Here at Track Chatter, we make no bones about being the kind of music fans who are happy to follow a discussion about a song down the various rabbit holes of its most insignificant chord change or least noteworthy cultural significance. That’s why we started the blog in the first place. However, we also know that you, dear reader, have only so much time on your hands. While you might sometimes be willing to follow our meandering paths to the very end, sometimes you would prefer we just cut to the chase.
That’s why we’re introducing Quick Takes as a new feature of Track Chatter. Quick Takes will be an occasional column in which one of us chooses any song that we’re currently listening to – old or new, pop or rock, jazz or folk or blues, or anything else under the sun that can be spun. We’ll then write up a short paragraph or two on some of our general thoughts about the track, and our partner will have a couple paragraphs to respond. And that’s it. Whereas most Track Chatter entries run between 2500 and 4500 words, Quick Takes will be more in the 600 words or fewer range. A nice opportunity for you, the reader, to pop in, see what we’re listening to these days, and leave your opinion about the song, all in about ten minutes or less (including the time it takes to listen to the track!).
However, those of you who love those rabbit holes, have no fear: Track Chatter will continue in its current incarnation as well. After all, we’ve still got a few Beatles’ albums to get through before we hop on to a new series that we think you’re going to like.
In other words, Track Chatter isn’t changing, it’s expanding. We hope you’ll come along with us and help us to keep spinning those discs.
For our first Quick Takes entry, Lew considers last year’s track, “B.S.E.” by Young Galaxy.
Lew: I didn’t get excited about a lot of new music last year. That’s partially to do with my becoming a parent and not having as much time as usual for finding new music to listen to, and also because I ended up feeling a little underwhelmed by some of the new things that I had big expectations for prior to their release (M83 and Mastodon, among others). All in all, one of my favorite albums of the year was by a Swedish death metal band that writes songs about Norse mythology (Amon Amarth’s Surtur Rising). However, experience tells me that death metal is not fun at parties. So, I’ve found myself looking back and trying to think of something that I could take away as a song that I like unreservedly and would recommend. It took some sifting through my collection to find Young Galaxy’s “B.S.E.” (Black Swan Event), but I was very pleased when I found it again.
I first heard the song on a message board, quite by chance. I liked it right away – it’s an easy melody to enjoy, and I have a soft spot for electro pop. At the time, I hadn’t gotten around to seeing Black Swan, the film, or come across the phrase/concept “Black Swan Event.” Having become familiar with both since that time, I still don’t think that the song is intentionally about the movie, but it probably has more to do with the ideas of transformation that the film presents than the concept of a black swan event relating to a watershed moment that seems highly predictable in hindsight. Regardless, none of that is what attracted me to the song off the bat. What was more obvious to me was the way the song was playing with signifiers from 1980s pop, and overlaying them against some fairly state of the art programming and production techniques. The lyrics of the song borrow and recontextualize ideas from George Michael’s “I Want Your Sex.” The guitar part is less identifiably borrowed, but it unmistakably evokes a sound and playing style that references the 80s. It’s interesting to me that a song that deals with transformation lyrically is also transforming musical ideas, and it doesn’t hurt that the entire package is absurdly catchy. Have a listen and tell me what you think.
Aaron: There’s a lot I like about the song. I have to admit, though, that it didn’t grab me at first the way it seems to have done with you. As you might guess, the singer’s performance through most of the song is a hurdle for me. His singing is beautiful and fits well with the lyrics and musical production, but that sort of romantic lilt has never been my thing. So at first I found it a bit off-putting. But the song has definitely grown on me. I try to picture myself in a big club where the speakers are loud and the song’s sheen and bass work together to propel me to the dance floor. In such a scenario, I can actually see myself sort of falling in love with it. Were I still back in my days of visiting discos and other dance spots, I can imagine “BSE” as a pretty big summer hit.
But it’s still probably not a song I would turn to outside of certain specific scenarios.
Which is too bad, really, and just goes to show how personal preferences can get in the way of enjoying good music. Because I really do dig the marriage of ‘80s Romantic New Wave and current production values that you point out. And I actually really like the lyrics. While their ambiguity leaves them open to multiple interpretations, I’d have to say that, in the way they cop George Michael, and in the way they obviously seem to be about a turning point in a relationship, the song is at least in part about sex. It seems to me to be at once both playful and serious in its consideration of how a (newly?) sexual relationship is transforming the couple in ways that they didn’t expect but which they (or at least the singer) seem to enjoy (sort of a Black Swan Event on a personal level). So I guess, in that sense, behind its lush veneer, it’s really just an old-fashioned rock ‘n’ roll song at heart.
Editors’ note: Aaron cops to being THAT stupid – the singer of “B.S.E.” is not a “he” at all, but Young Galaxy’s Catherine McCandless.
Coming soon: we get back to wrapping up our Beatles series, and consider a final track by one of America’s late great bands.
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