Very rarely do I change my mind about music after the initial distaste. I didn't care much for Cat Power when I first heard her, nor do I care much about her music now. Or when Maroon 5 first came on the radio, I cringed - and continue to find their songs bland and the band quite lame.
However, I am more than willing to admit how very wrong I was about the Postal Service. Recently I have been sort of obsessed with their one and only album, Give Up, which has a handful of some of the catchiest and most exquisitely written pop/electronica songs ever. The beats are hot....never cliche - but not pretentious either. and Ben has such an adorable way with words - both awkward, and yet very fitting for the music.
The songs evoke a lazy sunday morning on the patio of a city highrise - or a late stroll in the park at night w/ your significant other. They have such a way of playing with emotions without being outwardly emotional or sentimental. Some would even describe ben's singing as somewhat cold and distant, yet the music is gentle and undeniably sexy.
I can understand why the Postal Service became so popular - their songs are pleasing to the ears..and you can take them for what they are. But if you want to read further into the lyrics or consider the instrumentation, you'll see that the music is actually quite complex.
I think they're brilliant.
Some noteworthy songs & lyrics:
[ The District Sleeps Alone Tonight ]
You seem so out of context in this gaudy apartment complex
A stranger with your door key explaining that I am just visiting
And I am finally seing / why I was the one worth leaving
[ Brand New Colony ]
I want to take you far from the cynics in this town....
We'll cut our bodies free from the tethers of this scene, start a brand new colony.
[ The Dream of Evan and Chan ]
He then played every song from 1993
The crowd applauded as he curtsied bashfully
[ Nothing Better ]
Don't you feed me lies about some idealistic future
Your heart won't heal right if you keep tearing out the sutures
[ Sleeping In ]
It was just a man with something to prove / Slightly bored and severely confused
He steadied his rifle with his target in the center / And became famous on that day in November
[ Such Great Heights ]
And true, it may seem like a stretch
but its thoughts like this that catch
my troubled head when you're away
when I am missing you to death.
when you are out there on the road
for several weeks of shows
and when you scan the radio
I hope this song will guide you home
2 comments:
the postal service is brilliant indeed. years later, I am still listening to that album.. my fave songs are on it too. "Nothing better" is still my fave.
where's that 24-hr turnaround?! lol jk. i hope you're having fun with your NY friends and bday festivities! miss ya and talk to you soon.
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