Tuesday, July 20, 2010

If I Play the Same Three Chords...

From 1996 and the Stunt album, please ponder perhaps overly grinning Canadian power popsters Barenaked Ladies and "It's All Been Done," their undeniably catchy ode to the truth best elucidated by the great Nick Tosches.

To wit -- that the illusion of newness is pop culture's biggest sucker racket.


Barenaked Ladies - It's All Been Done .mp3
Found at bee mp3 search engine
This is a really good record, I think, with a sunny Beatle-esque chorus melody, a tasty guitar solo, and a lyrical conceit -- including a truly memorable opening line ("I met you before the fall of Rome") -- that's beautifully fleshed out. Plus it, you know, rocks. But like just about everything else I've ever heard by these guys, there's something about it I find off-putting, and I've never been able to figure out exactly why.

Something about the band's aggressively everyday-ordinary-normal-guy shtick, I suspect.

5 comments:

FD13NYC said...

These guys were always a good pop rocky group. Sounds like some XTC in there too, with better vocals.

Sal Nunziato said...

This is the one song by this band I could listen to. I couldn't agree more with this

"the band's aggressively everyday-ordinary-normal-guy shtick, I suspect"

being annoying.

The Parlez said...

Ah, been a long time since I heard this song...only recognized it when it got to the chorus.

It hits a lot of the right spots, its got a good jangle, but yeah...maybe there's something a little too Hootie & The Blowfish going on here! :)

TMink said...

Another band I really enjoy. But they are well, nerdy.

Trey

Phat said...

Some of the resentment maybe that the lead vocalist is classically trained?

Regardless, he has a beautiful voice. 'Brian Wilson' has some of the most haunting vocals in pop.

I think they had a short window when they tried to go the 'Monkees' band route: hey we're wacky Canadians that ROCK!