraordinary. Kelly is the clear runner-up.
Third Category: Lyrics:
Well, this is reeeal hard. The one about string or the song which spent the entire time possibly telling critics to fuck off? Weeeeell... Kelly. I'm going to have to say that this is the toughest runner-up pick so far, just because both tracks are so very open. I'll throw Vampire Weekend a bone, as I don't want to see a fantastic group go without so much as a runner-up.
Overall:
1. "Deeper Water" by Paul Kelly
2. "Pull The String" by Jonathan Coulton
3. "Cousins" by Vampire Weekend
Well, Kelly certainly fucked up the grading curve I had going for the other two, didn't he?
As always, comments are more then welcome.
H. Rourke
No comments:
Post a Comment