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#1268: They Might Be Giants – Stalk of Wheat

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They Might Be Giants’ 1990 album Flood includes a track that is more or less the band’s theme song in the form of ‘They Might Be Giants’. The number contains the lyric, “They might be rain, they might be heat, they might be frying up a stalk of wheat.” Then fourteen years later, a song under the name of that little phrase at the end there appeared as the penultimate offering on The Spine. Whether John Linnell was thinking of the specific lyric or just wrote this song coincidentally has never been confirmed. It’s not a big deal to think about, really. What matters is, I like ‘Stalk of Wheat’ quite a bit. On an album where the songs are very much on the usual rock band setup, ‘Stalk of Wheat’ arrives out of left field as this swinging showtime number with horns and this thing called a Flex-a-Tone.

The image that usually comes to my mind when listening to ‘Stalk…’ is a man performing it onstage in a theatre of some kind, suit and top hat on, pulling out the jazz hands for extra effect in places. An entertaining situation, I’d say. But when you look into ‘Stalk of Wheat’ a little further, you’ll see that the narrator conveyed isn’t having such a great time. Nothing is working out for this person. Journeys feel too far of a travel, they have no one to turn to who can lend a helping hand. Once they were a young buck who had big plans, but now only have those dark thoughts that linger. And with no money and no job that would help raise funds of any kind, they’re at a point in life where they have no idea in hell that would make things better.

All that being said, the song’s so damn catchy, you’ll find yourself singing along to a person’s downfall in record timing. Filled to the brim with these easy rhymes, wordplay, alliteration and earwormy melodies, and set to the upbeat, happy-go-lucky tempo, it’s the sort of track that wouldn’t sound out of place in a musical. You’ve got the backing vocals chiming in with parts of a lyric before Linnell finishes them off, very much like how a backing character will randomly put their two cents in during a song. And speaking of the lyrics, they range from sincerity to the absurd. A ‘moose denied’ or a ‘bunny that’s broke’ aren’t phrases you’ll find in everyday usage. But in the context of this song, they sound just swell. Just another reason why The Spine shouldn’t be looked down on when looking into the band’s catalogue. And there’s a video of the two Johns performing it live on a TV show back in the day. Ain’t that nice?

#1265: Pezz (Billy Talent) – Square Root of Me

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Last year, 31st May, the people of Billy Talent did the thing that I, and I’m sure many a fan, was waiting on for the longest time, which was finally releasing their first first album Watoosh! onto streaming services. By that date, I was already well accustomed to the record, having had it in my iTunes library since about 2009. Thanking my sister for downloading it from Amazon for that one. And even then I’d known four songs from it since at least 2005. But last year was when it became much more accessible for everyone to hear. Watoosh! was the only album Billy Talent made when under their original name of ‘Pezz’. The music wasn’t as heavy, but just as energetic and melodic. Some would say “weirder” for whatever reason. But I know it’s an album that I prefer to the last couple that Billy Talent have released recently.

‘Square Root of Me’ is the ninth song on Watoosh! The title’s one that I haven’t been able to come to a conclusion too. It doesn’t appear in the lyrics, just like every other song on the album, though at least on a few others their titles have some sort of relation to the subject matter. In ‘Square Root…’, Ben Kowalewicz sings about being a full-grown adult and reminisces on the days when he’d get beaten up by bullies and swear that he’d get his revenge one day. The first verse is the same as the second. Well, there’s a one-word difference in the second. And after that the song’s changes to a minor key, an instrumental break settles in, after which Kowalewicz and guitarist Ian D’Sa harmonize the line “I like you anyway” until the song fades out. The whole shifting-movement-halfway-through-the-song structure is one that’s used on every track on the album. But the songs are different enough that it doesn’t become a massive issue. Very noticeable once you recognise the pattern though.

I’m not sure what else I could cover about this one. I find myself singing along to almost every element in the track, whether it be D’Sa’s various guitar riffs and chords, to bassist Jon Gallant’s lines and obviously the vocals. Each part has something in it that my ear immediately latches on to. The thing I’ve always admired about Billy Talent is that even though they’re primarily a punk band, D’Sa incorporates a lot of jazzier chords in his playing that sets they’re whole thing apart from the rest. So there will be a chord slipped in with a note that stands out more than the rest that enriches the whole listening experience. I’m sure there’s plenty of those in this, if only I knew music theory. It’s pretty much guaranteed that Billy Talent won’t perform any of the Watoosh! songs live, if you were to go and see them. In their words, they were a totally different band then. And that is the truth. So I’m glad that at least a few more people will be able to hear their older music now, rather than have it be this thing that only the “true” fans knew about. It’s pretty good stuff.

#1259: Coldplay – Speed of Sound

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Hey there, everyone. Guess who’s turned 30? This guy right here. Incredible stuff. It really creeps up on you, honestly. I’m gonna hope this next decade brings nothing but happiness and good fortune. The 20s were fine. Thirties are the new 20s. That’s what they say, right? Anyway, thanks for reading. This has gone on for a good 12 years now, and it’ll be a while until it finishes. But we’re getting there every two days at a time. And we continue with Coldplay’s ‘Speed of Sound’, released 20 years ago, the big first single to announce their comeback in anticipation to what was the band’s upcoming third album X&Y. I’ve come to think of that particular record as their ‘biggest band in the world’ statement. It’s not my favourite. And funnily enough, the band don’t look too fondly on that era either. What can you do?

And I kind of remember ‘Speed of Sound’ being the new song. If I recall correctly, its music video made its premiere in the UK on Channel 4. I didn’t care all that much for Coldplay then. Green Day was more my thing in 2005. And the premiere was at a really late time too. So, I figured I wasn’t missing out on anything much if I went to bed instead. I more remember the discussion around the song that was happening at the time. Mostly that it sounded too similar to ‘Clocks’, which I didn’t get initially. Speeding up ‘Speed of Sound’ (hardy-har-har) makes the similarity a little clearer. Then, to rub more salt in the wound, this track by what was supposedly the biggest band in the world made it to number two in the singles chart, beaten by the annoying, novelty ringtone era kingpin Crazy Frog with (its?) cover of ‘Axel F’. And at a time when it felt like Coldplay hate was at its highest, some people took great pleasure in that happening.

Fast-forward some years later, and I ended up asking for X&Y as a gift for one of those yearly occasions. Mainly because I just wanted access to the singles from it. I listened through it I think the one time, and it felt like it went on for ages. But before then I don’t think I’d properly listened to ‘Speed of Sound’ and given it full attention. It was through the full album listen where I sort of realised the song wasn’t half bad. A song about feeling insignificant and needing a sense of direction in this big, overwhelming world that still has so many questions left unanswered as to its origins. Not a bad topic. “All those places I got found” is a phrase that’s never sounded right to me, but that’s a little nitpick I have. But I really enjoy the way Chris Martin sings the whole thing, even though he apparently can’t stand it now. There’s an actual groovy bassline that you don’t find in a lot of Coldplay songs that begins at the “Look up, I look up at night” verse. And everything’s all tied together by the far out synths and reverbed guitar work that aid in giving the song this spacey atmosphere. One of these days I’ll maybe listen to X&Y again. ‘Least I know this one will always be in there.

#1249: John Linnell – The Songs of the 50 States

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Well, I guess there’ll be thousands of people out there who will have no idea what Grooveshark was. Grooveshark was a website existing for a while where people could just straight up upload music online for anyone to listen to. It was Soundcloud and Spotify all kind of mixed into one. Then I guess record labels caught onto it and realized it was kind of an illegal/copyrighting issue going on, so it got abruptly taken down after a few years. Looks like it’s back up again under a new address, but I don’t think it’s really the same. But I say all this to say that it was on Grooveshark that I got to listen to John Linnell’s State Songs album back around 2012, and its second song, ‘The Songs of the 50 States’ was one out of the few I got into immediately.

The late, late ’90s was a time when They Might Be Giants heads John Flansburgh and John Linnell went on their little separate ways to do their own projects. Flansburgh did his thing with Mono Puff. Linnell made the State Songs album, bringing to fruition a concept he initially started working on some years prior. Fifteen of the 16 songs on the album are named after US states, and ‘The Songs of the 50 States’ acts as the record’s theme song. Linnell tells us to get ready for the songs that are coming up, and that even he can’t help but get the good shakes when thinking about the tracks he has lined up. Funnily enough, he sings about the songs of the 50 states, but only wrote numbers for 15 of them. Actually, 16 including the B-side, ‘Louisiana’. TMBG fans hold onto hope that one day a State Songs II will just appear one day. Or at least be announced.

After the album’s introduction of ‘Illinois’, an instrumental played out by a carousel organ, ‘…50 States’ brings things into more familiar sonic territory by being more of a band-centric performance. TMBG fans will know what I mean when I refer to ‘the Band of Dans’. Dan Miller (guitar), Danny Weinkauf (bass guitar), and Dan Hickey (drums) for those who don’t. They’re the backing musicians present on the track, and a bunch of guys Linnell was familiar with anyway having been playing with the two Johns for a couple years up to that point. It’s a great performance by all involved. An upbeat, optimistic tune that builds that anticipation for the songs that follow.

#1245: The La’s – Son of a Gun

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The shimmering notes from an acoustic guitar are the first things you hear if you were to press play/lay the needle on the record after obtaining The La’s self-titled/debut/only album from 1990. First time I heard ‘Son of a Gun’ the opening reminded me of Rusted Root’s ‘Send Me on My Way’, even if though that song was released some years after. Maybe there’s some influence there, I don’t know. But it goes to show, if you can get the right tone on the strings of an acoustic guitar, people will start falling at your feet. Even before Lee Mavers started singing, I was really into the rhythm and the sound of that sole acoustic, so even when he did, I was already under its spell.

“If you want, I’ll sell you a life story” are the first words Mavers delivers on the microphone, and that’s what ‘Son of a Gun’ is. It’s a tale about a man who lives with his demons, but also recognises that he’s not like a lot of other people out there and takes great pride in that aspect. With Lee Mavers being the ever elusive, reclusive man he is, I think ‘Son of a Gun’ is the one song by him that provides an insight into how the guy felt about life. There might be another La’s tune that does it better, please direct me to it. But for me, it’s the clearest ‘song about myself under the guise of someone else’ that I can think of right now as I’m writing to you. Lifts the haze on that sense of mystique, which I think is quite cool.

Lee Mavers didn’t like the sound of The La’s when the album eventually came out in 1990. The band had spent a couple years trying to get the album down, but Mavers was never happy with any of the results. There are many different versions of the songs from the record that you’ll be able to find online. Personally, I think the final version we all know mixed and produced by Steve Lillywhite showcased the best treatment any of those tracks got as recordings. It is interesting to hear other producers’ takes though. ‘Son of a Gun’ by Mike Hedges is in a higher key, utlises more electric guitar and has a bounce to it via added bass drum. A John Porter version has a monoaural mix. I could go through them all. It’s a lot to explore.