It’s been a while since I’ve been “obsessed” with a record. By that I mean, basically, that’s all I listen to for a period of time. The new Swell Season record, “Strict Joy,” is exactly that record. It’s been over 2 weeks, and Anya, my 16 year old daughter, who by the way is the princess of music obsession, yelled at me “Papa!!!! You’re obsessed!!” Let me try and explain as best I can why. And as Frank Zappa says, “talking about music is like dancing about architecture.” Let’s dance!
Being a Nashville player and writer, it’s hard not to fall into 33 rules of Nashville songwriting. When you first start writing in Nashville, you get a lot of feedback; ie, you need to change this, do this, etc. So you figure out what people are wanting and try to write “towards” that. Obviously, if you are a commercial songwriter, you want people to listen to your songs. And get them cut.
When Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova won the best oscar song for “Falling Slowly,” I remember the phrase “make art” being said. In this record they clearly do that.
It’s difficult to get a poinant thought across in a song. You craft lyric, put in internal rhymes, and try to come up with clever lines that “paint it, don’t say it.” In Strict Joy, there is a deeper level of lyric writing. And that is painting a picture with poetry, even to the point where some of the lyrics may not make sense. But when you hear the song, the intent is clear and the emotions that come out are amazing! Swell Season are masters of this. This is why I’m currently obsessed over this record. I think if you listen to it, you might be as well.
Let’s discuss this! If you are a music lover, chances are you are obsessed with something. Let me know what album you are “Obsessing” over right now. Please comment!! Later!
