I have a misconception amongst friends that I don’t like pop music. I like good pop music just fine. For Christ sakes, The Beatles were pop music and I think they’re pretty swell. The problem with the new age of pop music as well as new TV is that we are force fed a non-stop barrage of low-hanging fruit combining canned beats, over-production and inane lyrics.
And while, Barnett might get labeled with the slacker-rock label due to her off-the-cuff delivery of her lyrics; I find her music to be more poppy than anything else. I don’t mean that as any sort of diss as Sometimes I Sit and Think … is genius. The songs are burned into your brain after one spin, instantly bringing a smile to your face as the hook lures you in and taking you to whole new level when they hit the bridge. The production lends itself to garage rock and punk ideals; leaving the edges slightly rough. The fuzz and feedback giving it a brash feel.
But what transcends Barnett from an artist that writes catchy tunes to someone who just released one of the best debuts that I can remember is her lyrics and her wry delivery style. The verses come off as stream of consciousness on a variety of subjects that don’t seem important but in reality are the things that make the world spin.
The third track, An Illustration of Loneliness (Sleepless in NY) has the protagonist battling insomnia while missing their loved one. Anyone who’s ever been on a business trip separated from their significant other can relate, but the details that Barnett paints is brilliant.
I lay awake at four, staring at the wall
Counting all the cracks backwards in my best French
Reminds me of a book I skim-read in a surgery
All about palmistry, I wonder what’s in store for me
I pretend the plaster is the skin on my palms
And the cracks are representative of what is going on
I lose a breath… my love-line seems intertwined with death
A few tunes later battles herself in trying to environmentally consciousness while dealing with the reality that sometimes you just buy the cheap shit or take the easy route.
Heading down the Highway Hume
Somewhere at the end of June
Taxidermied kangaroos are littered on the shoulders
A possum Jackson Pollock is painted in the tar
Sometimes I think a single sneeze could be the end of us
My hay-fever is turning up, just swerved into a passing truck
Big business overtaking
Without indicating
He passes on the right, been driving through the night
To bring us the best price
I was lucky enough to catch Courtney Barnett at SXSW. I wasn’t at either of those below. It late, I was drunk and it was amazing. Barnett has the ability to be one of the most important voices of our musical generation. Run, don’t walk to get this one.
Follow me on Twitter at @WoodyHearYa
Courtney Barnett is here
