Don’t mean to over-quote this site’s internet BFF but this is exactly what’s so endearing about Bejar’s work. Some critics are quick to point out that Dan’s serpentine lyrics and reoccurring characters don’t yield much insight over repeated listens. Some people think he’s full of shit and maybe every once in a while he is. But the man is a self proclaimed maximalist and he’s more of a performer than he’s given credit for. His ability to inject real emotion into his baroque styling is by far his greatest talent. They call it “moments of unexpected sweetness” in the Destroyer Drinking Game, and although it’s not his most reoccurring trope, it’s the one I’ll drink most heartily to. Example:
Cause when a breeze is blowing,
it’s just Crystal Country showing us
that everything must break to be beautiful
and, honey, that’s what I meant when I called and said -
“This is fucked”…
it’s just Crystal Country showing us
that everything must break to be beautiful
and, honey, that’s what I meant when I called and said -
“This is fucked”…
If you’ve heard the man deliver this line, you know what I’m talking about. This is why I stand by This Night so firmly, it’s his most overtly romantic album and while possibly being his most guarded and cryptic work. And even if This Night isn’t your favorite, you’re still not really a true Destroyer fan unless you can name a moment where you were unexpectedly hit right in the gut by one of his songs. It’s why his fans will listen to the 12 minutes of “ambient disco” and the intentionally clunky opening passages of Bay of Pigs. It’s because you know there’s gonna be a payoff at some point. For me, it’s when the handclaps come in and “You were on the side of good” and suddenly you go from doing the awkward shoulders only dance to full on getting down in your living room. Alone.
And you say something like “Fuck you Dan Bejar, fuck you indeed.” And some how, I think that’s exactly what you wants me to say.
reblogged from http://hypocritelistener.tumblr.com/
reblogged from http://hypocritelistener.tumblr.com/
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Thanks for quoting me Nigel. It's true, our blogs are BFFs. But it makes the Internet seem like a less bewildering, lonely web of tubes.
ReplyDeleteMan, yeah, Destroyer. The other night when I was writing my post, you were on my mind, because believe it or not, I hadn't heard of/known the fury that is Destroyer until my senior year of college. Victor and I came up to visit and you burned me "Streethawk: A Seduction." And holy, holy shit. So the other night I was like, I would kill to listen to Streethawk right now but have no idea where my copy of that cd is. (My cds are in shambles these days, in four different rooms, most not in cases, etc). But then I found it in the first place I looked! It was a miracle sent from the gods of destruction.
The point is, I think Dan Bejar is one of the great greats--I honestly think he's up there with poetic/poetically bitter/spiteful exboyfriend song-writing greats like Leonard Cohen and Elvis Costello.
Oh yeah, I burned that for everyone, didn't let up until everyone in the apartment was playing air piano to the end of "The Very Modern Dance." Glad you found it, I just had a similar problem with the Replacements "Let It Be," ripping up my apartment in a Charles Foster Kane style freakout (more or less) until I just had to download it.
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