Beko
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I saw a Thread yesterday (YES, I am on Threads… ugh… damn you Elmo) that had me pondering that eternal question… name 10 records to know me better. One of those records was the Silver Jews’ American Water. That record blew me away and helped mold my taste in everything from music to modern art, movies, and literature. Elvis Costello may have cracked the window, but the Silver Jews’ David Berman blew up the house. Thus, when I hear a band that makes me think of David… I’m probably going to start feeling all warm and fuzzy toward them. Melbourne’s Mallee Songs‘ track, “Christmas ’93” off of 2015’s Natural Times most certainly feels inspired by the Silver Jews, thus I’m on board. I know that the song will certainly be filed on the sad side of the Christmas shelf, as the main joy of the narrator’s holiday is trying out every bed in the house. If you read this blog, you know that rarely scares me off. There is no beating around the bush, as the tone is set immediately: “Oh it’s Christmas time / I just want to recoil into myself.” In addition to the obvious alt.country via Pavement guitar lines, it was the lyrics that ultimately led me to the David Berman comparison – “I only get up / to pick at the meat / when nobody is there / My family walks on the beach / yet I don’t care.” This is one of those mundane moments that nobody would put in a song… but here it is. I love those moments, no matter how melancholy they might be. Not all sad songs have to make you sad, you know?
Bottom Line: There is somehow a warmth within this sad song and a beauty in its mundanity. You may feel the same?
Christmas Underground 