Hello wonderful people of the song of the week community. Some of you may have noticed the glaring omission of last week. Worry not! This was a planned(ish) hiatus --- I knew that my song of the week would be the same as Anna's (let's call it uhh... an omen) so I rather selfishly thought I'd piggyback off of her great write up. Anyway, fear not wonderful people of the song of the week community, I'm back.
This week I've been specifically really enjoying Panic! at the Disco's Too Weird to Live, Too Rare to Die!. I've talked, previously, and at length, about my love for their (in my opinion, much maligned) album Vices & Virtues. However, it was not actually an album I owned as a tween/teen, when I did much of my listening on CD. Too Weird to Live, Too Rare to Die! was one such album that I did own, alongside The Black Parade, Save Rock and Roll and of course the inimitable Vessel, which I've also been throwback-listening to ever since Peter reminded me of its existence. Anyway, as I've also mentioned, an important component of enjoyment is nostalgia, and this is an album absolutely dripping in nostalgia[^1]. It's one of those where I can barely listen to the songs shuffled into playlists, because I anticipate so much the transfer into the next song on the album.
I have to be clear --- I still do not think this is P!atD's best album. I do not even think it is their second-best album (A Fever You Can't Sweat Out). But, it is one I've been really enjoying listening to recently. Alright, let's do a whistle-stop tour of the tracklist.
This is Gospel -- Completely iconic. Definitely the best-known song of the album. Great music video, and it links up with a music video of P!atD's subsequent album (Death of a Bachelor). Really like the heartbeat at the start, I think it's a great intro to the album
Miss Jackson (feat. LOLO) -- I LOVE the transition from This is Gospel into this track, I don't know why it hits so hard every time. This is honestly a kind of boring song because there's barely any lyrics but it makes you feel kind of cool to listen to. Or, it did, when I was a lot younger. Music video has a lot of fire.
Vegas Lights -- Really enjoy the psychedelic synths on this one, it's a really great backing to the ok lyricism. This is the last album that Spencer Smith (LOVE!!!!) played drums on, and though I think this one feels a lot less "him", I definitely still notice the way his drums carry this (and the rest of) the songs forward, and give it that rock grounding that keeps the songs enjoyable despite the more pop-forward tracks.
Girl That You Love -- fine. I like the thump that starts the song. The very flat singing Urie does on this one is a bit boring to me. Sorry!
Nicotine -- Gorgeous. She IS that girl. Great track. Good drums which is always what I'm looking for in a track. Made me look so silly earlier today because I was dancing along while walking to the bus stop and twisted my ankle because it was too aggressive. Also, I had to turn around anyway because I'd forgotten my money. Anyway point being, I really like this song. I think the build ups are good, it's catchy and fun, basic concept but enjoyable.
Girls/ Girls/ Boys -- I have to rate this one highly for 14 year old me who thought this was the most ground-breaking song in the world. Unfortunately I listened to it too much when I was young and rather than nostalgia it just pisses me off... Many years ago, I got a reddit account (lame yeah yeah) because I wanted to be on My Chemical Romance discussion boards, and that meant I was also generally involved with fan opinions on songs. Anyway, the story goes that Spencer wrote this about his wife being bisexual, but then she didn't want to get outed, so Urie said he'd say it was about a threesome he had to avoid this. Now do I believe this? No. That seems crazy. What the hell. But it's kind of a funny story anyway.
Casual Affair -- Really fun synth-y sounds on this track. Opening is great. Another victim of Urie flat singing. Why was he doing this so much on this album. His only redeeming trait is that he's a great singer. That's all he has !!!! Why isn't he using it !!!! Thank god Spencer is here to save it.
Far Too Young to Die -- The song that got this album back stuck in my head again! I don't know why, it was just on the brain I guess. I think it's one I overlooked when I was originally a fan, so it's been more fun to come back to it from a bit of a novel angle. I just really enjoy the chorus, it flows really well.
Collar Full -- THE SONG EVER !!! I don't know why this is maybe the most romantic song ever to me but it is !! I really really like it, such a feel-good track for me. Makes me go YIPEE!!! I would love to be in a sensory deprivation chamber and just float and listen to this. Songs that fill me up like a balloon!! I don't even know why because it STILL has lame Urie singing on it. Why does he sound like he's talk-singing all of these tracks. Wild. Anyway. Love it.
The End of All Things -- Notable for nice piano but the song itself is kinda lame. In what world do I want to listen to this apart from at the end of the album. Lame and BORING too. I mean it's fine in context but I just don't get it. This is meant to be a PARTY album. Chop chop get dancing.
Anyway so I know what you're thinking --- what's my song of the week? Great question. It's Ankles by Lucy Dacus. Ha HAA!! Got you there. Bet you weren't expecting that. I've been listening to it sooo much the last few weeks and everytime I notice something cool and new to focus in on !!! Great song love it. I am a fan of boygenius (they topped my most-listened songs last year!) but actually barely listen to any of their solo music, so this was a really fun discovery. Now I can sound more cool to my cousin I guess.
I find it very hard to explain what I like about this song so much. It's too good! Anything I say sounds tragically reductive. I love the violins, folding in to each other. I love the gorgeous dress Lucy Dacus wears in the music video. I love the bridge in the middle of the song, the thumping heart that beats through it, syncopated. I love the simplicity of the lyrics, the open-faced desire that puts itself in the open. I love not having to touch someone, if I don't want to, because there's a lot of ways I don't want to. I love the imagery of biting, and grabbing and dragging. I love the imagery of cosiness, of caring, of crosswords. Have you ever liked someone so much you want to crawl inside of their skin? Have you ever wanted to ask someone every question inside of you, such that you'd know their inside and their outside? Ravenous to hold every piece of them, each little fact, tucked into a pocket somewhere safe? That's what the song sounds like, to me. It's everything, and it's desperate, and it's secure and safe, too. I like it a lot, is the point.
[^1]: Side note: I do think it's really interesting the way that wetness/moistness is a trait that is often also associated with goodness, at least in English. Is this the case across all languages? To be fair, England is quite often damp and yet it is, after all, still positive generally for things to be damp --- especially for crops, it is the generally desirable state. But if you are an indigineous person from, say, the Amazon is it still the case? Does the necessary link still exist of moistness as desirable? I'm not sure why I got so hooked on this. I suppose, if you think of the book Dune, there is a deliberate effort to think about a society where water is so vital. But this is of course sort of funny, because that's also the case on Earth! And, yes, Dune does interesting things with this but, still. Through history, freshwater has been one of the hardest things to access. I wonder at how interesting it would be to consider a language of a people where the opposite is the case? Would connotations change? Or would we also have to be alien creatures, unreliant on water at all? Who knows. I've been reading too much of The Feminist Critique of Language, clearly.↵
Back to archive.
|
<- Trinity | webring | Peter Hebden -> |
|---|