twisting and turning

Friedrich Nietzsche needs to be in this blog. Not because of the moustache, but because of his fondness for both music and aphorisms. His famous quote „Without music life would be a mistake“ is relevant enough here. But what' also interesting is that Nietzsche deployed aphoristics as a means to undermine the fallacious systematicity of traditional philosophical approaches. According to him, philosophical thinking and writing should mirror the subjective and associative character of the human mind, and aphorisms are the appropriate tool to achieve this. In the same vein, I think that aphorisms can serve to break open the formulaic nature of pop songs. There are only so many topics that you can deal with in a traditional pop song, but there are lots of ways in which you can reflect its boundedness by twisting and turning the words, thereby establishing an ironic, self-commenting look-out right in the middle of things. The playfulness and "unconventionality" at the heart of pop music can thus be restored. The best way to illustrate this is with lyrics about love; things being as they are culture-wise, there can hardly be anything more banal than a pop song about love; in fact love is so banal a subject that as a proficient consumer one tends to screen the words off because one is subconsciously certain that there is really nothing worth listening to. But sometimes a gifted mind manages to capture banal truths in extraordinary words, recovering listeners' attention. Witness (and add):

If you wanna hear ‘I love you’, then say it.
(Tonic, “Roses”)

~

Lousy lovers do well with their hands but I'll reach you like nobody can.
(Jakob Dylan, “This End Of The Telescope”)

~

Love is a lie, which means I've been lied to.
(Maximo Park, “Our Velocity”)

~

You can steal what you love but you can't love what you steal.
(Idlewild, “Future Works”)

words from Northern Britain

Some songs are saved by a single extraordinary line in the lyrics; others are merely graced by one.

Glasgow's Teenage Fanclub are a band that I adore for many reasons, not least for the way that they smuggle aphorisms into their tunes. Not only are they equipped with three songwriting geniuses inventing melodies that leave me breathless - the lyrics too are permeated with lines that make me think “God, I wish I had thought of that myself”. Like the fantastic harmonies, great lyrics are brought forward with such understatement you have to listen twice to believe what you hear. Right in the middle of “Tears”, a song of exquisite and exceeding sadness, there appears the line “You're no sucker, so don't blow it”. Out of context it sounds rather goofy, but listen to the song a few times and you realize that these words are exactly where they belong, completely at one with the surrounding mood.

When a music journalist once informed the band how amazing he thought their records were, the bassist answered “You know, they're just some songs we wrote.” I am glad that they're not.

~

God knows it's true, but I think that the devil knows it too.

(“God Knows It's True”)

Don’t always look for comfort in a song.

(“Fear Of Flying”)

I’d steal a car to drive you home.

(“Don’t Look Back”)

Your love is a paradigm for a man just looking for the next cheap rhyme.

(“The Sun Shines From You”)

Come on over, the future's here.

(“Fallen Leaves”)

You're no sucker, so don't blow it.

(“Tears”)

Seasons change everything.

(“Winter”)

When I see you cry, I think ‘Tears are cool’.

(“Tears Are Cool”)

Of all the stars I’ve ever seen, you’re the sun.

(“Hang On”)

Just kick my feet off the ground, I’ll embrace the sky.

(“Going Places”)

Here is a sunrise – ain’t that enough.

(“Ain’t That Enough”)

a time to every purpose

According to a popular aesthetic classification, painting, sculpting and architecture are “spatial arts”, whereas poetry and music are “temporal arts”. Artworks of the former type are concretely and uniquely realised in a certain portion of space, whereas those of the latter are virtual in nature and need to be materialised in the dimension of time. The dependency of music on time might be a reason why reflections on time are such a common subject in pop lyrics. A quick search through my digital music library reveals 153 tracks with the word “time” in their name (compare: “space” -18 hits, “banana” - 1, “Alejandro” - 0).

From a listener's point of view, I am amazed how time starts to fly by as soon as I sit down by my stereo to pick random tracks from my CD collection.

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If time will tell I’m listening.
(Izzy Stradlin, “How Will It Go”)

It's not about you, it's not about sunshine, it's about time.
(The Lemonheads, “It's About Time”)

I’m perfecting the finest art of wasting hours.
(The Jayhawks, “Big Star”)

So sorry for all the days that came only to go away – always.
(Tommy 16, “Griefless Days”)

Time exists, but just on your wrists.
(Travis, “Indefinitely”)

The past is gone, but something might be found to take its place.
(The Gin Blossoms, “Hey Jealousy”)

Time wasted is time well-spent.
(The View, “One-Off Pretender”)

My past, my future, my disease.
(K's Choice, “Now Is Mine”)

Is yesterday tomorrow today?
(The Stereophonics, “Is Yesterday Tomorrow Today”)

The secret of life is enjoying the passage of time. Any fool can do it.
(James Taylor, “The Secret Of Life”)

déjà entendu

Every once in a while it happens to me that I listen to a song for the first time but get the instant feeling that I must have heard it before sometime in my life. Putting aside the less interesting cases of cover versions and rip-offs, I find this an intriguing experience. It's a feeling as if the song fits somewhere in my mind like a piece of a puzzle into its surrounding pieces, or as if the sound comes out of myself rather than from outside even. I relish these moments, because they almost always presage true favourites, songs that I get attached to. I would really like to have a psychologist / neurologist / musicologist enlighten me to this phenomenon. What I read about déjà-vus so far doesn't seem appropriate to it.

In other cases, it is a line rather than the whole song that triggers a déjà entendu in me. For instance the following:

Das Beste an mir sind wir.
(Bernd Begemann, “Ich hab nichts erreicht außer dir”)

which is German for “The best thing about me is us”, plus it rhymes. I simply cannot belief that the German language had to wait for this line until 2004, when the above record came out. It is so obvious and ingenious at the same time, it must have been there all along. Another case in point is

Of all the stars I've ever seen, you're the sun.
(Teenage Fanclub, “Hang On”)

- I mean, come on... Is there any other way to convey your feelings to the one you love at all? I've been wondering since 1995, when I first heard this song.

Perhaps, then, lines such as these are expressions of the “collective unconscious” à la C.G. Jung? Just a guess...

enough is enough

Linguists assume that underlying the organization of our language behaviour is a principle called "the principle of least effort". It states that speakers seek to maximize communicative effects at minimal cost. Put bluntly: "Don't say more than is necessary to get your point across." And note what a great vindication of this principle aphorisms are. Aphorisms need to be sharp and short lest they cease to be aphorisms. Trying to unfurl the meaning of an aphorism in a longer piece of prose is an unrewarding undertaking anyway.

- I like to think that pop musicians are subject to similar rules of expressive economy. I for one am unsettled by otherwise conclusive songs that fray into boring instrumental passages after the final chorus. And even a good chorus can be damaged by repeating it too damn often. Knowing when a song must end is a paramount skill in pop music. Its importance derives from the potentially endless repetitiveness of the song structure.

Today's list starts with a band that never had an issue with knowing when it's enough: The Beach Boys have a remarkable way of fading out their songs at their peak, just when the falsettos are aiming highest, and the swirl of the melody is starting to make you dizzy. "No, don't stop now, keep singing!", I want to shout while listening through my headphones. But then to my relief, there is always the repeat button to push.

~


Wouldn't it be nice if we were older, then we wouldn't have to wait so long.
(The Beach Boys, “Wouldn't It Be Nice”)


~


I died so I could haunt you.
(Stars, “I Died So I Could Haunt You”)


~


If I was in the fridge, would you open the door?
(The Lemonheads, “Being Around”)


~


If I ever get the nerve to say hello in this café – marry me.
(Train, “Marry Me”)


~


What I really see in you is nothing like the things you do
as you are doing them right now.
(K’s Choice, “Cocoon Crash”)


~


Here is a sunrise – ain’t that enough.
(Teenage Fanclub, “Ain’t That Enough”)


~


She doesn’t know it, but really she loves you.
(Blues Traveler, “Most Precarious”)


~


I want to die in the summertime.
(Manic Street Preachers, “Die In The Summertime”)


~


You talk about the world like it’s someplace that you’ve been.
(Goo Goo Dolls, “Broadway”)


~


I’ll be the rain on your fire escape.
(Fastball, “Fire Escape”)


~

California sunsets don't mean shit when you're upset inside.
(Hobotalk, “Letter From A Friend”)

an even couple

Aphoristics and pop music are two forms that go together particularly well, for several reasons. For one thing, both rely on a superficial sort of catchiness which is bound to give way to a more profound punchline. The impact and content of the punchline however is something highly subjective in each case; it is formed in the mind of the recipient. We agree that a certain aphorism / a pop song is meaningful, but we may differ when it comes to explaining what this meaning is, how to capture it descriptively. This is unlike with e.g. jokes, where the point can be made explicit in an intersubjective way. (Particularly with respect to songs, I am constantly amazed at how people differ on their judgements about whether a given song conveys sadness / melancholy or happiness / recklessness!)

Another thing that pop songs and aphorims have in common is that their distinctive charm is based not so much on what is expressed, but rather on how it is expressed. What is important is that something that may already be known or familiar – an idea, a melodic pattern - is conceptualized from a new, different angle. This is what creates the momentum of pleasurable surprise in a good aphorism and a good pop song. - Neither aphoristics nor pop music is the stronghold of conceptual or artistic innovation; it is the realm of the playful, sometimes outrageous, sometimes unassuming.

Come on over,the future's here.

(Teenage Fanclub, "Fallen Leaves")

It’s like 10.000 spoons when all you need is a knife.

(Alanis Morissette, “Ironic”)

You’re all whores, and I’m a fag.

(The Smashing Pumpkins, "Tales Of A Scorched Earth”)

I was so much older then, I’m younger than that now.

(Bob Dylan, “My Back Pages”)

Just kick my feet off the ground, I’ll embrace the sky.

(Teenage Fanclub, “Going Places”)

Don’t it make you smile when the sun don’t shine.

(Pearl Jam, “Smile”)

I’ve been waiting in the desert for my ship to come in.

(Gun, “One Reason”)

Here comes the girl with the perfect teeth – I bet she won’t be smiling at me.

(Therapy, “Trigger Inside”)

Life it seems so easy when it’s from my easy-chair.

(Goo Goo Dolls, “Burning Up”)

It’s hard to sing with someone who won’t sing with you.

(The Jayhawks, “Blue”)

Your smile is worth its weight in gold.

(The Black Crowes, “Better When You’re Not Alone”)

I’ll be better when I’m older.

(Edwin McCain, “I’ll Be”)

round one

...here is a blog about two things I am fond of: words and pop music.

Even though it’s mostly the melodies that grab my attention when I’m listening to music, and the words rather stay in the background, every so often the lyrics outshine the music and start to live independently in my mind, like a beautiful poem. In still other cases, it is not the lyrics as a whole, but merely part of it - a well-turned phrase or an interesting notion - that I come to associate with a song. Here you will find a collection of these latter creatures, which I am calling aphorisms, in a loose understanding of the term.

Some of the items listed here make me smile, some make me ponder, some make me confused - but I have found all of them worth thinking about more than once.

I hope that you will enjoy reading this. I will add new items as I hear and remember them. Please contribute your favourites, too!

Johannes

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You can steal what you love, but you can't love what you steal.
(Idlewild, “Future Works”)

I'd steal a car to drive you home.
(Teenage Fanclub, "Don't Look Back")

You can never ever leave without leaving a piece of youth.
(The Smashing Pumpkins, “Tonight, Tonight”)

You don’t get lost in the dark when you shine.
(Embrace, “I Hope You’re Happy Now”)

I don’t wanna learn more – I’m already tired by things I’ll never do.
(The Wonder Stuff, “Storm Drain”)

In case you haven’t noticed, I’m talking to myself.
(Woodface, “White light to you”)

Don’t always look for comfort in a song.
(Teenage Fanclub, “Fear Of Flying”)

I’m looking forward to looking back on days like today.
(Soul Asylum, “Crawl”)

The devil is not in the details, the devil is in my pants.
(Dog’s Eye View, “Everything Falls Apart”)

I’m sick of myself when I look at you.
(Matthew Sweet, “Sick Of Myself”)

Nostalgia isn’t what it was.
(Stephen Duffy, "So Far Away")

I ain’t an abacus, but you can count on me.
(Jamie T, "Operation")

I never said I was deep - but I am profoundly shallow.
(Jarvis Cocker, "Never Said I Was Deep")

I'm like a firecracker - I make it hot.
(Britney Spears, "Circus")

When you like music more than life, something’s wrong.
(K’s Choice, "Something’s Wrong")

Victory is sweet even deep in the cheap seats.
(Conor Oberst, “Cape Canaveral”)

I've had a pretty hard life for such an easy heart.
(Whiskeytown, “Easy Hearts”)

There ain't no cloud that a bottle can't chase away.
(Del Amitri, “Some Other Sucker's Parade”)

On a clear day I can read your mind.
(Rilo Kiley, “Give A Little Love”)