I originally thought my introduction to this week's tune was Nick Hornby's homage to his favorite songs, Songbook, but when I scanned through it before writing this week's post, this week's song was nowhere to be found. I know my daughter introduced me to Newman's band the New Pornographers, but I'm reasonably certain she didn't lead me to the song, either. My best guess is Rolling Stone magazine--seems like they had an under the radar songs/albums each issue when I was still subscribing and it may have been noted in that feature. Oh, the perils of getting old....
A.C. Newman (who, near as I can tell, goes by Carl when he's doing his non-solo work) got his start in Vancouver, British Columbia in the early nineties with a band called Superconductor. After a short stay he moved onto a band called Zumpano which released a couple of albums. He then became one of the founding members of the aforementioned New Pornographers (for which he's the main vocalist and songwriter) and has enjoyed quite a bit of critical and commercial success, including numerous mentions on best of indie lists and four top forty albums here in the States. Newman has done solo projects on and off since 2004 while continuing his work with the New Pornographers. He has released three solo albums (the latest in 2012), and most recently helped release the New Pornographers eighth LP in 2019.
Fun Fact: Newman chose A.C. Newman as his solo moniker because it sounded like a pseudonym, even thought it isn't--his real name is Allan Carl Newman....
"Drink to Me, Babe, Then" was released in 2004 on Newman's debut solo effort, The Slow Wonder. The song was not released as a single, and the album did not chart.
Every time I hear "Drink to Me, Babe, Then" I think "Jesus, what a great song," but as I thought about it this week I realized I'd have a tough time trying to say why. I mean there's Newman's vocal inflections which probably aren't standard fare but say so much, and then there's the droning guitar over a plaintive drum which gives the song a somewhat odd backdrop. There's a nice whistling section toward the end of the song as well as a smattering of other instruments throughout, none of which I could be certain of which instrument in particular was playing (though did I hear some kazoos in there?). And I couldn't say with any certainty what the song is about, though if I had to guess it's about a man reflecting on a relationship that failed, but in such a way as to leave neither of the lovers too much the worse for wear (though for some odd ass reason I think she ended up happier than our narrator?). I've been reading a lot of poetry lately and as I read I keep coming back to the last lines of Archibald MacLeish's "Ars Poetica" in which he proclaims, "A poem should not mean/But be" (possibly because I struggle mightily to figure out just what each poem I read means) and maybe that's the best I can say for "Drink to Me, Babe, Then"--it exists, and in my little corner of the rock and roll world, that just might be enough.
Lyric Sheet: "We're offended, shocked our plan would fail/Now you've wandered farther from the trail/On a landslide you ride in..."
Enjoy:
You Have a Choice: Pass a Voting Rights Bill, or Welcome Fascism to America
Peace,
emaycee
No comments:
Post a Comment