Running Through My CD Collection: Day 13

Today's album: Maroon (Barenaked Ladies) 

Length: 53 minutes

Activity: Brisk treadmill walk

What listening to this album made me think of: How much I miss early Barenaked Ladies.

Review: I've only listened to this album a couple of times, and as soon as the first song started playing, I remembered why. The charming quirk of Gordon-era BNL started to dissipate once the Top 40 charts got their hands on "One Week," off the prophetically named album Stunt. Songs #1 and #2 ("Too Little Too Late" and "Never Do Anything") fall squarely into this bland category of head-bopping mediocrity. All of their songs in this vein tend to sound the same, and some people are into that sound; I happen not to be. There's also a song on here ("Baby Seat") whose first few bars are reminiscent of the Rolling Stones' "Miss You." I hate the Rolling Stones.

The third song, the hit "Pinch Me," reminded me why I love most of the songs fronted by Ed Robertson. He's got a soothing, smooth voice that occasionally veers into rasp, his lyrics are always weird and interesting, and he's got an amazing talent for creating songs that meld melancholy with heightened hope and layered acoustical beauty. Better examples of this are "When I Fall," off of Born on a Pirate Ship, and "Watching the Northern Lights," from All in Good Time.

Of course, there are Ed-centric exceptions to this rule, like "Falling for the First Time" on this album. The lyrics are kind of cool, but it's hard for me to sync up taking that gorgeous, heady plummet into infatuation with the frenetic tambourine-playing featured here.

Steven Page is an odd bird. His voice is an acquired taste and works well on that earlier quirk I talked about ("Enid," "Hello City"). Even though I can't really say I *liked* "Sell, Sell, Sell" on this album, I much prefer the experimental peeling back of the layers he tends to get into the deeper you get into any Barenaked Ladies album (think "Box Set") than the pop schlock the group churns out for hipsters with him at the mic. "Sell, Sell, Sell" did keep my attention, for what it's worth. SP is also pretty good at plaintive wailing when he wants to be.

How I felt after: Uninspired, though the album was so boring that I did write an entire song in my head about curb appeal and cleaning up your house before you have to sell it. It's pretty sad. My song, I mean. And I guess the fact that this album was boring.

Random fact I learned about this artist/album: They recorded "The Humour of the Situation" completely naked. Apparently they do this with at least one song on every album.

Why I'm doing this: See Day 1. 


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