Today's song is...
Man, It's So Loud In Here
This was bound to turn up sooner or later. Looks like it's sooner.
In case you have either a) not been following this blog for very long, or b) don't know me very well, this is, hands down, my very, very favorite TMBG song. I love absolutely everything about it, from it's impossible not to bounce around to dance beat, to it's incredibly manufactured rhythm track. The modified vocals at the beginning immediately make me grin. I love that it is essentially a song about not being able to talk in a nightclub because it is too loud. It has the humor and absurd subject matter that are what first attracted me to the band. And, in fact, this was one of the first songs I really loved at first listen. I remember vividly that I was sitting in the parking lot of a Target listening to it in the car. I think my boyfriend knew I was going to like the song because he made sure I was paying attention before he started it. Oh boy, was he right. There is something about the rhythm and melody and lyrics of a favorite song that gets you right in the core of your soul and creates an instant emotional response. This never fails to make me happy. The lyric "They revamped the airport completely, now it looks just like a nightclub, everyone's excited and confused" just makes me grin.
At the very top of my list of songs I would most like to hear live, you will find this song. My boyfriend has heard it twice, which makes me eternally jealous. But I missed out by several years since it was last played in 2003. If they ever decide to play it again, the screaming you will hear from the front of the stage as the song starts will be me. I will then probably spend about a minute holding my breath in shock and just starring at Linnell with a stupid grin on my face before I snap out of it and dance through the rest of the song. Then it will take all of my restraint not to fling my arms around the feet of the nearest band member in a hug of most profound gratitude. There might even be tears. You just wait and see if that isn't exactly how things play out. That is if they ever play the song again. Please?
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I love your detailed description/prediction! I sure hope I'm there for that show. :-) Especially if you end up hugging Flans. 'Cause in that case, I think he might ban you from the front row for sure. ;-)
ReplyDeleteThis song is near the top of my favorites list too (though I don't think I could ever choose one single favorite). When I first started "catching up" on the band's adult music a few years ago (I had missed everything after Apollo 18), I had the same immediate response as you to this song. Though some TMBG songs are an acquired taste for me, Man, It's So Loud in Here had a very strong first-listen appeal. My kids also really like it (in fact, it's another t-shirt pick!).
It would be fantastic to hear this one live -- such energy. I'm sure they'll bring it out of the vault eventually. I think it would even be appropriate for a family show. Kids seem to dig it.
Confession: After this song comes on my shuffle-play in the car, I usually skip back to hear it a second time.
And what's with you and Target? You seem to be there a lot.
:-) Hopefully, if I fail to restrain myself on the hugging it'll be one of the Dan's that is the victim based on where I usually stand. I feel like they will take pity on me. Though neither of them actually play on the song live so it might just be Flans by default. I'll try to be good.
ReplyDeleteI'm not sure why so many of my stories involve Target. I guess I am more fond of the place than I realized.
I just want to relate what an uncannily similar experience I have had with this song. It wasn't the very first time I had heard it but the CD was still very new, and I was sitting in the carpark at Gardenworld, just totally loving this wonderful song I was hearing. And again, that lyric about the airport was one that really created the sense of daylight dawning on me that I was on the exact same wavelength as this band. That line is laugh out loud funny to me. I enjoy both the Mink Car version and the earlier 'rock' version, but the 'techno' version is a perfect fit with the lyrics. How do you view the 'rock' version in comparison the latter version?
ReplyDeleteOh, you know I'm also a fan of Man, It's So Loud In Here. I'd even be happy to hear the rock version live, and I don't even love the rock version. There's something about the techno/dance layers that only TMBG can make okay.
ReplyDeleteOn a long car ride this past summer, I decided to listen to Mink Car. I think I really decided I liked the album during that trip. I noticed then that, despite being (almost ironically) all manufactured dance beats, MiSLiH has layers of harmonies; besides the Linnell-Linnell harmony layering, there's a Flansburgh harmony added to the end. It was an epiphany moment. That night I began forming a coherent interpretation.
I want to be at that show. :)
Target! Nah, I like Target.
I am not opposed to the rock version of the song, but I far prefer the album version. The techno beats just make the song work for me and make it far more dancey. I think Erin is right. There is a level of irony to the manufactured beats that really works in the context of the song. And while I would be more than happy to hear the rock version live, I think I would be a little disappointed that it wasn't the version I truly love.
ReplyDeleteI have to say that I've always been partial to the original rock version, probably because I saw it performed about a dozen times (including its premiere) and was not a thrilled with the album version, I guess because it wasn't what I was used to. I've learned to love the Mink Car version, of course but I'm happy to have a studio recording of the original, even if it was a leak.
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed reading what you had to say about this one since I know how much you love it, and everyone else's comments were very interesting as well. Unfortunately, I can't really add anything to what all of you have said. I can repeat a few things, but that's pointless, I guess. I really like this song. I like it more every time I listen to it. That's all I've got for now. Sorry for all the boring responses I'm leaving.
ReplyDeleteBy the way, remember the link you posted with the picture of a guy proposing to a girl after getting the band to announce it and play New York City, and how you said that would be the way you'd want to be proposed to? I'm sure you've already thought of this, but how appropriate would this song be for that situation? XD