Yes, I'm back. What of it?
Song #1: Give Judy My Notice by Ben Folds (Songs For Silverman, 2005, Track 7)
Oh, thank God. We are officially moving on from the "Walking the Dog" ... incident (Yes, it's the crappiest name for an incident ever, but who cares?). Back to my wheelhouse with the magical music of Mr. Folds.
Musically, this song isn't one of Folds' great melodies, but there's nothing wrong with it. A minimal amount of piano is notable, which is handy for making this song stand out from others on the album, but does have the major problem of not containing enough Folds' piano. Slow, but not overly sentimental, but not having the vitality of spirit (I've wanted to use that phrase all day) that normally accompanies the best of Folds.
Vocally, this song is sung by Ben Folds. That's 6 on a 5-star scale. That is the highest praise I can give. Folds manages to give the song the personal impact he always manages. Sad songs by Folds always have the feeling that they were rehearsed once, delivered to the intended target and recorded then. They sound honest, realistic, and, in conjunction with the lyrics, sound exactly like what a person in this position would say. Just... perfect.
Lyrically, this song seems to tell of a man arranging to break up with his girlfriend/wife. The metaphor of the title is of quitting from a job. The lyrics paint the picture of a man attempting to establish a fair and loving relationship with Judy, only to be mistreated, ignored and just generally made miserable by her. The idea of just filling a position clearly stems from how the man feels there is no real tenderness in the relationship and he is merely doing what needs to be done. The lyrics are wonderful, going from formal complaint, to angry and slightly more personal to just breaking down and saying "It's going to be hard, but it had to happen" in the conclusion. I honestly haven't paid much attention to this song before, as Songs For Silverman is a generally sad album, and it's easy to kip over some songs that sound very par for the course. This song makes me think I'll have to go back. A wonderful song.
Song #2: Entreaty by Rich Shapero (The Ram, 2004, Track 7)
Oh God. Oh, God. No. No. God, no. It's time for Rich Shapero. Who is Rich Shapero, you may ask? Beyond this, I've no friggin' idea. What I do know a little about is "Wild Animus". Wild Animus is a multimedia story of a man trying to find himself in the wild...by turning into a ram. Yup... animal transformation. And no, it's not the cool Animorphs style explained and useful style. It's the spiritual, never brought up style. Now, Wild Animus consists of three CDs and a book. I haven't read the book. I'm just saying I might be missing something, but I somewhat doubt it for this song. Why? Because this song is a minute and a half instrumental piece. Let's get moving.
How to explain what this sounds like? Firstly, because the piece is short, I have it on loop. If I'm not following the blue bar, I have no idea when it restarts. It's that goddamn uneventful. In essence it's background music. It sounds eerily like the music from Age of Empires II, if anyone, like myself, has spent far too much time listening to it. This music is... I can't actually call it boring. It's not a dull piece of Fatboy Slim album filler meant to be lively and dancy. It's not a piece of music as most of the songs on these lists are. It's meant to be atmospheric and contemplative. And it really succeeds at that. I can listen to this and think I'm a long way away. It's a song that just whispers to you that you're a long way from home, and you don't know what's happening. It's a song about being out in the middle of nowhere in the middle of the night, as the cold sets in. It's creepy, but in a way that draws you in. I thought I'd hate this, but it grows on you really fast. I want to keep listening, because it makes me feel it's telling more of a story each time it plays. It almost has a spell around it. This is broken, somewhat, when you remember it was written about a bloke turning into a goat. Still, oddly magical.
Song #3: (She Was A) Hotel Detective by They Might Be Giants (They Might Be Giants, 1986, Track 10)
So, They Might Be Giants. My familiarity with this group, until only recently, extended to "Istanbul (Was Constantinople)" (which is still awesome). That is, until I watched a review by Phil the Bunny of a documentary about TMBG, which involved the greatest Beatles/Communism joke I've ever heard. Seriously. Now, I've heard most of their discography, with my new favourite being "Richards on Richards", which has a great beat. If you're unfamiliar with the group, they, to put it lightly, take a less than serious approach to music. Not quite "Flight of the Concords" nutty, but not straight pop or rock music.
Musically, this song is pretty solid. It has, in essence, a 60's rock song going on, with a saxophone every now and then, which is a fun improvement. I can't say much bad about it, but I also can't say it's flawless. Fun, lively and a little retro. Can't have much of a problem with that, can I?
Vocally is where I would place not just this songs greatest weakness, but the bands greatest weaknesses. The problem with comedic groups (with few exceptions) is that they sing in such ridiculous ways. This is far from the worst of it, but the over the top voices here and there really distract. For the most part, however, I can't really find any real problem. In fact, this may vocally be among the group's best.
Let's get into the lyrics.A 'hotel detective' is almost exactly what the name implies, a plain-clothes detective operating in a hotel. I understand the appeal of the term. It has a sexy, romantic style to it. Better than the other common name, 'House Dicks'. The song's lyrics are certainly open for interpretation. I can't say I did wide research, but one theory is that the lyrics refer to a hooker using a euphemism for her work. I sort of see the origin of the idea, especially in the last two verses, but I see it a different way. I think the song is, literally, about a cocky, even arrogant, 'Hotel Detective'. She says to a guest that she sees all and hears all, insults the waiter, compliments the bellhop and just generally swans about the hotel, even going so far as to claim she owns the place, which she does in the sense she knows exactly what's going on. The last verse is...odd. I really don't get the idea of it, other than that after being brushed off by the cool and calm detective, the narrator goes a little nuts regarding her. Again, open to interpretation, but the simplest explanation certainly should have some merit to it. The lyrics are fun and descriptive, if not a little repetitive and are coherent enough up until that last verse. Not too bad at all.
Overall:
Musically, I have a bit of a problem. TMBG is fun, but not fantastic, so they're out of the way in this. The real argument is between Shapiro & Folds. Although Folds is, well, Folds, I've got to go with Shapiro. The music manages to convey a story and vocals far better than expected, and although Folds is good, the music on this isn't his best. The winner is Shapiro, with Folds coming second.
I really can't call vocals a close call, as Folds is a master singer and TMBG just can't keep up. Folds wins, TMBG comes second.
Finally, lyrics. Again, a tricky one. It boils down to a tried and tested but somewhat stale premise penned by a master vs. a fun, new idea by some young blood (despite this song being released before Folds first album was released). I love both, but I have to side with TMBG. Something new and fun should always be supported, even if the lyrics sort of trailed off. Folds is the master, but breakup songs? They have been done from every possible angle, and I find very few of them introducing new aspects, or even doing the old stuff very well. Hornby's "High Fidelity" may have discussed what a great deal of sad music does to a generation, but he didn't mention how crap a great deal of it was.
Winners:
1. Give Judy My Notice by Ben Folds
2. (She Was A) Hotel Detective by They Might Be Giants
3. Entreaty by Rich Shapero
That trio was among the best three songs I've ever had to compare. That was fucking awesome. I still don't know if there will be regular updates over this fortnight, but if anyone wants more, just leave a comment or sent me an email. Also, just to be sure, if anyone is going to put a comment with a link, use either my name or one of the artists from this post in the comment somewhere, so I can tell what isn't spam. Who am I kidding? It's all gonna be spam.
Adios, feedback welcome.
H. Rourke.
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