Some Songs Considered

“Precious” – The Jam
(Words/music: Paul Weller, available on The Gift, Polydor 1982) 

By the end of the Jam’s run as a band, Paul Weller expanded his songwriting chops past the mod-punk of their first few albums.  “Precious” is neither the best nor the most progressive of the Jam’s late period singles, but it’s perhaps the most immediately startling.  The wah-wah drenched guitar dominates the early part of the track, and its slight delay seems strange from a band that usually draws on crispness and rhythmic intensity.  Instead, “Precious” creates a funky haze using repetition to an almost trance-like effect.  If other singles felt like they were moving quickly, this one feels like it’s settling in to a comfortable groove.

That being said, “Precious” isn’t an amorphous fog of guitar effects.  Instead, it builds on top of the funky guitar with layers of defined rhythm.  The fast hi-hats and snare on the fourth beat foil the seemingly free-floating guitar line and anchor it to the song’s pulse.  However, the most rhythmically sound elements come from unlikely sources – the horn section and the vocals.  The horns hit with the clipped precision of a big band by adding rhythmically interesting figures.  Rather than provide harmony or melody, the horn section changes up the pace with a clearly defined line on top of the hazier guitars.  Weller takes a cue from these horns by marrying his vocals to the beat as well.  He gives his lyrics the same sort of clipped turns in phrasing that the horn players give their notes, and while the melody is nothing to dismiss, my ears key in on how Weller sings it rather than what notes he sings. 

More on The Jam: Allmusic | Amazon MP3 | Emusic | Last.fm

“That’s Entertainment” – The Jam
(Words/music: Paul Weller, available on Sound Affects, Polydor 1980)

Tonight marks the end of Conan O’Brien’s brief run as host of The Tonight Show after an extremely public bout with his network.  I won’t add onto the pile of discussion of the way O’Brien left the network and instead will focus on wishing him a fond (and hopefully temporary) farewell.  Of course, since music was one of the important parts of his show – from interacting with the characters in the Max Weinberg Seven to the terrific bands his staff booked for him – I thought I’d send Conan off with a song.

“That’s Entertainment” describes some of the sights and sounds of working class Britain.  Paul Weller runs through the bleak sights, shrill sounds, and general humdrum details of everyday life.  As a narrator, Weller stays generally detached, only tipping us to the unhappiness of the people living here in the “wishing you were far away” line (which, to be fair, could be any place at any time).  It’s this general discontent that leads me to think that the “that’s entertainment” line isn’t necessarily meant as sarcastic.  Rather, if it’s to suggest that working class life isn’t entertaining, it underscores the need for entertainment in our lives.

This is where O’Brien comes in.  His show provided small doses of entertainment, be it bizarre comedy bits, an engaging interview, or a favorite band playing a new song.  O’Brien’s show offered levity after an exhausting day and did so in a consistently clever and genuinely warm way.  He combined the razor-sharp wit and flair for absurdity that many try to cultivate with an endearing and effortless charm that most of us dream of possessing.  If Weller’s song focused on the need for tiny bits of escapism in our day-to-day lives, Conan O’Brien was one of my favorites.  For the sake of entertainment, I hope he returns to television soon.

More on The Jam: Allmusic | Amazon MP3 | Emusic | Last.fm

“Move On Up” – Curtis Mayfield
(Words/music: Curtis Mayfield, available on Curtis, Rhino 1970)

On its own, the first four minutes of “Move On Up” accomplishes everything it needs to accomplish.  Mayfield threads together his inspirational lyrics, stone-cold groove, and shouting horns for a three minute celebratory burst that makes even the most bashful singers break out their best falsetto.  In many ways, it’s the epitome of the “secular gospel” sound Mayfield cultivated (Buffalo Tom’s Bill Janovitz quotes Mayfield as calling his music “church songs” without the word “God” in his Allmusic writeup).  Yes, Mayfield’s lyrics sound like an emotional pep talk, but it’s the sheer joy that permeates every note of the song that makes it great, from the crispest snare drum to the loudest horn.

It’s this sense of joy and celebration that gives the song a second act.  After essentially ending the song with a closing fanfare, the drummer brings the band back in.  One by one, Mayfield’s band starts back in and builds on the groove.  While there’s an excellent saxophone solo during the first half of this vamp, the focus remains on the groove, as the drummer and conga players furiously lay down the beat and the horn section hits their figures.  In some cases, such an extended coda might feel self-indulgent.  Here, it’s a celebration of the perfect groove and jubilant horn phrase.  Even as it approaches the nine minute mark, “Move On Up” never overstays its welcome.  Instead, it takes its good ideas and gives them the space to play themselves out.  Whether listening to just the first half of the song (or something like The Jam’s accelerated take on it) or the entire extended version, it’s impossible to resist Mayfield’s electric charm.

More on Curtis Mayfield: Allmusic | Amazon MP3 | Emusic | Last.fm