XTC's "Mayor of Simpleton"
This selection comes from a recent event. See, Hildy and I were driving to The Grove this afternoon when this number popped up on my car stereo. In fact, it was eminating from a mix CD which I had made when I was at my most despondent this year. It's a telling sign of how I craft my musical choices, as I try to color my darkest moments with upbeat music. Anyway, I was trying to explain exactly how the song impacted my life and why I love it so much, and I was coming up with a complete blank. As I am wont to do around Hildy, I stumbled around some ridiculous phrases, citing the intricate, witty lyrics (to which Hildy noted "you shouldn't listen to music for the lyrics alone"), the three-chord simplicity, and the generally peppyness of the song. I think what I finally ended up saying was this: "I can never feel bad when this song is on."
Okay, so I got close. The lyrics really are a sticking point for me; heck, even the title itself contains a neat little turn of phrase. These lyrics are not merely witty, though; lyricist Andy Partridge manages to evoke a complex and funny love story through simple images, never straining for a lyric or bending his meter out of shape to fit in one more word. Check out the words to the bridge, which create an excellent snapshot of the song's tone:
I'm not proud of the fact that I never learned much
Just feel I should say
What you get is all real, I can't put on an act
It takes brains to do that, anyway. . .
Now, I wouldn't consider these the greatest lyircs ever written, not by a long shot. They don't have to be; all that you need to do is get a sense of character and of tone, and this piece delivers in spades. I'm a real sucker for the fact that not only is the narrator's whole argument brought full circle in these four lines, but also that these four lines echo the structure of the entire piece. That's dedication.
Then there's the deceptively simple tune. On first listen, all you hear is the lead line; it's a pretty simple C-D-G progression, but it's effortless and sticks in your head so firmly that you have to go around whistling it. With each progressive listen, though, you begin to hear the buried guitar, bass, and synth lines; once heard, they become unmistakable. Amazingly, every buried line carries with it a completely alternate melody for the song, each of which also works as a harmony for the lead. Last time through, I counted seven, and then pretty much stood in awe at how long the band must have spent tooling out these alternates. It's numbers like this one that stopped me from going into songwriting as a full-time profession; it's a whole different way of thinking.
I'll shut up now and let you listen. For all the things I wanted to explain while getting tongue-tied, the song ultimately speaks for itself.
Okay, so I got close. The lyrics really are a sticking point for me; heck, even the title itself contains a neat little turn of phrase. These lyrics are not merely witty, though; lyricist Andy Partridge manages to evoke a complex and funny love story through simple images, never straining for a lyric or bending his meter out of shape to fit in one more word. Check out the words to the bridge, which create an excellent snapshot of the song's tone:
I'm not proud of the fact that I never learned much
Just feel I should say
What you get is all real, I can't put on an act
It takes brains to do that, anyway. . .
Now, I wouldn't consider these the greatest lyircs ever written, not by a long shot. They don't have to be; all that you need to do is get a sense of character and of tone, and this piece delivers in spades. I'm a real sucker for the fact that not only is the narrator's whole argument brought full circle in these four lines, but also that these four lines echo the structure of the entire piece. That's dedication.
Then there's the deceptively simple tune. On first listen, all you hear is the lead line; it's a pretty simple C-D-G progression, but it's effortless and sticks in your head so firmly that you have to go around whistling it. With each progressive listen, though, you begin to hear the buried guitar, bass, and synth lines; once heard, they become unmistakable. Amazingly, every buried line carries with it a completely alternate melody for the song, each of which also works as a harmony for the lead. Last time through, I counted seven, and then pretty much stood in awe at how long the band must have spent tooling out these alternates. It's numbers like this one that stopped me from going into songwriting as a full-time profession; it's a whole different way of thinking.
I'll shut up now and let you listen. For all the things I wanted to explain while getting tongue-tied, the song ultimately speaks for itself.
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