human sacrifice! dogs and cats living together! mass hysteria!

tonight we played a show at wheaton college which is in the chicago area. it actually turned out pretty cool. i was most excited because my mom and sister and a couple other friends came. anyway, the crowd was awesome. sometimes people will tag photos of me on facebook and i've noticed that in almost every photo i'm making a weird face and usually looking down at my guitar so lately i've been making a concerted effort to look people in the eye as much as i can and try to smile as much as i can without taking away from TFK's vibe. you'd be surprised how hard it is.

so right now we're on the bus and we've got Ghostbusters on which is probably one of my favorite movies of all time. it's probably because of the nostalgic value. i loved this movie as a kid, and what's awesome is that now that i'm older i love it still, but all the jokes that totally went over my head back then now entertain the older me. bill murray and harold ramis - you are geniuses.

i've noticed that most great artistic pieces of work, whether songs, movies, books or paintings have one thing in common. and that is that they work on multiple levels. a good movie can appeal to audiences on multiple levels. few people realize that t he most famous zombie film Night of the Living Dead was criticism of government and traditional group think at the time it came out. most literary classics have stories that carry almost any underlying theme from innocence lost, to redemption all the way to the futility of greed. and i've noticed that the best songs work on three distinct levels. here's my theory:

1. First Level - How it rolls off the tongue

Let's call this the Anagada da vida level. this is the most superficial level. a great song uses words that roll off the tongue easily and fluidly. small children get this level extremely well. my niece loves every song that my wife's band plays and can sing every word - except she gets all the words wrong. but her approximation for the words still get the point across. she is only paying attention to first level. also, how about this -
Na Na Na Na
Na Na Na Na
Hey Hey Hey
Goodbye.

you know what song that is. what about that techno song from a few years back "Blue?" i still don't know what the chorus was saying and i can still sing along. when american bands go to a foreign country, the crowds sing every single word even though they can't understand the language. it's because they've learned it phonetically.

2. Second Level - Coherence

the second level is when the song is well written in a sense that it is complete. it has a meaning. or tells a story. this automatically disqualifies anything by the black eyed peas. side note: i really really hate that new song of theirs, tonight's gonna be a good night (or whatever it's called). they're just spouting off random things. they even say "mazel tov" as if they're at some sort of clubbin' dance infused bar mitzvuh. and keep the drinks away from fergie. she might pee her pants again. does anybody else think her face looks like a catchers mitt? anyway, a lot of songwriters struggle to get to this point. for instance, making sure that your pronoun tenses agree. it i'm writing a song about a girl, and i say "her" when talking about her in the verses, and then i refer to her as "you" in the chorus, that's very confusing to the listener.

3. Third Level - underlying theme

this is the level where greatness is made. for instance, hotel california. classic song. it tells a complete story. the words roll off the tongue well. and when you search into the deeper meaning of the song (lamenting the culture of hollywood in the 70s) it really tells a deeper story. another example that i love is "Title and Registration" by Deathcab for Cutie. here's the first few lines:

The glove compartment isn't accurately named
And everybody knows it.
So i'm proposing a swift orderly change.

ok, kinda seems like a weird topic to write a song about. but the genius of the song is in the next few lines:

Cause behind its door there's nothing to keep my fingers warm
And all i find are souvenirs from better times
Before the gleam of your taillights fading east
To find yourself a better life.

all of the sudden they've taken what seemed to be an inane song and gave it a whole new and deeper meaning. those are just a few examples. and i should also say that these three levels apply to lyrics. melody is a whole different animal.

so i'll leave you with my favorite quote from ghostbusters:

"Gozer the Traveler. He will come in one of the pre-chosen forms. During the rectification of the Vuldrini, the traveler came as a large and moving Torg! Then, during the third reconciliation of the last of the McKetrick supplicants, they chose a new form for him: that of a giant Slor! Many Shuvs and Zuuls knew what it was to be roasted in the depths of the Slor that day, I can tell you!"