Music review
I waited a while for some reason, but I recently bought the new Jonathan Coulton album. I've been listening to it almost constantly the past few days, and I just love the beautiful melodies, and I like the production values from They Might be Giants' John Flansburgh. What this album doesn't have is any explicit mention of mad scientists, or monsters, or songs sung by planets or sea creatures or odes to mathematicians. A distinct lack of geekiness.
It used to be that to explain who JoCo was, you'd play "The Future Soon," or "Skullcrusher Mountain." This new album--really his FIRST album--is much like any collection of soft rock / singer songwriter type music. Granted, there are two songs from the point of view of a murderous Artificial Intelligence, but those are previously released end themes from video games. But the title track "Artificial Heart," is much more ambiguous. The artificial heart is symbolic of detached emotion--it's not a real artificial heart. Other songs are more opaque*--in the exquisite "Today With Your Wife," is he singing to his lover's ex, his widowed sister's husband, or just a man who is emotionally absent from his family? All you know is "you should have been there."
Another songwriter wouldn't demand such scrutiny, but Coulton's earlier output was almost completely a collection of songs that told funny and/or sad stories. Even when the song didn't take place on an asteroid prison mine, it took place somewhere. His best song (in my humble opinion), "Shop Vac," takes place in the most mundane place on earth, but you know exactly where it is and who lives there. I think this is a positive development, but it is a confusing one.
It's positive because it allows him to move past being a novelty act (which I have nothing against, you should know) and show off his amazing sense of melody. I've been playing and replaying the song "Nemeses," a hopeful love song to a potential enemy, just to hear the first six notes. On this song and two others, Coulton steps back and lets other people take the lead vocal. "Nemeses" is sung by John Roderick, of a band called The Long Winters; I had not heard of the band before but I have since listened to a few more of their tracks. Roderick, I have to say, is a better singer than Coulton, but they sing together beautifully.
I suspect that Artificial Heart has already created a contingent of "I liked his old stuff better" JoCo fans.
I am sure others have written better developed, more lucid reviews of this album and what it means, but I had to get this out. Maybe I'll look around and see what others have to say.
*Exceptions to the claim that the songs on this album are opaque include "Good Morning Tucson," about a local TV anchor--like a Weird Al song without enough jokes, and "Je Suis Rick Springfield," a song entirely in French from the point of view of a guy at a bar trying to pick up girls claiming that he's Rick Springfield, and "The Stache," a respectful number about ironic hipster facial hair.
It used to be that to explain who JoCo was, you'd play "The Future Soon," or "Skullcrusher Mountain." This new album--really his FIRST album--is much like any collection of soft rock / singer songwriter type music. Granted, there are two songs from the point of view of a murderous Artificial Intelligence, but those are previously released end themes from video games. But the title track "Artificial Heart," is much more ambiguous. The artificial heart is symbolic of detached emotion--it's not a real artificial heart. Other songs are more opaque*--in the exquisite "Today With Your Wife," is he singing to his lover's ex, his widowed sister's husband, or just a man who is emotionally absent from his family? All you know is "you should have been there."
Another songwriter wouldn't demand such scrutiny, but Coulton's earlier output was almost completely a collection of songs that told funny and/or sad stories. Even when the song didn't take place on an asteroid prison mine, it took place somewhere. His best song (in my humble opinion), "Shop Vac," takes place in the most mundane place on earth, but you know exactly where it is and who lives there. I think this is a positive development, but it is a confusing one.
It's positive because it allows him to move past being a novelty act (which I have nothing against, you should know) and show off his amazing sense of melody. I've been playing and replaying the song "Nemeses," a hopeful love song to a potential enemy, just to hear the first six notes. On this song and two others, Coulton steps back and lets other people take the lead vocal. "Nemeses" is sung by John Roderick, of a band called The Long Winters; I had not heard of the band before but I have since listened to a few more of their tracks. Roderick, I have to say, is a better singer than Coulton, but they sing together beautifully.
I suspect that Artificial Heart has already created a contingent of "I liked his old stuff better" JoCo fans.
I am sure others have written better developed, more lucid reviews of this album and what it means, but I had to get this out. Maybe I'll look around and see what others have to say.
Click to view*Exceptions to the claim that the songs on this album are opaque include "Good Morning Tucson," about a local TV anchor--like a Weird Al song without enough jokes, and "Je Suis Rick Springfield," a song entirely in French from the point of view of a guy at a bar trying to pick up girls claiming that he's Rick Springfield, and "The Stache," a respectful number about ironic hipster facial hair.