August 18, 2010
“You Wouldn’t Have to Ask” by Bad Books
I’m sitting in my room on an unexpected day off, enjoying a simple breakfast I just made (french vanilla coffee and homemade toast with cream cheese), reflecting on Kevin Devine’s current project, Bad Books.
Bad Books is the child of Kevin Devine and Manchester Orchestra, with KD and Andy Hull at the front, and backed up by the rest of the guys from MO. They’ve all been playing together for years, so what makes this different from Kevin playing along with a couple songs during Manchester Orchestra’s set, or from the guys in MO backing Kevin up as The Goddamn Band—or, excuse me, The Goddamn Orchestra? In some ways it can’t be all that different—it will be the same friends, the same energy, the same musicians. What’s different from the collaboration we’ve seen between these two artists on stage is that the Bad Books album is a collection of songs written by both Devine and Hull—each writer contributed five songs to the record, and they both worked together to mold and build the songs to the stuff we’re going to hear in October. This album will show us what happens when the two artists work together from the start, when they collaborate before they take the stage.
So the first single was released the other day! It’s called “You Wouldn’t Have to Ask” and you can listen to it on the Bad Books Facebook Page. For the sake of links, add their Twitter to your list, and their website too. Don’t forget MySpace, or the band’s label, Favorite Gentlemen.
I like it a lot. It’s a good pop song, so how couldn’t I be into it? From the Bad Books website, “Bad Books cradles a much more noticeable pop aesthetic and energy than either artist has probably ever showcased before.” This is so true. This track is very catchy and it’s more straightforward than anything I’ve heard from either artist. As a big KD fan, one of the things I take note of in a song is whether or not there’s a chorus. If you scan his catalog, lots of songs don’t have them. It’s this amazing thing I noticed in his writing, that both inspires me and scares me. That fact that this one does sport a chorus is a clear pointer that we’re getting something more obvious than usual.
The structure of this song is pretty standard as far as pop songs go. More complex verses that tell us the story, and a lyrically simple verse that’s giving us the big picture of the song. A bridge that builds up to a big instrumental section and then slows down for another verse. This structure is so popular because it’s so brilliant and effective all the time, and yep, add this song to the list of ones that pull it off.
I played this for a friend of mine who enjoys Kevin Devine, but isn’t a big fan like I am, and she heard the first verse and laughed a little, “Sounds like Kevin Devine…bundled bunches break brain branch….” And it’s true: he’s a master of alliteration, and it’s great writing. Right now I don’t know who came up with what, but based on what I know, I’m guessing Kevin’s got something to do with that language.
Something I am so glad to hear in this song is backup vocals. Vocals vocals vocals! A strong display of back-up vocals is something that I consider to be one of the most important things that builds a pop song. The other most important thing is acoustic rhythm guitar, which this song has also got. It’s golden. I often picture melodies as little threads or ribbons that float around the song, and too often the ribbons are too thin or flimsy to solidly stand on top of a full performance of drums, guitars, bass, and so on. I like that I can hear everyone singing along.
While a straightforward pop song, there’s a lot more going on here. One of my favorite things is that muffled building-up scream we first hear before the second chorus, reminding us, “Well if it wasn’t…you wouldn’t have to ask.” I hear Manchester Orchestra there. The scream reminds us that yeah, you can bop your head and sing along to this and grin and stuff, but when you see this performed live, this is something both the band and the audience are totally gonna rock out to.
Bad Books is a lot more than Kevin Devine + Manchester Orchestra. There’s something intangible that’s getting created in the combination. This track has this amazing charge to it that I’m really excited to hear in full-length, and see in person on their upcoming tour. Good art is more than the sum of its parts, and that’s something we have here. What makes it work? It’s impossible to pin down precisely where chemistry comes from, but I think friendship is one of the most important things. You can hear how happy these guys are to be working together, and you can hear that they’re doing what they love with people they love. Music is a medium for spreading joy. I want to see and hear a band with members who’re having a good time with each other, who are so inexplicably happy to be doing exactly what they are doing. That intangible gratitude is what I hear on this first single.
There’s something new that comes from these two songwriters working together. One of the most beautiful descriptions I’ve heard of songwriting styles comes from BNL’s Kevin Hearn. He was asked to describe the difference between Ed Robertson’s songwriting and Steven Page’s songwriting, and he said that they were both wonderful writers, and if he had to sum it up, he’d say that, “Ed writes with his fingers, and Steve writes with his hands.” With the pair at hand, I’d give Devine the fingers and Hull the hands. On the Bad Books website, Kevin admits, “ I think Andy trusts his instincts to lead him to the right place in a song, and sometimes I want to outthink my instincts because I’m scared of repeating myself, of resting on my laurels.”
When I first got wind of Bad Books, I had to suppress a few thoughts like this, “Man, screw this, I just want a Kevin Devine tour.” I’m a fan of Manchester Orchestra, and I’ve been listening to them since they became a band, but there was a part of me that wanted to cling to what I already knew I loved and avoid the work of getting used to something different. Thankfully, I’m over that, and I don’t seriously believe that the independent work of each artist is threatened by Bad Books (crazy!). All the energy and excitement surrounding this release is infectious, and I’m so happy that they are following their instincts and going forward with this project, as opposed to just brushing it under the carpet as something that ‘may happen later if we have time for it.’ It’s better to give songs a proper place when you have them, as opposed to letting them get dusty and feel homeless, hidden beneath your staircase or in your closet somewhere.
The full album drops October 19, and the guys are embarking on a short east-coast tour shortly after. For those of you who don’t live in New England, I’m sending good thoughts that they’ll come to your city soon, too.
Lyrics, as far as I could figure:
Crooked days come bundled up in bunches
They break your brain like a branch
And push you out here asking after for something
you should know I don’t have
If I had it you wouldn’t have to ask
If I had it you wouldn’t have to ask
Later on when you bargain with your mirror
and you ask is it really that bad
If it wasn’t you wouldn’t have to ask
If it wasn’t you wouldn’t have to ask
How could you know if you didn’t?
What’s left to say when your tongue’s turned to ash?
Well I tell you you’re finally forgiven*
So you wouldn’t have to ask
Shoot what’s left, slip inside your sinner smile
Another man in a mask
If you faced it you wouldn’t need a mask
If you meant it you wouldn’t need a mask
If I could fix you you wouldn’t have to ask
If I could help you you wouldn’t have to ask
*I’m still unsure about this line!
Preview more Bad Books songs:
The Easy Mark & The Old Maid
You’re a Mirror I Cannot Avoid
August 8, 2010
8/7/10 Barenaked Ladies, Ben Kweller, Angel Taylor in Boston, MA
On Saturday August 7, 2010, I had the privilege of seeing my favorite band in concert. This was my 31st Barenaked Ladies concert, my 2nd Ben Kweller concert, and my first time seeing Angel Taylor. I went with my two younger siblings Seth and Carissa. I made Seth drive!
Before the show
The three of us left Central Massachusetts around 4:30 pm. I bought myself an iced coffee, and we ate lunch at b.good on Newbury St. I like their fast food better than at Five Guys. I guess I’ve eaten a lot of burgers and fries in the past three days.
Here’s proof that I bought an iced coffee. I’m also wearing some of my favorite clothes! I don’t really wear glasses, and those don’t carry a prescription and I also don’t think they’re mine. Someone gave them to me at some party some night and I figured it would be some fun to wear them sometime.
My brother Seth LOVES! to eat. That’s my orange soda you see though.
Angel Taylor
I sat down and listened to her set. Mostly I remember that she covered “Creep” by Radiohead. I had mixed feelings about it, and then mixed feelings about said mixed feelings. I’m a big Radiohead fan, and I’m frequently parading how great Pablo Honey is, and, specifically, “Creep.” But for some reason, when she announced that she was going to play a Radiohead song and then it turned out to be “Creep,” the snob in me just felt annoyed and pretentious, like, Of course it’d be “Creep.” For some reason the song that keeps coming to my head that I wanted her to cover instead is “Electioneering.” I’m not really sure why!
She’s a very strong singer, and she had really solid musicians backing her up. I’d never heard of her before seeing her tonight. At one point Carissa said, “I think she’s from American Idol,” but I looked that up and I’m not sure if that’s true. I also had to look up what order her name went in, since “Taylor Angel” felt equally possible to me.
Ben Kweller
Ben Kweller’s set really rocked. I think it’s unfortunate that I was like, the only person dancing around during his set. Sometimes I like to dance and rock out at concerts, and sometimes I like to just stand back and watch everything. Last night I felt like rocking out. I’m sure I look really ridiculous jumping up and down and oh man what do I do with my arms? But I don’t really care because I’m happy to just have a good time. I think some people got a kick out of my enthusiasm 
Sometimes I feel a little bad dancing when everyone is sitting, but I don’t think I should. I think if I felt like sitting down chilling and someone in front of me was bopping around and maybe obstructing my view, I’d take more joy from their happiness than I would from having the better view.
I was glad to hear “On My Way” and also “The Rules.” I’ve been listening to Ben Kweller for a long time, but most heavily before his third album came out, so I know Sha Sha and On My Way the best. Still, I made sure to go through Charging Horses before the show, and so I was pretty familiar with everything he played. The new track that stands out to me the most is “Wantin’ Her Again.”
I think we should all take some time to listen to BK, and then thank him for filling that hole where I want to put a blend of rock, blues, and country, with sliding guitars, walking bass lines, howls and growls, and someone who has done an acoustic cover of “Ice Ice Baby” (actually rendered “BK Baby”).
Ben Kweller Meet & Greet
The Ben Kweller meet was poorly organized and operated in my opinion. At the end of his set, he announced that he’d be heading to the merch table if anyone wanted to say hi. Since the concert had assigned seating, I figured why not, I’ll go stand in line until BNL starts up and maybe I’ll get to talk to him. So we all went to wait in line. It wasn’t too long, and we were getting to the front. Then some woman (who I’m guessing works for the venue) came down the line and asked everyone if they had merchandise for Ben Kweller to sign. She brought every person with a CD or T-shirt ahead of anyone not seeking an autograph. To me, it was a really crappy move. I’ve been listening to Ben Kweller since before I went to high school, and I’ve bought a bunch of his CDs, and this was my second live BK experience. I’m not going to buy music I already own or spend $30 on a t-shirt I don’t really want just so I can keep my place in line.
I just really resent being treated like a “second-class fan” because I didn’t want him to sign anything. In general I don’t really care a lot about autographs. And frequently I pass up opportunities to meet artists because I get really shy. But I’m trying to get over that, and I had a lot of energy from enjoying his set, and he seemed happy about inviting people to come talk to him, and plus my recent experiences with Kevin Devine have me used to artists being really accessible at their merchandise tables. And this wasn’t an official signing, nor was it introduced as such, and so I don’t think I should have been made to feel out of place by not having a CD in my hand.
Me, Ben Kweller, Carissa. I think this is a bad photo but whatever.
Eventually I got to the front of the line (I was going to just leave but my sister really wanted a picture) but I still felt pretty down from being treated so poorly and abruptly by the venue workers. And Kweller himself seemed to be in a rush, which plain just made me feel insecure. He was really nice, and even came by after to take a second picture in case the first one didn’t come out right, but still there was an air of…hey man this is cool but really I just want to get out of here.
I think Ben Kweller’s a great musician, performer, and I’m sure he’s also a really nice guy. Maybe he had something to do or stuff on his mind, but I’d rather have an artist who’s unavailable to fans than one who you can tell is in a rush. He was really nice to take a picture with me and Carissa, but for me that was just a plus, and I really just wanted to say, Hi Ben. I think you’re awesome. Thank you so much. I think I got some of that across, but I wish I hadn’t felt like I had to blurt it out stupidly or lose my chance completely.
Barenaked Ladies
I’m going to copy the setlist from the night, and try to address key moments sequentially. I’m embedding some videos from YouTube, which were taken by other awesome fans.
Who Needs Sleep?
I LOVE this song, and lately I’ve been on a 2nd-half-of-Stunt kick. I have one really happy memory of seeing them do this song in Portland, ME a few years back, and I frequently listen to a live recording of it. Ed’s live vocal performance on this song really blows me away, it’s got this buzz and power that makes the studio recording sound dull, even though the studio recording of this song is totally awesome. I missed the flute part, but let’s talk about that later.
The Old Apartment
Alright, I’m not a huge fan of this song. This was the first instance in the evening of experiencing delayed audience reaction: it’s clear to me by Tyler’s drumbeat that they’re doing OA next, but most people don’t realize that until they hear the first two big hits on guitar. Of course, I could have very well known it was coming by memorizing their current set-list formula, but I tried not to do that for this tour. Besides that, I used to be able to guess exactly what they were going to play based on the guitar (and sometimes keys, banjo, mandolin) set-up. I’m a little rusty nowadays, and obviously many things have changed now that Steve’s not in the band. Even so, I can remember that Ed rarely uses his Strat, and “Old Apartment” is one of those rare occasions.
The reason this might be my least favorite BNL song is it just sounds a little cloudy to me, whatever that means. I think it’s just hearing it so many times, and also my opinion that “Shoe Box” would’ve been a better choice for Rock Spectacle over this song. This did rock though, and Ed really comes through the lead vocal part with a lot of power. Tyler’s another member who really comes through in this song. Since Ed’s on lead, he can no longer do that really low harmony he likes to do in this song. But Tyler came through, and nailed them perfectly.
I love an acoustic version I have of this song best, and I hope that one tour they’ll do this song as an acoustic number.
Falling for the First Time
What’s one of the best things about this song in my opinion? Acoustic rhythm guitar. I think acoustic rhythm guitar and good harmony are the two biggest things missing from a lot of music. Sometimes it sounds okay, but a single thread of melody over a flood of electric guitar just gives me a headache. BNL is the only band I’ve heard that nails everything. There aren’t any empty corners or pockets in their songs that shouldn’t be there.
Every Subway Car
Hey this is the single right now I guess.
Light Up My Room
This song is a long-time favorite that everyone knows is beautiful, I think.
Easy
How Long
I feel like the set this summer doesn’t focus as much on the new album as much as it tries to sweep the catalog. I was hoping to hear more tracks off of AIGT, but I’m glad we got at least one of the really rockin’ ones. This song makes me want to get a megaphone and go to a really crowded place and scream, “SO GIVE IT UP FOR ANGER.”
Another Heartbreak
I was really happy to hear this song. I really think this track is gorgeous. This song reminds me that you can’t really quantify how good something is—as in, it’d be very easy for me to pick apart tiny things and say, “Man, heartbreak/heartache is a pretty cheap rhyme.” But just because something is easy to criticize doesn’t mean it’s worth criticizing, because I think the simplicity of the chorus is a perfect representation of the song. Good songs are like fractals. This track is a sweet, beautiful gesture from a guy who’s just trying to do his best, to not hide anything, to just be himself, and the simple chorus achieves that spirit with ease.
Pollywog In A Bog
Oh! my! god! During “Another Heartbreak” I think I sort of mellowed out my dancing, and this song brought all the energy back for me. At first, I was expecting “I Saw It” and then bam, that bass line. The bass line to this song is so great and distinctive that I’m sure most people can tell you what the starting pitch is if you just ran down the low notes on a piano. During the bridge I calmed down, stopped jumping and stuff, because I remembered Steve’s harmonies. I think the singing in “Pollywog” is some of the best the band has done, and the harmony on the bridge is some of my favorite harmony in music. The other guys were able to fill in all the notes
Sound Of Your Voice
So this is the spot in the show where we get a special acoustic rendition of a song. Kevin reclaims the lead vocals on this track, and instead of playing piano last night, he accompanied the band with a beautiful showing of arpeggios on acoustic guitar. The other three guys stood side by side around one microphone, snapping their fingers and adding backup harmonies, doo-wap style. My favorite part was when they sang what is usually a piano solo. I think right before this song they discussed Kevin’s experience at a barber shop, and this is the kind of thing that would fit in nicely outside of a barber shop, sometime in the 1950s or so. Here’s yet another performance that separates Barenaked Ladies from many musicians…quality entertainment, clear talent, and vivid reinvention.
It’s All Been Done
Too Little Too Late
Two big Steve tracks back-to-back. Ed does a really good job singing these, like he does with every song, and like you would expect him to. Still, I can’t help but miss Steven Page. I don’t think there’s anything wrong with that. I took a lot of silent moments last night to remember previous BNL shows, to imagine a ghost of Steve jumping around on the stage and clapping, especially during TLTL. I feel this is better than straight-out ignoring his absence and telling myself that it’s just a different band, a different thing. I miss Steve, but the guys don’t sound empty without him. Or rather: I miss Steve, and the guys sound like a full band without him. You know? If I lost touch with a person I really loved and cared about, I would miss them terribly, and I would still love my other friends and family members. No contradiction there, and that’s a really important thing for me to realize.
Let There Be Light
This was a fan request, and I’m really glad it was filled. This is one of my favorite Kevin songs, and I think it’s a great bonus track on All In Good Time. This song is catchy, and tells a story. And if you’ve been having a bad decade, this could be the story for you.
They shared banter and stories with us throughout the night.
You Run Away
Simply put, I think “You Run Away” is beautiful. What can I say? I’ve loved this song since the day I first heard it. To me, this song is flawless. This song makes me fall in love with music all over again, and reminds me why I love BNL so much: beautiful melodies; heartfelt lyrics; thoughtful and precise harmony, instrumentation, and layering; and spot-on story-telling. I’m reminded that being a BNL fan is something I am every day, and not something I became once and just kept at because it’s all I know. This song gives me faith. This song tells a story I’m not part of, but a story which describes a little pocket of my life perfectly.
The most common negative thought I’ve heard of this song is many fans think it’s inappropriate and too obviously bashing Steven Page. I don’t see any bashing here, and nothing is too obvious. Whatever happened between Steven Page and the other guys will fade, seem less important and less tense in time. People will fight with fire in their eyes, but before long they’ll look at each other again and not be sure what the big deal was. I don’t hear anything in this song about one person being right and another being wrong. I hear a story of friendship, from one soul to another, and I simply hear a speaker wishing he could be there for his friend, and not knowing how. The harsh realization that it’s not you, it’s nothing you can do or change, and you’re just not what your friend needs at this point in time.
Musically, this song tugs me in and doesn’t let go. The layered vocal parts at the end bring me back to BLAM‘s “Maybe You’re Right” and I think it’s just as brilliant an idea here as it was there.
I approve of this song as a single more than any other track they’ve chosen for that role. Last night’s performance of this song delivered everything and left nothing to be desired, and I look forward to hearing this song at many shows in the future.
Four Seconds
I have a lot of mixed feelings about this song. The consensus I’ve gathered is that people think this song totally mother-fuckin’ rocks. I can see where they’re coming from, but at the same time I feel like I’d rather have heard this kind of thing on Snacktime! and not on a proper record. It makes me laugh, it does rock, it’s clever and great. It highlights a part of BNL that I both love and resent: I love it for what it is, and resent it for what too many people perceive it to be. I’ve spent a lot of time defending them as a “real” band or a “serious” band, because a lot of people who don’t really know their music get caught up in their silly image and write them off as a novelty act. THIS ANGERS ME MORE THAN ANYTHING ALMOST.
Big Bang Theory
“This song is from…television.”
Frequently when I listen to music, songs come on and I am like, “MAN, I really need to cover this.” Tonight this was the #1 song I wanted to cover. This song is reminiscent of “Ballad of Gordon,” which I’ve always thought was the catchiest song I’ve ever heard.
One Week
I think last night I enjoyed this song more than I usually do. I was able to give up on the image of it and just enjoy that it’s a great song that’s really fun to dance to.
Pinch Me
What’s most memorable about this song was someone threw Superman briefs to the stage, and Kevin sported them for the rest of the night. Kevin’s a little nicer here than Steve has been in the past, and kindly says, “Ed exists,” after the line, “It’s hard to tell if I exist.”
True story.
Million Dollars
At this moment in the set, I usually zone out a bit. For a long time I’ve wished that the band would retire IIHAMD but I’m sure that won’t happen anytime soon. I think they like stuffed monkeys getting thrown on stage far too much to ever do that. This is a fun live song, but having heard it at almost every one of their concerts, I’d usually just rather hear something else, especially since this takes so long to play, what with all the banter and so on.
After this, Kevin went into “Magic” by Pilot, and Ed started rapping. He rapped, Thank you for coming to see us tonight / we’re Barenaked Ladies, did we do alright? Then the crowd exploded, and Ed started beat-boxing. I’m glad they’ve revived the rapping at the end of the show. The only thing is, I’ll have to start listening to more radio music so I actually recognize most of the songs. I think we heard some Black Eyed Peas, Justin Bieber, and Katy Perry, at least.
Alcohol
Tyler sang this! I’m sure this was a mutually beneficial exchange between Ty and Ed, as Tyler got to sing and dance around, and Ed got to rock out on the drums. Once, on a Ships & Dip cruise, my younger sister was interviewed and she was asked, “Who is your favorite band member?” And she said, “I don’t know, but I don’t like Tyler.” I think what she really meant was, “Tyler is my favorite and I think he’s goddamn hilarious,” because that seems to more accurately reflect Carissa’s views on Tyler. This song was a lot of fun, and everything Tyler lacks as a lead-singer, he makes up for in energy in charisma, easily. Since Ed was on drums, Kevin had to cover the guitar part, and so the piano in this track was greatly missed (‘specially the solo) but I think that’s the only thing I regret about this performance.
Tyler Stewart calls alcohol the “next substance.”
Brian Wilson
Ed does a good job singing lead here and I really appreciate it.
After this song, walking out of the venue, someone came up to me and said, “You’re a really good dancer,” and that made me feel good about myself.
Overall, I am filled mostly with gratitude. Last night I was trying to think about what music really does for me. And a sentiment I’ve heard from many people is that music offers an escape: a tunnel through which you can forget all that tedious stuff in your life and just enjoy something. But I realized that, for me, music—and books, movies, comics, art in general—isn’t about forgetting. I don’t want to think of my life as something that needs to be escaped or forgotten. I’m happier to think that truly enjoying something is about remembering. That high, that happy concert buzz I feel, that’s not a feeling I want to have to escape my life to experience. When I feel that charged and energetic, I’m remembering how I would like to always feel, and the music is just a reminder, a little push in the right direction.
Every day is another step in a journey to hang onto all those feelings, to do a better job at it, to let the joy I feel move through me and leak—no, flood—into every part of my life. To be happy and friendly, and slow to anger. So, mostly, I would like to express thanks toward every musician last night, who pushed me to remember something that I too frequently forget, and who have renewed me with the hope that, one day, I may be able to do a better job of remembering it every day, without so much prompting.
I truly loved the concert last night, and like always, the experience makes me want to go to more shows. I’d really like to attend S&D 4 next February, but I’m currently not booked because I’m not sure how possible that will be for me, both financially and academically. I am happy with the experience I’ve had, though.
What did I buy?
After the show, I bought an awesome baby blue wife-beater tank.
I figured I needed this shirt, because wearing it will provide a great opportunity for me to display my jacked rock-climbing arms.
To hear a recording of this show, check out this thread on barenaked.net (the best fan forum to exist ever).
July 27, 2010
“Indecision” by Steven Page, thoughts and review
I’m sitting down on my couch at my home in Paxton, Massachusetts. I’ve got the day week next two weeks off, and I’m enjoying a nice, lazy morning of being on the internet, listening to music, and drinking iced coffee.
I’m on and off with keeping up with the Twitter Haps, and this morning I’ve decided to see what people have been twittering about. For me, much of the twitter haps this morning are all about Steven Page’s new single “Indecision.” This just came out, and I’m actually listening to it now.
I read Steve’s blog post about the new record a couple days ago. Somehow, I feel like I’ve both skimmed it carelessly, and also poured over every word with intense concentration and thought, what does this *mean*. (One of my favorite things about Steve’s blog post? He gets the grammar right when he says the song was written by “me and Stephen Duffy.”) Steve describes the new song as a “melding of Jobim-style Brazillian pop and classic Steven Page power-pop” and this sounds like a pretty good description of what the song is, except, to me, for the word classic—at least its placement in the description.
When I think of Steven Page, I don’t think of power-pop. When I think of power-pop, I think of The Posies. I’d say this track is classic Steven Page wit, lyricism, song structure, and awesomeness. It reminds me of a cross between what could be a Stunt b-side, and a counterpart to “Baby Loves The Radio” from his 2005 release The Vanity Project. This is the kind of song I look forward to listening to in the car when I’m on my way to the beach, and I’m wearing sunglasses and sipping an iced latte and just feeling cool and pumped.
One thing that is always weird is when an artist releases a new single that you know very well isn’t new at all. This happens pretty frequently though. A quick google search will yield this performance of “Indecision” from three years back:
Indecision by Steven Page 06/29/07 at Jackson Triggs Winery
Carol | MySpace Video
It’s not the same as the huge re-release of Jason Mraz’s “I’m Yours” since this was really just performed in a special, you’re getting an acoustic performance of an unreleased song! kind of way, but hearing the full, banded-up version still feels very different after having the acoustic performance sink in.
The beginning of the song is sorta like the intro theme to a TV show. We get a quick blast of the drums, rhythm guitar, and ooooh-oooh back-up vocals, and then it’s all taken back as Steve lays down the first two verses for us. I sorta feel like he’s saying, Guys, get ready, this chorus is going to totally rock! I’m here to tell you that guys, he’d totally be right if he said that!
Way back when I started listening to music, Steven Page taught me that a song is like a puzzle, and this single is no exception. One of my favorite things that Steven Page is a master of is turning regular, everyday speak upside down, twisting it inside out and making me say, “Oh, so I guess maybe THAT’S what those words actually mean.” I hear this most in the two-line bridge and the first half of the final verse,
Leave decisions up to fate
Nothing comes to those who wait
Come see the view from on top of the fence
We’ll watch the world unfold its events
This is the kind of cutting, in-your-face lyricism that I’ve missed for quite some time now. I like how he says, “We’ll watch the world unfold its events,” as if the “world” he’s speaking of has a mind of its own. “Indecision” is a sparkly song with a speaker who wants to forfeit all power by refusing to make a choice, but at the same time, hold onto it as tightly as he can by keeping his world suspended in the limbo of refusing to choose.
In some ways I’m not wild about the production and all the instrumentation and vocals on this song, but that’s more a reflection of my tastes than it is of how well this was made (I’m pretty serious here – I think in some rendition of my personal heaven, there’s some guy with a sign saying, “Julie, everything here is acoustic and unpolished.”) And in some ways, I like when “they” release fully produced tracks with all the bells and whistles, because it just makes the stripped down acoustic performances that much more special. More than anything, I’m happy to hear Steve’s voice again, and I mean this both literally and figuratively. Over the years, his songs have created a home my mind can travel to at any time, and I’m glad to have that feeling renewed again.
People who follow Steve will have heard a good chunk of the songs on Page One already, and I’m sure there are mixed feelings about it. People want new stuff on a new record. I’m happy with anything. I’m happy to have Steve tie up loose ends, and I’m happy for each song to fall out of acoustic-new-unreleased-but-played-here-or-there limbo and into a real place in Page’s musical career. I’m looking forward to hearing what he’s done with everything, and I’m sure “Indecision” is just a peek at what is a really fantastic record.
In conclusion, I think you should look into buying “Indecision” on iTunes and having a nice day!
July 13, 2010
How I started listening to Kevin Devine
I’m a big fan of music. I’ve spent more time listening to music than I have doing any other hobby or interest, even reading. My last.fm bio states, “I think pop music is the greatest thing in the world, and I’ll never change my mind about it.” I think I put that in a few years ago, and it’s still totally true. I have a pretty broad idea of what I consider to be pop music (to me stuff like rock, folk, indie is all included under “pop”). Another way to try to classify it is with use of the term “songwriting,” that unique blend of musical composition, poetry, and storytelling.
I used to buy CDs compulsively. I have about 500 CDs laying around, which I think is a lot when you consider they were mostly purchased when I was between the ages of 7 and 14. I had these huge CD leather books that I would carry around with me everywhere, and every time I got a new disc, I would fervently move everything around so they were perfectly alphabetized. When I traveled to Washington D.C. with my eighth grade class in the spring of 2004, I carried around about 200 of my CDs with me. When I was a freshman in high school, I carried anywhere from 5 to 15 CDs in my backpack every single day. Back then I was frequently sleep-deprived, and the wear and tear on all my CDs began to wear on me, and finally, I bought an iPod. And slowly, I stopped purchasing CDs. My parents stopped paying for my concert tickets, I didn’t have a job, and the money I’d received for my bat mitzvah was dwindling. And so I had to make a choice: concerts or CDs.
It was a slow process. The first time I went to New York City (fall of 2005), the thing I was most excited about was buying used CDs at music stores. I still think there’s something exciting about making a physical purchase of music. Holding something in your hand, remembering that there’s so much to be found in just one album, which is something that isn’t as easily visible when it appears to you as just one of a few thousand 12 song playlists in your iTunes library, from which you can tear and shuffle songs from with a few simple taps. But even so, purchasing a physical CD these days is my absolute last resort for acquiring music. Every few months I buy half a dozen CDs from Amazon, but usually because I’m getting stuff that’s too unpopular to be found anywhere else (for example, solo Aaron Sprinkle albums, music by songwriter Stephen Duffy, Dryve’s first album Hum, and a Japanese import of Fastball’s The Harsh Light of Day because it has the bonus track “Love Doesn’t Kill You”).
I’d like to digress from my personal music listening and purchasing history into a specific story of how I started listening to Kevin Devine. Instead of going on about how downloading music can be a really positive thing, here’s a story about how it has been a really positive thing.
Kevin Devine has been my most listened to artist for about 18 months now. The overall time I’ve spent listening to his music stretches back a few years earlier, but I didn’t get really into it until the beginning of 2009. Better late than never. I’m a big fan of Brand New, which is how I first heard of Kevin Devine. It’s hard to be a Brand New fan and not know who Kevin Devine is. I’d listened a few times to a few KD albums before a year ago, and I’d actually seen him 2 or 3 times as an opening act. I do remember really enjoying his set. But even so, for some reason or another, it just didn’t really click with me at the time. Like it is with any form of art, listening to music is a two-way street. If you’re not meeting anything halfway, the greatest record in the world will sound like nothing to you. And what we are ready to meet halfway today might very well be very different from what we will be ready to meet tomorrow.
As an avid listener of music, I sometimes have trouble finding something that really, really hits me. There’s so much that I like, but with everything I listen to, after a while, the initial magic eventually fades. That’s why it’s the initial magic. In my experience, the longer I listen, the more I enjoy stuff, and there’s more stuff I find that I enjoy. But it becomes harder to come by that feeling of complete euphoria and absorption in a song, album, or artist. I’ve heard a thousand well-written songs, but it takes something beyond “well-written” for a song to wow me and stop me in my tracks. I mean listening to an album a dozen times in a row and feeling like you’ve still only heard it once. Then taking a break for a day, and going back again, and everything sounds not just as new and amazing as the first time, but even better. This is what happens when you discover something that you know you’ll keep with you forever.
That’s how I felt with Kevin Devine. Feverish.
A blurry shot of Kevin performing in New Haven, CT a month ago
But let’s get back to how it unraveled. Kevin’s most recent full-length release, Brother’s Blood, leaked about two months early. It’s common and expected that albums will leak before their official date of release. When I know a record is coming out, one of the first thoughts I have is, “I wonder when it’s gonna leak.” But two months is a bit premature. I heard about the leak from one of my friends: she’d downloaded it, and scrobbled the tracks on her last.fm. Shortly after, she’d received a message from some folks at Favorite Gentlemen asking her to delete the album from her computer and stop listening to it, and to likewise spread the word. I don’t remember if they were especially cheeky, but they were rather upset about the entire ordeal. That’s something I do understand. In the past I have debated a lot internally about whether I think downloading music is morally sound, and by last spring, I was 100% decided that it was. It’s the industry that needs to change, and not the fans. I have a lot of respect for independent artists, and especially for the folks who run Favorite Gentlemen. But at the time I did feel like their anger about what happened was being taken out too much on the wrong people. So I think I downloaded the album, and left a slightly obnoxious post in Kevin Devine’s shoutbox on last.fm advertising that I had the CD, and offering to send it to anyone who wanted to listen. I got flamed a little, and rightfully; I was acting like a jerk. But I’ve been using the internet for years, and have sometimes been vocal and opinionated, and flaming happens sometimes. So it didn’t phase me much.
I actually didn’t send the album to anyone, and I didn’t even listen to it straight off. But the whole thing put that “Kevin Devine guy I’d seen touring with Jesse Lacey” on my radar, and on a whim I listened to his third album, Split the Country, Split the Streets, because I remembered enjoying that one a few years back. I’d like to say that it blew me away immediately, but as a record, it didn’t. It took time still. But “No Time Flat” stuck with me, and soonafter, so did, “Lord, I Know We Don’t Talk.” A month later it was all I wanted to listen to. Even now, there are some tracks on that record that don’t stand out to me; I have mixed feelings about “Afterparty” and about the mesh of Kevin Devine’s style with the feel of the typical 6/8 ballad in “Probably.” But there’s something about him that’s just completely captivating, even in those tracks that aren’t my favorites. I was sad that the subsequent Put Your Ghost to Rest didn’t live up to how great I thought Split was. But then that hit me too (along with his second release, Make the Clocks Move), and I felt the same disappointment in Brother’s Blood. Everything hit me so strongly that it fully shook my world every time I introduced a new album to my listening schedule. It was in the same way it was difficult for me to read An Acceptable Time by Madeleine L’Engle (which I still haven’t finished) because I couldn’t cope with seeing Meg Murry as an adult and not the young protagonist.
But a year and thousands of listens later, I’m positive that Brother’s Blood is one of the best examples of clear, timeless songwriting that I’ve ever heard. What I found with Kevin Devine was a feeling I thought I was doomed to never find again. Some people wear their feelings on their sleeves, and I wear my interests (or possibly both). The stuff that really gets me going does it so well that I explode with enthusiasm to nearly every person I converse with. Sometimes I fear that I participate in open, blatant gushing more than I do in any other form of talking. So, what I’m getting at is that most people who know me are aware that I’m a die-hard Barenaked Ladies fan. It’s been going on so long that it usually feels like an inherent part of my character as opposed to something that I acquired one day. Some of the best memories I have are of listening to their music. For years, listening to BNL was almost all I did, and it never, ever got old. It only got more exciting. I would sit down and listen to an album and thoroughly enjoy every single second of it. I’d listen five times in a row to the same album because I’d focus my listening on a different instrument each time around, and every time was a different experience. Nowadays, I don’t spend a lot of time listening to BNL. I don’t want to say it’s gotten old, but it’s true that as certain magics appear, others fade. As I get older, more songs speak to me in deeper ways, but there’s not as much for me to discover anymore. And I listen to so much music that I simply don’t have time to listen to a hundred BNL songs every day. (Still, I’ve never forgotten: the first and most primary reason that I decided to branch out and listen to “other” music was because I felt that I’d reached a point where the best way for me to appreciate BNL’s music more was to try to appreciate where it was they were coming from, and I’ve only branched out further from there.)
Moving on, I’ve fallen in love with lots of bands in the past decade. But the further along I get in age and listening, the less frequent it is that I get totally immersed in something for a long period of time. Before I got really hooked on Kevin Devine, I thought I’d never find another band or artist that I was that into. That I’d want to listen to over and over again for year, or that I’d want to see in concert as many times as I could afford. Becoming a Kevin Devine fan was a hugely important event in my life. If you asked me to spout off the most important things to happen in my life in 2009, I’d immediately respond with three things: listening to Kevin Devine, my babysitting job, and rock-climbing. More importantly than giving me something to sing along to, Kevin Devine gave me something to get truly excited, inspired, and passionate about. Kevin Devine’s music gave me a place to feel truly alive, and a way to rediscover myself as well as the world around me. And all that is something I might have never found had not Brother’s Blood leaked the way it did.
I’m certain that I’ll be following Kevin Devine more closely than any other artist I listen to for years to come. And I think I’m a good fan for an artist to have. Once I’m hooked, I’ll purchase every release; hunt down every b-side, EP, 7″ I can find; see your show as many nights as I can travel to; buy your t-shirts; recommend you endlessly to every person I meet; and always come again next time (for some examples, I’ve seen Barenaked Ladies 30+ times, and been to dozens of Guster concerts, and seven seems like a sheepishly small number to me when I reflect that that’s how many times I’ve seen Kevin Devine). There are some artists you like to see once in concert, and some that you want to see again and again. For me, Kevin Devine is one of the artists in the second group. There are artists who think what they do is about making music, and others who know that it really boils down to connecting to people. When Kevin Devine takes the stage, he does it as a friendly face, not as a fabricated image of the art he’s created. Kevin, when I started listening to your music, I spent zero dollars on your CDs. But in the past month, I’ve seen your concert 3 times, and spent $90 on your merchandise. And to me, that’s only the beginning.
A shot of me with Kevin at one of his recent shows