The House of Jed – Coming Off Pretty
Similar artists: LCD Soundsystem, Spoon
Genre: 90s Rock, Indie Rock, Alternative Rock
The House of Jed sounds like they’ve just discovered Summer discos and girls but don’t want to admit it to their friends just yet.
Dance music sounds best when it is infiltrated by people who can’t dance. The best songs are the ones made by the folks who wouldn’t be let into the hottest clubs and, if somehow allowed in, wouldn’t know what to do with themselves. The people enjoy dance music the most and have the most atypical ideas about how it should go.
It’s just about the same thing with songs about sex. Geeks like sex, as well as highly attractive people. But it is usually the geeks who have accumulated enough interesting observations on the subject to deliver such songs. If they’re lucky, they might even discover that writing such songs makes the barrier between themselves and attractive people all but disappear.
The House of Jed’s “Coming Off Pretty” is a danceable song about sex and love by someone that doesn’t sound ready to talk about those subjects in any other way than a pop song. It’s a song using guitars and pretty melodies as weapons to fight against the lure of carnal pleasures. But in doing a good job, Jarrod Gollihare is just making it harder for himself.
Mr. Dad – The Coke Dealer’s Depressed Again
Similar artists: Simon & Garfunkel, Don McLean, Sufjan Stevens, Iron & Wine
Genre: Indie Folk, Folk
It’s hard to imagine any subjects being taboo anymore. Mr. Dad dares to venture down those roads with humour and a fine dose of humanity and comes back with a gem.
There used to be things you absolutely couldn’t say in a pop song, whether you were living in New York or in a country from the Communist block. As Lou Reed observed, talking about dirty sex and dirtier drugs was alright from novelists and playrights but not something that pop songwriters could approach.
Some musicians got a real thrill from rattling that cage. While they certainly risked their well-being by doing so, speaking about taboo subjects in songs could also help them grow their fanbase and personal legend. In 2023, there are still things that pop music approaches with caution.
Mr. Dad’s “The Coke Dealer’s Depressed Again” may feature the kind of title designed to make you chuckle, but it is, in fact, an earnest, even soulful ballad dedicated to a friend. In this folk song, the singer suggests that the dealer try meditation and alter their life for the better. The song is part comedy sketch, part earnest short story, and it deals with taboo subjects far better than most artists would be able to do it.
