Another Song I Wish I’d Written: A Little Healthy Competition
Posted in Uncategorized on Oct 13th, 2007 1 Comment »
Dear Uncle Sam,
This week’s song I wish I’d written comes directly from my old haunt, Burlington Vermont. There is a remarkable teenage artist there named Henry Jamisson Root, who goes by the moniker “Milkman’s Union”.
He and I are friends, but don’t think that I’m plugging one of Henry’s songs as a favor, to help promote a fellow Vermont solo artist. On the contrary, it is with great reluctance that I share this piece with you. You see, I find the Milkman’s Union’s talent and creativity more than a little threatening… and every time he does something brilliant, which, I hate to admit, is quite often, I feel that I must hurry up and do something brilliant-er, before I become a footnote in his biography, like Gerry and the Pacemakers to the Beatles.
I once shared a bill with young Mr. Jamisson-Root, before he was granted his Milkman’s Union membership card, back when he was fronting a band called “My Gray Radio”. I was jet lagged that night, having just flown in from London, where I was recording the first Muller and Patton collaboration. I gave one of the worst performances I can recall, forgetting lyrics, rearranging the set list on the spot to avoid songs I didn’t feel up to, –even wrestling with technical difficulties that tried the patience of the friendly audience. The soon-to-be-Milkman, however was spot on.
Opening Milkman’s Union’s second album, “Oh Boy”, is a gem that I really wish I’d gotten to first. It’s called “Leaves”. “Leaves” is a post modern pop song lead by a mournful piano, and an emotive, vulnerable voice. The song oozes with romantic melancholy, despite the fact that, as far as I can tell, it seems to center around two ne’er-do-well kids goofing off at a costume party. Some unspoken poignance permeates the simple little song, almost hinting that the title “Leaves” is not a plural noun, but a present tense verb.
The chorus, instead of bringing our attention to the central theme, as pop song choruses are supposed to, shares with us a charming little dialouge, out of context. “I kept calling you Captain, and you asked me to stop, but I kept calling you Captain.”
Anyway, it’s hard to do it justice with words. As Woody Allen once said, “writing about music is like dancing about architecture.” Just listen to it yourself, it’s on his myspace. http://www.myspace.com/themilkmansunion
But…. ….try not to like him better than me….. ok?
