Maybe someone else should drive
Posted on September 8, 2003 @ 10:00 pm
I just heard the Barenaked Ladies’ new single, “Another Postcard.” Much to my continuing dismay, it appears that BNL isn’t particularly intent on shaking their growing reputation as a novelty act. Here’s an excerpt from the lyrics:
| Some chimps in swimsuits, some chimps are swinging from a vine Some chimps in jackboots, some chimps that wish they could be mine. Starsky and Hutch chimps, a chimp who’s sitting on the can A pair of Dutch chimps who send their love from Amsterdam. Another postcard with chimpanzees And every one is addressed to me. |
Now, imagine that first bit being rapped in a style not entirely dissimilar to Snow of mid-1990s “Informer” fame.
Sigh.
I love BNL; I really do. It’s getting to the point, though, that I’m almost ashamed to admit it. I’ll still go on record saying that BNL is far and away one of the best acts that I’ve ever had the pleasure of seeing live. With the exception of a small handful of songs, however, I can’t say that I’ve particularly enjoyed their two most recent studio releases. I realize, of course, that I’m in a minority in that regard. After all, Stunt and Maroon catapulted BNL into the mainstream for the first time (at least in the United States) and won the band legions of new fans. I just wish that they’d make a return to the more mature songwriting of Maybe You Should Drive and Born on a Pirate Ship. Sure, BNL is a decent enough band when it comes to “geek rock” or “frat rock” or whatever they’re calling it this week, but I’m positive that the band is capable of being much more than that–without sacrificing their mainstream success in the process.
Oh, who am I kidding? I’ll be at Best Buy to pick up Everything to Everyone when it hits stores on October 21, hoping that the first single isn’t reflective of the album as a whole. I don’t have particularly high hopes, though. Chimps in jackboots? Sigh.
Posted by Jess | Filed Under Pop Culture |
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yep.
So, have you heard “Another Postcard” yet? There are some sites here, there, and about that offer a streaming version. Looking back at my entry, I don’t feel like I managed to capture just how truly awful this song is. It sounds like a children’s song gone horribly wrong.
yeah, I heard it on the iTunes Music Store. Suffice it to say that I didn’t think it was worth buying for 99¢.
I still never listen to much more than Gordon or MYSD. Then again, I don’t have Gordon on CD, and being the sorry elitist I am, won’t buy the re-release with the new cover art, so I guess I don’t listen to it much, either.
Fortunately, I was able to snag a copy of the old-skool, “aren’t we dorks?” cover of Gordon on CD before they started disappearing.
Honestly, though, I don’t even find myself listening to Gordon all that much anymore. MYSD and BOAPS are pretty much it for me when it comes to BNL. I especially enjoy listening to BOAPS when I’m feeling nostalgic about King. I think I associate it with fond memories since it tended to be in my CD-ROM drive quite a bit during the marathon Quake sessions of yore.
…as did Bach, or Beethoven or something, for a while during an experimental phase, if I’m not mistaken.
And don’t forget the Björk torture sessions.