Brit Brit

Setting: an LA studio, early 2008

Producer:  Okay Britney, we need one more song and we've got ourselves an album. You got anything?
Britney:  You know, I was listening to the radio in the car and I had this genius idea.  It's totally our first single.  I wrote it down and this is going to change the game.
Producer:  W-Wait, really?  Seriously?  Well all right!  Let's see what you've got.
Britney:  Ok. I'm thinking a pulsing, mid-tempo, edgy dance number...
Producer: So far, so good...
Britney: ...and it's kind of a kiss-off to a player...
Producer: ...I'm liking it...
Britney: ...and I think I'm gonna call it "Womanizer", which goes along with the whole robotic dance sound. It's this word that I heard the other day and it really stuck with me, and I think it could mean a lot for girls today who are tired of being played.
Producer:  Great!!  Wow, this could be really something!  Alright, step up to the mic and let's record some of this while it's still fresh!
Britney: Okay, here goes.  [Singing] "Womanizer, womanizer, you're a womanizer oh, womanizer, womanizer you're a womanizer baby you you you are, you you you are, womanizer, womanizer, he's a womanizer she's a womanizer we're all womanizers Bob's a womanizer womanizer baby oh womanizer womanizer toxic womanizer wo-..."
Producer:  Whoa Brit, whoa. Hang on a second.
Britney:  What's the problem?
Bob the Custodian:  Yeah, what's the problem?
Producer: It's just... aren't you just singing the word "womanizer" over and over again?  Like, are there other lyrics?
Britney: There are other lyrics too!  I just really like that word.
Producer: All right I just... I just think that if you're going to have a hit chorus, you need more than the same word over and over and over again, no?
Britney:  Well I wasn't done yet, though!  And I really think that today's girls will be able to identify with it.
Producer:  Okay well, I don't know.  We're on a tight schedule.  We need a hit song done in like ten minutes.
Britney:  Okay.
Producer:  You don't have any other songs?
Britney: Well, I'm working on one that I think I'm going to call "1 2 3" or something and I'll namecheck beloved folk group Peter, Paul, and Mary as a euphamism for a threesome.
Producer: Uhhhhh yeah okay we'll go with "Womanizer".  Just throw the word "swagger" in there somewhere and we should be good.

Setting: Some time later, Scotland
Alex Kapranos:  Guys, let's cover this song. It'll be hilarious.
Franz Ferdinand:

New Music Wednesday!

Each Wednesday, I will (attempt) to review two or three songs that I am hearing for the first time and review them, in an effort to both broaden my own musical tastes and perhaps inspire you to do the same.

Well I am getting this entry in just under the gun. It's been a busy day but as promised, I've set aside the bare minimum of minutes to take in two songs that are new to me and sketch out my initial impressions. Here we go.

The Rake's Song
The Decemberists, The Hazards of Love, 2009

Though I am only somewhat familiar with The Decemberists, I have liked what I have heard so far and find Colin Meloy to be an interesting and very literary songwriter. That said, from a lyrical perspective, the story of a man who used to be a "rake" and is now a father seemed to fit right in with other songs from their canon. Musically, however, this piece was far more bracing than I expected, especially after hearing some of Meloy's recent solo work. The riff makes good use of the lower reaches of the acoustic guitar's range, while the drums, which kick in a few verses in, are heavy and relentless--definitely the principal instrumental feature of the song. The Decemberists P.R. team, or perhaps the band themselves, has described their new album as "the tale of a woman named Margaret who is ravaged by a shape-shifting animal; her lover, William; a forest queen; and a cold-blooded, lascivious rake, who recounts with spine-tingling ease how he came "to be living so easy and free" in the aforementioned 'The Rake’s Song.'" Well then. Oddly enough I heard echoes of more recent material from Green Day in "The Rake's Song", which surprised me. Although I think the song could be a bit repetitive after a while, it is fairly heavy for an acoustic guitar number and sang with gusto. It whets the appetite for the rest of the album, due out in March. Not bad for a free tune! Follow the link above to get your free mp3 of the song direct from the band.
Grade: B-

Ulysses
Franz Ferdinand, Tonight: Franz Ferdinand, 2009

I've loved Franz Ferdinand and their music since I first heard the electric guitars kick in in "Jacqueline", from their eponymous debut album. Their brand of dance rock is infectious and quirky, and I think a few years ago I listened to "Do You Want To" about 50 times when it came out. "Ulysses" is undeniably Franz but with a more evolved sound, delving into synthesized sounds in the European dance fashion (along similar lines as The Killers). Although hearing of the use of the synthesizer usually scares me to the point where I will not even try to listen to a new song, I heard the tail end of this song on the radio a few weeks ago, and finally got to hear it in full tonight. Though I already used the word, the rhythm section is immediately and definitively infectious. Alex Kapranos sings of finding a "new way" to escape boredom, and what better way to chase away the doldrums than getting high while flirting with the girl from the night before, right? You can definitely dance to this stuff, but it is still rock music first and foremost. The guitars are present and prominent enough to keep this from reaching the realms of synth pop. I'd recommend "Ulysses" (pronounced "YULE-eh-sees", according to these Scots) to anyone looking to rock out (or at least nod their head) for three minutes. Definitely a Friday and Saturday night kind of song. Very cool.
Grade: B+