Confessions of a Fanboy

I guess I never got the memo. It must be Depressing Boston Music Day today because the only songs that seem to make sense to me at the moment are The Lemonheads and Pernice Brothers. I wonder why that is.

Maybe it’s because I’m at work on a sunny Sunday morning. Maybe it’s because I’m at work, secure in the knowledge that I’d be bored out of my ass if I’d just stayed home instead.

It’s Disappointed Daydream Pop Day today. I think that’s a good description for a lot of Pernice Brothers’ music and it applies to a big chunk of The Lemonheads It’s a Shame About Ray record. These songs aren’t oppressively depressing and they have lovely sonic gloss, but the seeds of discontent have been sewn and they’ve blossomed into these perfect pop songs. These songs understand me today. I’m not depressed. There are people out there with real problems. Things could be and have been so much worse, but that doesn’t stop me from daydreaming my day away about the innumerable ways life could be a little better and a lot more interesting. It’s a silly Sunday mired in myopia.

Productive? Not hardly. Interesting? Not slightly… but at least the boredom has a great soundtrack:

The Lemonheads’ It’s a Shame About Ray

• The Turnpike Down: As of today, the second most listened to song on my iPod, right behind The Raconteurs’ “Consolers of the Lonely.” I don’t know if disappointment has ever been distilled into a 2:30 minute song better than it is here.
• Hannah & Gabi: I haven’t memorized the lyrics or done any hardcore analysis of them but this song has grown on me the past couple of weeks. It’s got a bit of an alt-country flavor to it.
• Bit Part: I hate the fucking screamed part that Juliana Hatfield does before the song. Here’s a real advantage of the iPod/iTunes age: I’ve programmed the song to start with the music, skipping that scream. It’s a little too clever in the lyrics department, but the song is pretty great.
• Confetti: I love the kind of/would have/should have thing in the lyrics. I just can’t believe I didn’t get this record 15 years ago.

The Pernice Brothers’ The World Won’t End

• Our Time Has Passed: I’ve been singing the wrong words to this song for a long time, but it still makes sense. My mistake? I thought “this world won’t get at us” was “this world won’t end at all.” How did I do that? Beats the fuck outta me. Joe’s line is better. That’s why he has a band and I have a fuckin’ web site. I love this song, though.

• Working Girls: This has a first verse that sets a scene as well as some of my favorite Springsteen songs. Take Bruce’s “Thunder Road:” “A screen door slams, Mary’s dress waves.” Bam! You’re right there. Take Bruce’s “I’ll Work For Your Love,” from Magic: “Pour me a drink, Teresa, in one of those glasses you dust off.” Scene is set! Now, let’s look at “Working Girls:” “She summered every winter through a calendar from paradise.” Brilliant. Tell me you can’t picture that girl, that you don’t know her. Go on, I fuckin’ dare you.
• She Heightened Everything: “Keep loving me to death.” Spectacular.

Filed under: Joe Pernice, Music of the Moment