As was inevitable at some point, Sounds Delightful got a little derailed by life events including three weeks of travel, a home renovation, and a decision to leave my job of 11 years for something new. Two of things these have also necessitated some fairly major house cleaning. The upside of this this break has been that #14 has a lot of awesome songs, basically all the ones that have risen to the top of the pile after two months of listening. It’s a true mixed bag, though some connections are made a mini-theme of travel and homecoming not surprisingly crops up near the end. I was also big on lyrical analysis this time, and on the whole I’ve been leaning towards a philosophy that pop song lyrics — even those that are not obviously cerebral or clever — often say a lot more than people give them credit for. Hope you enjoy and hope to have more regular posts for you soon!
1. The Go-Betweens — “Right Here” (1987) My overall feeling when hearing this song is one of overwhelming warmth. The violin and backing vocals in particular seem to radiate a sunniness and the chorus of “I’m keeping you right here” is a like a verbal embrace. I’m usually smiling by the end of the first verse. But then there’s one line that troubles me: “I know you’re 32/But you look 55.” Ouch. Who in their right mind would say that to a romantic partner? It makes me wonder if this song is actually about a friendship. There should be more songs about friendship.
2. Voice of the Beehive — “Don’t Call Me Baby” (1988) Once, shortly after I had broken up with my first serious boyfriend, I walked into the place where we had spent much of our time together. I saw him from across the room and immediately starting walking over to see him, force of habit making me forget for a moment we no longer a couple. After a few steps, I stopped in my tracks like a cartoon character and spun around — but not before he saw it happen. My heart plummeted into my stomach, and I never forgot that feeling. “Don’t Call Me Baby” makes me think of that moment, although it comes across less sad. It really nails the mixed feelings of seeing an ex, ricocheting between resentment and fondness, denial and hope. I think there’s a real subtlety in depicting the sense in which, despite a break up, the things you liked about a person are not wiped out just like that. The lines about the former couple “Walking and fighting and asking for favors/Meeting at midnight while avoiding all the neighbors” are really good too. They’re not romanticized, but strike me as something culled from the real experience of an imperfect couple.
3. BODEGA — “Jack in Titanic” (2018) This song could easily swing too hipster, but a real tunefulness and depth of feeling balance out the borderline-too-clever pop culture humor. The end result falls right into that sweet spot we call charm. “No one sees your blazer jacket fall on your hip like I see” is vivid and sexy. And the melody on the chorus — “When we were young we could see” — is a lesson on how to be a Brooklyn-based art rock collective and still make songs that people will like listening to.
4. Arctic Monkeys — “Science Fiction” (2018) Is there a term for a simile that’s equally insightful about the thing being compared to something and the something it’s being compared to? If not, someone needs to invent that because it took me about 10 minutes to figure out how to poorly convey the concept.1 You’re better off just listening to “Science Fiction,” which says as much about the genre as it does about some kind of relationship — I suppose Alex Turner’s relationship with himself as a songwriter and with this audience. See for example: “I want to make a simple point about peace and love/But in a sexy way where it’s not obvious/Highlight dangers and send out hidden messages/The way some science fiction does.” Musically, this is of a piece with the whole album — slinky pianos and creepy synths, but with enough underlying melody to keep it going. I think it’s growing on me, especially if I consider it to be somewhere between poetry and pop.
5. Leon Russell — “This Masquerade” (1972) I went on a cruise with my parents earlier this summer, and the ship’s band — an endearing bunch of nerdy Asian guys with matching hats and a very decent female singer — included this tune as part of their regular set. My dad was very excited, though I suspect their rendition was actually based on the hit cover by George Benson. Still it’s a good prompt for me to listen to some more Leon Russell. He seems like a songwriters’ songwriter, but there’s also a knack for delivery on display here.
6. Bread — “Baby I’m A-Want You” (1972) If you can get past the insipidness of the “Baby, I’m a- ________” phrasing, this is a nice little soft rock gem. I find myself getting particularly excited about the middle eight. The falsetto raises the emotional tenor and the lines “Used to be my life was just emotions passing by/Feeling all the while and never knowing why” speaks to a maturation process that has more heft than the rest of the song. Actually, all Bread songs are a little better than you think they should be, a discovery I made thanks to their awesomely-named Anthology of Bread hits compilation.
7. Johnny Flynn — “Detectorists” (2014) I did not expect a show about metal detector enthusiasts starring that scrawny guy from the UK Office to be such a revelation. This theme tune just brilliantly sums it all up: the delicate tone, the loving depictions of the natural world, the wry humor, and a sense of deep emotions hidden under a broad and placid landscape.
8. The Posies — “Solar Sister” (1993) The Posies’ Frosting on the Beater is an album I used to listen to all the time, but haven’t heard for ages. Some of that grunge influence sounds sludgy to me know, but “Solar Sister” is the group at their bittersweet, melodic best. They somehow manage to pack a whole chorus’s worth of catchy notes into just the last syllable of the title.
9. Jennifer Trynin — “Better Than Nothing” (1994) “Better Than Nothing” is a cruel trick of a song. How many times this week have I found myself thinking of that big hook: “I’m feeling good/I’m feeling good/I’m feeling good” only to come up short on “for now”? It’s like whatever bitterness Jennifer Trynin is feeling for the subject of this song gets redirected at the listener as well. The grunge adjacent hooks are compelling enough that you forgive her.
10. The Pursuit of Happiness — “She’s So Young” (1988) The Pursuit of Happiness is best known for their I-don’t-wanna-grow-up tirade “I’m an Adult Now,” a song that’s really not as clever as Moe Berg probably thought it was when he wrote it at advanced age of 26.2 “She’s So Young” explores a similar theme and it’s really the better song. It’s got a nice, jangly Marshall Crenshaw-meets-Smithereens vibe, and the lyric “She’s so young/She does’t need to question herself like I do” wisely opts for poignance rather than snark in describing the loss of youth’s surety.
11. Allo Darlin’ — “Capricornia” (2012) “Capricornia” apparently refers to a region of Australia, and when I hear “Capricornia skies” in this song, it always makes me picture the night sky. I think it’s because the idea of being underneath a completely separate set of constellations from someone or somewhere else makes you feel very far away. That imagery ties into this song’s themes of homesickness, perhaps for Elizabeth Morris’s native Australia or even just a more abstract feeling of home. I feel obliged mention that “Capricornia” isn’t even the best song on the excellent Europe album, but I’ll save “Tallulah” until the right mix comes along.
12. Blossoms — “Love Talk” (2018) The guys from Blossoms are born melody writers, and they’re great at mixing up the influences of the past 35 years of British rock into something that sounds a little modern, but still pleasingly familiar. “Love Talk,” for example, reminds me of a late period OMD single, and I mean that in the best possible way. Still, I usually find myself wishing they were a little stronger on lyrics, and “Love Talk” is a small step in the right direction. The title phrase itself is almost embarrassingly heartfelt and “town that owns me” has some distinction too.
13. Fountains of Wayne — “Michael and Heather at the Baggage Claim” (2007) I adore Fountains of Wayne’s ability to write this kind of straightforward story-song about small, relatable interactions. Why do so few bands take this approach? Maybe it’s harder than it looks, or maybe it just seems too banal. But there’s as much real poetry in this description of love triumphing over the everyday annoyances that threaten to wear it down, as there is in Alex Turner’s most convoluted metaphor. Talk about a simple point about peace and love.