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Backspacer - Politics and Romance (Not Gone Bad)

Pearl SamPearl Sam Posts: 88
edited June 2009 in The Porch
Maybe we are due for some lyrics about positive romantic experiences? Is love gone bad all PJ is good for? Are Black, Small Town, Light Years, Sad, Come Back, etc. all PJ has to say about romantic love, or is there another side to the story, still left untold?

Can the band successfully write a masterpiece about love gone good, comingled with, ............... politics? Is this viable? Woudn't the music still have to be hard, dark (kinda), angry, grunge? Is the combination of success with romance and "grunge" music a paradox? What about if politics are added to the recipe?

I think it's not a paradox at all - and perhaps we'll soon see that's true.
Post edited by Unknown User on

Comments

  • benjsbenjs Toronto, ON Posts: 9,223
    Police Man wrote:
    Maybe we are due for some lyrics about positive romantic experiences? Is love gone bad all PJ is good for? Are Black, Small Town, Light Years, Sad, Come Back, etc. all PJ has to say about romantic love, or is there another side to the story, still left untold?

    Can the band successfully write a masterpiece about love gone good, comingled with, ............... politics? Is this viable? Woudn't the music still have to be hard, dark (kinda), angry, grunge? Is the combination of success with romance and "grunge" music a paradox? What about if politics are added to the recipe?

    I think it's not a paradox at all - and perhaps we'll soon see that's true.
    As a generalization, I think songs about love gone right are more difficult to make into substantial songs that amount to more than bubblegum pop than songs about love gone wrong - which, really, I'd say are quite a bit easier to write about. Politics have been in the recipe for a while. I think it wouldn't be too far-fetched to assume that there will probably be both songs about politics, and about love gone right. In my opinion, the last few albums seemed to have themes that stuck throughout... for this one, I think that theme could be hope.
    '05 - TO, '06 - TO 1, '08 - NYC 1 & 2, '09 - TO, Chi 1 & 2, '10 - Buffalo, NYC 1 & 2, '11 - TO 1 & 2, Hamilton, '13 - Buffalo, Brooklyn 1 & 2, '15 - Global Citizen, '16 - TO 1 & 2, Chi 2

    EV
    Toronto Film Festival 9/11/2007, '08 - Toronto 1 & 2, '09 - Albany 1, '11 - Chicago 1
  • Pearl SamPearl Sam Posts: 88
    benjs wrote:
    As a generalization, I think songs about love gone right are more difficult to make into substantial songs that amount to more than bubblegum pop

    Yes - especially in charting, mainstream music. I have to say though, some of my favorites are about love gone right, and they are far, far from bubblegum. Here's a couple examples of albums that give love to romance, but don't fall into the bubblegum trap.

    http://www.metacritic.com/music/artists ... =Radiohead
    http://www.metacritic.com/music/artists ... J%20Harvey
  • benjsbenjs Toronto, ON Posts: 9,223
    Police Man wrote:
    benjs wrote:
    As a generalization, I think songs about love gone right are more difficult to make into substantial songs that amount to more than bubblegum pop

    Yes - especially in charting, mainstream music. I have to say though, some of my favorites are about love gone right, and they are far, far from bubblegum. Here's a couple examples of albums that give love to romance, but don't fall into the bubblegum trap.

    http://www.metacritic.com/music/artists ... =Radiohead
    http://www.metacritic.com/music/artists ... J%20Harvey
    Huh. Weird. I've never actually noticed that theme throughout In Rainbows... I'll have to spin the vinyl tonight and keep the lyrics booklet in hand - the only way to understand Thom Yorke :mrgreen:
    As for PJ Harvey - I've never actually heard one song of theirs. Is that a good first album to check out?
    '05 - TO, '06 - TO 1, '08 - NYC 1 & 2, '09 - TO, Chi 1 & 2, '10 - Buffalo, NYC 1 & 2, '11 - TO 1 & 2, Hamilton, '13 - Buffalo, Brooklyn 1 & 2, '15 - Global Citizen, '16 - TO 1 & 2, Chi 2

    EV
    Toronto Film Festival 9/11/2007, '08 - Toronto 1 & 2, '09 - Albany 1, '11 - Chicago 1
  • Pearl SamPearl Sam Posts: 88
    benjs wrote:
    As for PJ Harvey - I've never actually heard one song of theirs. Is that a good first album to check out?

    Oh my - yes Stories features romance throughout, but in a dark, positive way. :D

    As for In Rainbows, yes give it a listen with the lyrics sheet. And, here's an exerpt from the wiki article about the album: "The songwriting on In Rainbows was more personal than that on Radiohead's other albums, with singer Thom Yorke describing most tracks as his versions of seduction songs."
  • Pearl SamPearl Sam Posts: 88
    Not to get too off topic but Blender's review of In Rainbows, although mostly positive, says "it seemed to be primarily composed of love songs ... that are starving for human connection but generate all the interpersonal warmth of a GPS system".

    But, that's Thom Yorke - we all know Ed can generate more warmth than a GPS system. :mrgreen:
  • jwillmojwillmo Posts: 471
    Thin Air is a sweet, love-gone-right song, is it not? So it's Stone's fault they don't write more love songs.
  • Pearl SamPearl Sam Posts: 88
    jwillmo wrote:
    Thin Air is a sweet, love-gone-right song, is it not? So it's Stone's fault they don't write more love songs.

    Oh yes it is - one of my PJ faves! Good call.
  • LikeAnOceanLikeAnOcean Posts: 7,718
    edited June 2009
    Police Man wrote:
    jwillmo wrote:
    Thin Air is a sweet, love-gone-right song, is it not? So it's Stone's fault they don't write more love songs.

    Oh yes it is - one of my PJ faves! Good call.
    Thin Air
    Parachutes
    Around the Bend
    You
    You Are
    Love Boat Captain


    Those are all positive love songs..
    Post edited by LikeAnOcean on
  • slightofjeffslightofjeff Posts: 7,762
    I was gonna say ... If I were getting married today, Parachutes would figure prominently in the ceremony somehow.

    That's a positive love song if there ever was one.
    everybody wants the most they can possibly get
    for the least they could possibly do
  • timctimc Posts: 664
    You Are
    great love song, think of wife and kids everytime I hear it
  • Stu42Stu42 Posts: 178
    never given in rainbows a proper listen with the lyrics sheet, but most of the lyrics i remember are broken hearted. Maybe I just can't get around the line "I'm an animal in your hot car" , thats pretty gruesome
  • Stephen FlowStephen Flow Posts: 3,327
    Isn't it kind of unfair to ask any band to write a song about a particular topic?
  • dimitrispearljamdimitrispearljam Posts: 139,721
    love it :arrow:
    "...Dimitri...He talks to me...'.."The Ghost of Greece..".
    "..That's One Happy Fuckin Ghost.."
    “..That came up on the Pillow Case...This is for the Greek, With Our Apologies.....”
  • PJ Fan est. 1990PJ Fan est. 1990 Posts: 1,788
    aren't e forgetting a huge song?


    OCEANS! that's a love song...he wrote it about beth...god does no one watch unplugged anymore? i mean they just released it on DVD a few months ago!
  • slightofjeffslightofjeff Posts: 7,762
    Stu42 wrote:
    never given in rainbows a proper listen with the lyrics sheet, but most of the lyrics i remember are broken hearted. Maybe I just can't get around the line "I'm an animal in your hot car" , thats pretty gruesome

    That line was actually inspired by the Will Ferrell movie Talladega Nights.
    everybody wants the most they can possibly get
    for the least they could possibly do
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