The Red M&Ms

I absolutely love this performance. For some reason that I can’t really put into words and don’t even fully understand, it just connects with me on that most primal of levels. John Darnielle’s voice is direct and earnest, intense and emotional. I might even go as far as to compare it to that of a more stable Jeff Mangum, although they operate on two entirely different levels. While Mangum uses metaphors and dense, sometimes near-incomprehensible imagery to show emotion in its most natural and uncontrollable state, Darnielle is direct. His lyrics are straightforward and honest, detailing a man’s feelings and thoughts as he returns home to the woman he loves. The lyric that always gets me is “The most remarkable thing about you standing in the doorway is that it’s you/And that you’re standing in the doorway”. This is perhaps the truest, most heartfelt statement one can make. Why is the very sight of you amazing? Because it’s you, and no one else. Darnielle’s delivery itself is incredibly direct; he speaks this line, rather than singing it, before erupting into a description of being “frozen with joy”, delivered with so much emotion and intensity that it seems overwhelming. This is emotion, this is feeling; when it hits you, it overcomes all other sensation, and there is nothing but this joy. This direct, honest delivery coupled with direct, honest lyrics results in something truly emotional, something that makes the listener feel what the singer is feeling. Either that, or it could just be me.

Fight Like Apes—Digifucker

So recently, I haven’t been great emotionally. I don’t want to go into details, but suffice it to say that I have been much, much better. Consequently, I’ve been listening to this song a lot.

My emotions and music have a strange relationship. Like most people who are passionate about music, I often turn to it when I’m upset. However, it usually does not actually make me feel better. Instead, it shows me that other people are or have been in the same situation as I, and sometimes provides me with an avenue to think about what, exactly, is wrong. For example, when things get really bad, I usually turn to Weezer’s Pinkerton, my favorite work of art of all time. I feel such a solidarity with Rivers Cuomo in many of his emotional struggles on the album that listening to it helps me to frame my problems in the context of the lyrics. In other words, I usually identify with Rivers on this album. When I find out the way in which I identify with it in this particular instance, it puts my emotions into more palpable thoughts, and lets me confront them better.

But sometimes I want a song to be something other than a therapy session. Sure, Pinkerton helps me confront my problems, but does it immediately help me feel better? Therapy can help in the long run, but sometimes you just want the Lexapro and you want it now.

That’s what I love about this song. It’s immediately uplifting. Its upbeat synth line is energetic, and the underpinning distortion and heavy percussion lend it an aggressive, confrontational quality, mirroring the way one might confront negative emotions However, we all know that, in times of emotional need, purely positive music is the equivalent of someone smiling widely and constantly at you, imploring you to “dude, just be happy. It’s easy!” That’s where the vocals are. Singer MayKay is a master of negative emotions. At points in the song, she actually closely resembles a person breaking down crying in the middle of an argument. Take, for example, the chorus. When MayKay yells “Did you fuck her/And did you stick things up her”, she sounds as if she’s yelling at a significant other caught cheating, mostly angry but with a very clearly hurt inflection. When she reaches the line “And did she love it”, she drops most of the anger, leaving only the hurt, deserted feeling at the core of her angst. She’s only angry to cover the pain of knowing that the pleasure someone once gave you now belongs to someone else.

However, the chant-like delivery of the lyrics combines with the uplifting music to create something ultimately satisfying. The song acknowledges through the lyrics and vocals just how much it can suck to feel hurt and rejected, or just simply bad. At the same time, through the upbeat music, it suggests that, no matter how bad things get (and they can get bad), they can always be overcome. Sure, everyone says it, but sometimes you need something to show it. That’s what this song does.

I have to admit, I did get a little teary-eyed once the melody started. Wait, did I say “get a little teary-eyed?” I meant “lifted weights.” Yeah, that’s what I did, I lifted weights when it started. Not cried. Maybe.

lolliblog:

Here it is, my all-time favorite Sesame Street song, which proved it was possible to smile and cry at the same time.