Thiry Days of Music Day 25 - A Song That Makes You Laugh

Ben Folds is clearly a witty guy with lots to say - Army demonstrates this in full effect - and he deserves great respect for the style of his lyricism and songwriting.  He's been in the music industry for about 15 years in various forms and Army, released in 1999, is from his spell in Ben Folds Five.

The melody is catchy and upbeat and, although somewhat whiny, Folds' vocals suit the style of song he is singing.  The instrumentation is similarly upbeat, and varied - employing his classic jazz piano style and horns for the bridge.  However, the lyrics are what the song is all about.  Almost entirely biographical, the song recounts Folds' college breakdown and attempt at joining the army.  Even the line: 'Dad said "Son, you're fucking high"' is historically accurate.

This lyrical mastery, along with the piano, is Folds' calling card and Army is the perfect example of this.  The lyrics are damn fine, and when sung they just get better and better:

well i thought about the army

dad said, son you're fucking high

and i thought, yeah there's a first for everything

so i took my old man's advice

three sad semesters

it was only fifteen grand spent in bed

i thought about the army

i dropped out and joined a band instead

grew a moustache and a mullet

got a job at chic-fil-a

citing artistic differences

the band broke up in may

and in june reformed without me

and they'd got a different name

i nuked another grandma's apple pie

and hung my head in shame

i've been thinking a lot today

i've been thinking a lot today

oh, i think i'll write a screenplay

oh, i think i'll take it to LA

oh, i think i'll get it done yesterday

in this time of introspection

on the eve of my election

i say to my reflection

god, please spare me more rejection

'cause my peers, they criticize me

and my ex-wives all despise me

try to put it all behind me

but my redneck past is nipping at my heels

i've been thinking a lot today

i've been thinking a lot today

i've been thinking a lot today

i thought about the army...



Thirty Days of Music Day 23 - A Song You Want To Play At Your Wedding

Soul Meets Body is the kind of exploration of love, joy and purity that you would expect to be played at a wedding.  It would be one of the songs I would choose to dance to because it has got a reasonably quick tempo and an accessible beat, but it is also appropriate for the kind of occasion that a marriage is.

The whole song revolves around the unity of two people and the lyrics are touching and romantic:

I cannot guess what we'll discover

When we turn the dirt

With our palms cupped like shovels,
But I know our filthy hands

Can wash one another's
And not one speck will remain

 

The key to the lyrics are the survival of the two characters when they are together; they 'wash one another' and the the narrator describes his partner as 'A melody softly soaring through my atmosphere'.

Such Great Heights, another stunning love song written by Ben Gibbard, is also a perfect choice for a wedding song.  Although not as perfect to dance to as Soul Meets Body, it excels lyrically to an even greater extent than my first choice. 

I am thinking it's a sign

That the freckles in our eyes
Are mirror images and when we kiss

They're perfectly aligned

And I have to speculate

That God himself did make us

Into corresponding shapes

Like puzzle pieces from the clay

It's really such a stunning song both lyrically and melodically - it's clear that Gibbard knows exactly how to write a perfect love song and I haven't even talked about I Will Follow You Into the Dark.