Feelin' fine but it must be the wine*... (A.K.A. let's talk about Destroyer) · 11:14am April 27th
'Cause it's April 27th and my baby's still dyin' on me that date just so happens to be mentioned in the Destroyer song The Music Lovers! So let's celebrate - get out your Your Blues record and give it a spin! Or of course, you could listen to the version on Notorious Lightning and Other Works. Or maybe the original 7" single release. Or, let's be honest, probably the SoGreatandPowerful cover. Or Looter's Follies and 3000 Flowers off Destroyer's Rubies, since, while not actually being alternate versions of the same track, they do reference the lyrics of The Music Lovers... But still, let's listen.
The Music Lovers, as a song, is a bittersweet look back at a dying or dead relationship (not unfamiliar for my taste in media, it seems). Our narrator talks about hardships, about being spit up and chewed out by the industry, about bad wives, about how he's past the peak of his life. "Oh, but once we were the music lovers!" - the time of his life has been had, but that still means he had the time of his life. He'll always have it. Once, they were the music lovers. Nothing can take that away, the memories and feelings, even if it fell apart or disappeared. I think this is what endears it to me so much (other than just the fact it was like the first Destroyer song I heard), it sucks and it hurts but you'll always have the good times. It's not trying to pretend that it doesn't hurt, either. It's a little bitter, a little saddened, it's past it's prime but it's not... forgetful or remorseful. Just in grieving. I've mentioned before that this sort of "taking the good with the bad" philosophy is one I appreciate a lot, in art and in life. It really does help. It really does work. The music itself (mostly consistent between the three versions, again, despite the change in sound), is also just Good. Unfortunately, I'm not the sort of person with a real music brain to describe this any better, but it does just sound very good.
The music of Destroyer (indie rock, despite their metal sounding name) has both deeply engaged me and also continually inspired me - my poetry has especially been inspired by Destroyer's lyricism (some more than others): Often simple language, yet still able to build out great engaging imagery, and definitely unashamed of borrowing language and spinning in references to other work. Or, occasionally, their own work (I.e. with the whole Destroyer's Rubies thing already mentioned). All of this, of course, creates beautiful and engaging lyrics, which is great but can only fall flat without the proper music to back it up. Luckily, Destroyer has the music in spades! The only way I can think to describe the musical style of Destroyer is intelligent and controlled - the song writing is clearly conscious in this way of it sounding so good but also so fitting and deliberate to every song and album. The makeup of the sound itself changes a fair amount between albums (live band, MIDI, synth pop, acoustic rock, strings-based orchestral) but it's always Destroyer.
If you've never listened to Destroyer, my album recommendations would be Kaputt - an incredible 80s synth pop inspired album, exploring (at least partly) the run offs of nostalgia in a depressing world - and Streethawk: A Seduction - another incredible more acoustic driven rock album, with just impeccable songwriting (in terms both of lyricism, and just song structure and sound) throughout and (perhaps) less depressing lyrics and themes than Kaputt. They are both my favourite Destroyer album. They are both incredible beyond describing. I love them. I'd also recommend the Notorious Lightning and Other Works EP, an eclectic full band redo of several songs from the originally entirely MIDI album Your Blues. I can't decide which versions of the tracks I prefer, really, but the full band sound definitely has an incredible energy and bombasity which draws me back a lot in a way that feels more accessible than the much more reserved MIDI sound of Your Blues.
In short: Happy April 27th, music lovers.
*I don't actually drink wine.
How 'bout I Destroy yer mum?Until yesterday, I hadn't listened to Oil Thief's "A Stubborn Thing" for quite a while, BUT DAMN, THAT TRACK AGED WELL. Rest of the album continues to suck, though...Drink blood, not wine. 🙂
hell yeah!
dan bejar my beloved