Music review

[urbpan]

I waited a while for some reason, but I recently bought the new Jonathan Coulton album. I've been listening to it almost constantly the past few days, and I just love the beautiful melodies, and I like the production values from They Might be Giants' John Flansburgh. What this album doesn't have is any explicit mention of mad scientists, or monsters, or songs sung by planets or sea creatures or odes to mathematicians. A distinct lack of geekiness.

It used to be that to explain who JoCo was, you'd play "The Future Soon," or "Skullcrusher Mountain." This new album--really his FIRST album--is much like any collection of soft rock / singer songwriter type music. Granted, there are two songs from the point of view of a murderous Artificial Intelligence, but those are previously released end themes from video games. But the title track "Artificial Heart," is much more ambiguous. The artificial heart is symbolic of detached emotion--it's not a real artificial heart. Other songs are more opaque*--in the exquisite "Today With Your Wife," is he singing to his lover's ex, his widowed sister's husband, or just a man who is emotionally absent from his family? All you know is "you should have been there."

Another songwriter wouldn't demand such scrutiny, but Coulton's earlier output was almost completely a collection of songs that told funny and/or sad stories. Even when the song didn't take place on an asteroid prison mine, it took place somewhere. His best song (in my humble opinion), "Shop Vac," takes place in the most mundane place on earth, but you know exactly where it is and who lives there. I think this is a positive development, but it is a confusing one.

It's positive because it allows him to move past being a novelty act (which I have nothing against, you should know) and show off his amazing sense of melody. I've been playing and replaying the song "Nemeses," a hopeful love song to a potential enemy, just to hear the first six notes. On this song and two others, Coulton steps back and lets other people take the lead vocal. "Nemeses" is sung by John Roderick, of a band called The Long Winters; I had not heard of the band before but I have since listened to a few more of their tracks. Roderick, I have to say, is a better singer than Coulton, but they sing together beautifully.

I suspect that Artificial Heart has already created a contingent of "I liked his old stuff better" JoCo fans.

I am sure others have written better developed, more lucid reviews of this album and what it means, but I had to get this out. Maybe I'll look around and see what others have to say.

*Exceptions to the claim that the songs on this album are opaque include "Good Morning Tucson," about a local TV anchor--like a Weird Al song without enough jokes, and "Je Suis Rick Springfield," a song entirely in French from the point of view of a guy at a bar trying to pick up girls claiming that he's Rick Springfield, and "The Stache," a respectful number about ironic hipster facial hair.

Comments

[ruthling.livejournal.com]

I'm not exactly in the "I only liked his old stuff" contingent, but I've been slow to warm up to this new album. There are a few really strong songs on there, but the melodies aren't always there and there's a lacking of sharpness on many of the songs. What I've loved about JoCo's stuff from early on is how incredibly sharp and detailed his songs were, materially weird but vividly imagined and complete, as well as being really well-made pop songs. I find a lot of the new material (not all of it -- "nemeses", "revolve" and "good morning tucson" still do it for me) kind of bland. There are plenty of pretty singer songwriters -- I want someone who can tell me a really interesting story in perfect meter and rhyme (or playing with such, e.g., "first of may") and a catchy tune.

[urbpan.livejournal.com]

Yeah, yeah, I think that's all valid.

[urbpan.livejournal.com]

I think you're onto something here. I didn't follow "Thing a week" as it came out, so as far as I was concerned the moment I found out about him (step-daughter listening to Skullcrusher mountain) there was this massive volume of (as you say) "materially weird but vividly imagined and complete" songs to discover, already made.

This experience is very different, but I have become obsessed with the two I posted videos of. (Also "Nobody loves you like me")

"Revolve" I find kind of baffling. What's in the box? Is it a creepy doll? Maybe I'm too simple for that one. Also "Arsonist."

[ruthling.livejournal.com]

IIRC, when he first performed "revolve" there was a line about "...and I liked it" somewhere in the middle. I think it's about how the ends of relationships can screw you up but good. Also, a creepy doll, of course. Or nanobots.

[asakiyume.livejournal.com]

I was impressed, when I was pointed to Jonathan Coulton (first track I ever heard was re: your brains), that it was all there: words, humorous theme, melodies, and sound of his voice. It's hard to score high on all those points (and not necessary really--but a real bonus if you do), and he did.

I haven't heard any of the new stuff yet, but regardless of what I, personally, end up thinking, I have two contradictory thoughts: on the one hand, I like to see people succeed and reach a wider audience, so if this helps him do that, I'm glad. On the other, I do really like idiosyncratic songs, so it's a shame if that ends up slipping away. But on yet another hand, a person can't always keep doing the same thing. Sometimes you have to go on and explore doing new things, and when you do, people who loved the thing you were doing before are unhappy--but I'd think it was sad if someone felt chained to producing one type of things.

They Might Be Giants seem to me to be a good example of a band that's stayed idiosyncratic, yet have explored different things in their music, and with a consistent level of popularity.

[urbpan.livejournal.com]

Of course I recommend you listen to the three songs I posted youtube videos to here, for a taste of the new album. I forgot to mention that the current drummer for TMBG drums on Coulton's new album, and you can hear the similarity (between TMBG's current stuff and the Coulton album).

[urbpan.livejournal.com]

Twitter is supposed to have made me more lucid and succinct.

[asakiyume.livejournal.com]

I listened to the first one as I was typing and liked it--but I want to go back and listen again, so I can pay attention to the lyrics, since that's half of where the pleasure is.

Then I'll listen to the other two.