Song of the Day: Rilo Kiley - "More Adventurous"

It isn't a bad thing to like (or even love) Jenny Lewis. I chose this song over her more recently released solo song "Acid Tongue" because A.) its lyrics are closer to that of a 'traditional' country song, and B.) if you are in any way an indie rock fan, chances are that you've heard "Acid Tongue" roughly eleven thousand times by now. So I take this opportunity to remind you just what the fuck is really up with Jenny Lewis.

... Or really, Rilo Kiley. A quick note - the album was titled More Adventurous, because the group decided that they needed to become just that, more adventurous with their songwriting and recording styles. And some adventurous things about the song itself include the fact that the 'steel guitar' sounds are not actually being produced via an acoustic guitar played with a steel, but rather by some clever slide guitar on an electric played by lead guitarist Blake Sennett.

The lyrics speak from the perspective of a woman who is speaking to her lover (or boyfriend), seemingly listing things that she could deal with and live without - so long as their love remains constant throughout said ordeals. Two things in this song have always stuck out to me. First, even though this song has been explained to me several times via several sources, including the band members (I've seen, read and heard interviews about it. I wasn't just chilling out with Rilo Kiley one day), I still feel that it would work best as a male-female duet.

Why? Well, if you break down the lyrics it just makes more sense as a conversation, rather than a speech - especially if you look at it all as something being observed by a third party. Picture that you're at a party, and you come to find yourself sitting on a couch adjacent to a couple sitting in a corner having a quite little argument. You don't notice them at first, but at some point begin listening intently to their conversation, even though you start doing so in the middle of a sentence:

"(...) And it's only doubts that we're counting/On fingers broken long ago/I read with every broken heart we should become more adventurous (...)"

Really, that could make sense as either a man or a woman speaking - so long as the person in question has a pretty well-developed flair for the dramatic. Let's just say that it's a guy speaking a girl for the hell of it. Either way, I'm sure you've had an argument somewhere along those lines during a relationship - whether or not it actually involved the other person.

See, whether or not you are currently in a relationship - if you've ever been in a failed one you know that there are unique traits that only the two people involved will really recognize as they come up. And within every failed relationship there comes a point where one person feels as though they are only digging themselves into a hole that leads to nowhere. Moreover, they are digging said hole with a spoon. So not only has the relationship taken on the feeling of pointlessness, but a brand of pointlessness that is only equaled by how time-consuming it has become.

That's basically the same thing that is being said in those lines - 'we have come to a lull so deep that it feels as though I only have faults to count, and only broken fingers left to use'. And instead of turning somewhere else (or even to someone else), the person is saying that while they sit there with a broken heart, all they really want is their former feelings of happiness back. So all they can think to do is try and spice up their bland situation.

"And if you banish me from your profits/And if I get banished from the kingdom up above/I'd sacrifice money and heaven all for love/Let me be loved, let me be loved."

From here, the song gets pretty plain - the girl would now be saying to the guy, "Look, I don't need your fucking money - and I don't need God telling me what to do. All I want is for you to love me, have you got that asshole?" Of course her wording is much more palatable than mine.

"And if my brain quits, well I guess then that's just it/And if my hands stop working you can call me lazy..."

Again, pretty straightforward offering from what would now be the male side of the story. If he is no longer creative, or no longer drives himself the way he used to - then she should totally call his ass out on that.

"And if I get pregnant, I guess I'll just have the baby - let it be loved, let me be loved."

... And while this line may seem a little sudden, I feel that most couples that have existed together for more than two consecutive years have discussed the possibility of children, mostly because it significantly changes their sex life. I mean, let's be honest. If they decide that they would rather not use condoms, whether it be specifically for the purpose of trying to get pregnant, or just because one or both parties don't like them - then the topic will, and probably should come up. Nothing wrong with that.

"I've been trying to nod my head, but it's like I've got a broken neck/Wanting to say 'I will', as my last testament/For me to be saved and you to be brave,
We don't have to walk down that aisle/'Cause if marriage ain't enough/Well at least we'll be loved."

The chorus marks the return of the simile to the song, illustrating the couple's various distresses via the imagery of a broken neck or a last will and testament. It also brings up the other topic that I feel is discussed by tenured couples - marriage, and the fact that perhaps neither of them is very concerned with it, as it is much more important to them to know that they are loved than it is to have a gigantic ceremony. [Note: Attribute the chorus to whichever side you'd like - especially since it comes up more than once in the song, so you'll have the chance to assign it to both parties if you are so inclined.]

"I felt the wind on my cheek coming down from the east/And thought about how we are all as numerous as leaves on trees/And maybe ours is the cause of all mankind;/Get loved, make more - try to stay alive."

I said earlier that two things in this song stuck out to me, and finally I've come to the second. The closing lines of the second verse state "(...) And maybe ours is the cause of all mankind; Get loved, make more - try to stay alive."

See, that is something I struggle with constantly. Some days, I firmly believe that as though it were a natural law - and on other days, I wonder how natural (or healthy) love really is. I suppose it varies with my level of optimism, but the fact remains that our planet doesn't care about our feelings, or even our massive population. We are but organisms, and the only thing an organism really has to do is survive long enough to produce more of itself. But ever since the first two humans tried to make a go of monogamy, the bar was set there - and nobody ever looked back at it. Perhaps we never need to, for if we are lucky enough to find someone we can even tolerate for twenty consecutive years, we have probably won at the game of life.

'Decline of Country Music'

'Decline of Country Music'

More than perhaps any other genre of music, country/western is a genre where the traditions may be valued more than the various albums, artists or songs. The basic idea of country is taking 'traditional' folk music and shaping it to the unique voices that are typically found in country music.

Without diving too deeply into the histories of country music, it is safe to say that the general expectations when tuning in to an artist billed as a country musician is more along the lines of Randy Travis or George Strait. Not just a distinct type of voice, but also a distinct type of music - very heavy on natural stringed instruments and usually very metronomic drumming. The lyrics usually deal with love of some sort - whether romantic love (or the loss of that love), love of country and even love of history or memories.

There are a few embellishments here and there, most often illustrating influence from other genres of music that have either a basis or strong tradition in the southern United States. Typically the additions are simple, electric guitar or more rock-styled drumming, but the standard is set, and has been reinforced over quite some time.

Perhaps the greatest two examples of a 'traditional' country musician are Johnny Cash and Dolly Parton - both achieved tremendous amounts of crossover success relying on their own country roots, and blending that with whatever interested them at the time.

Incidentally, those two also occupy two very different positions in the realm of music. Especially towards the end of his career (during the American Recording era), Johnny Cash was very well known for being able to take a song written in nearly any style by any person, and make it sound good as a country song.

Meanwhile, Dolly Parton has written songs that have been recorded by a very diverse group of people representing many different styles of music - and have been very big hits in drastically different settings than her original.

But it is due to such particularly bright and shining examples that many people express not only displeasure with many contemporary country musicians - but allege that country music has been so far tarnished by pop and rock influence as to never be reclaimed. But, like many allegations founded in the court of public opinion - a crucial point is never mentioned:

Country music isn't going through a pop phase, nor is country music 'selling out' - country music is simply more popular right now. As with any style or genre of music, over time there will be a point where the fan base will not only grow - but those fans who have stuck by it will have matured to the point of being able to buy the albums and attend the shows by way of their own money. So while traditional fans will always be listening, it is that younger market who really pushes styles of music into the forefront - and that is really all we are seeing here, younger fans buying music from younger musicians.

Plus, it isn't as though country music has never seen cross-pollination before. And it is the exposure gained from those more popular artists, regardless of the traditional values they may bring or detract from, that drives any style of music.

Take 'emo' music, for example - which is nothing more than punk musicians recording ballad-style songs. And if many of them are more in mourning than in celebration, well then so what? Does it make Band A any worse by being counted in the same genre as Band B, who just so happens to wear eye makeup? Hardly.

So while Taylor Swift is definitely oriented toward the teen market, and her style definitely reflects that of current pop standards than traditional country values - the same could be said of Garth Brooks, Shania Twain, Toby Keith and Faith Hill - but that didn't mean that Alan Jackson, Jo Dee Messina, Tim McGraw or Martina McBride were any worse because of it. And in reality, it didn't mean that any of the music was 'bad' - it just wasn't something people expected from country music.

And today? There's still 'country' country music - just ask Blake Shelton, Josh Turner or the Dixie Chicks. But remember, expressing anger towards your favorite genre's growing more popular will only result in less exposure, and fewer musicians caring about being 'country' at all.

And besides that - singling out an artist as insufficient, while citing only one reason why has a poor history of working out.