It’s Beyoncé time again. Another great video — she’s really mastered the medium. I think ‘If I Were a Boy‘ remains her best work, both as a video and a song, but she has a ton of compelling videos.
However, while I suppose things like this do happen from time to time, are we really supposed to believe that any man — I don’t care who the hell he is — would cheat on Beyoncé? Come on. That would be like trading a Porsche for a Hyundai.
Ben Folds Five closes out with one of its most modest songs, musically, at least in terms of the sort of acrobatics the band members go through on the rest of the tracks. The introduction of the string section is a nice touch.
And Folds’ piano work here, though more traditional than his usual percussive rock-n-roll style, is just gorgeous. He performs this delicate waltz with a sensitivity and maturity well beyond his years.
The song is an imaginary conversation between a worn-down Muhammad Ali and Howard Cosell, but it can be read as a metaphor for anybody who has reached the end of his run.
Imperial Bedroom, as you’ve likely guessed, is the second of the three albums I consider Elvis Costello’s masterpieces. And if I had to single out just one of his albums as his best, this would be the one.
It occurred to me recently that Elvis Costello isn’t really an album artist. By which I mean that he doesn’t often release complete albums that succeed start to finish. I can usually count a few duds among the gems, and he has a habit of overstaying his welcome and releasing 15 songs when 12 might have been more effective.
Those Elvis Costello fans confused and disappointed by his foray into country music with 1981’s Almost Blue didn’t have to wait long for his return to the sort of musical experimentation he started with Trust.
In 1982, he released Imperial Bedroom, his most ambitious and intricate album yet. Produced by Geoff Emerick, who served as the engineer on several Beatles classics, this record was Costello’s Sgt. Pepper’s — packed to the brim with musical flourishes, including a full orchestra on some tracks.
The penultimate track of Ben Folds Five is a tour de force that serves as a climax for the whole album. ‘The Last Polka’ certainly ranks among the best songs the band ever recorded.
It’s a song about the collapse of a relationship — a marriage I’m guessing — and the passive aggressive ways the man and woman ignore what’s staring them right in the face.
The atmosphere here is summed up by the wife’s biting words in the opening verse: “If he really loved me, I wouldn’t have to be so mean.”
