Reply To: Masters of Song-Fu
The lyrics, while containing all the themes appropriate to a JoCo song, aren’t evenly JoCo-ish in style. There’s an elegance to the way JoCo reveals especially geeky or disturbing things in his “misunderstood villain/asshole” lyrics–almost understated, typically specific detail by detail as the song progresses. It’s a slower build. Here P&S sometimes sound like they’re summarizing, especially in the first verse and the bridge.
Exactly, Tindomiel. I love the way you phrase it, and I completely agree (although unlike you, if JoCo had recorded and released it himself, I wouldn’t have doubted it was his own composition). “Live” is an extremely well crafted song, and I really like it, but under the exterior Coultonness I hear “Your Love Is (Love Song with Metaphor)”.
The wordplay in “Live”, particularly the instances Colleen mentions, is great (although the “She holds my heart” verse sounds more Lehrerian — cf “I Hold Your Hand in Mine” and the “Masochism Tango“), but I’m really not sure who’s scared and who’s (not) understanding in the line “Or is it someone too scared to understand…” Is that that the narrator is too scared for the mob to understand? (If so, what does that mean?) Or is the narrator too scared for the narrator to understand? (If so, what isn’t he understanding?) Is the mob too scared of the narrator to understand him (which would seem to make most sense, but that’s not what the line appears to say, I think)?
I will vote on Tuesday or Wednesday for whoever has the best chance of unseating Elaine Chao Finnell. I think the others have shown a spark of something, but the problems I had with her round 1 submission (mostly unoriginality and banality of lyrics) are only amplified in round 2. Perhaps one of the challengers will come to the forums to solicit votes.