SONGS ABOUT JANNA

I'M THE SORT OF BASTARD WHO ORDERS HIS MUSIC IN ITUNES BY PLAY COUNT. 3276. 11. 9.THOSE CORRESPOND, RESPECTIVELY, WITH THE PLAY COUNTS OF THE FIRST THREE SONGS IN MYLIBRARY: SHE WILL BE LOVED (MAROON 5), TANGLED (MAROON 5) [THE SONG IMMEDIATELYFOLLOWING SHE WILL BE LOVED ON SONGS ABOUT JANE], AND SUNDAY MORNING (THE VELVETUNDERGROUND).

SO ABOUT THAT LAST SONG: I HAD A PHASE, LIKE MANY YOUNG MEN I'VE FOUND, OF TRYING TOGET INTO THE VELVET UNDERGROUND. 'LISTEN TO THE BANANA ALBUM,' THE INTELLIGENTSIASNEERS AT ME, AND YOU'LL START A ROCK'N'ROLL BAND, I SWEAR. BUT WHEN I TRIED, ALLI HEARD WAS THIS SKINNY WHITE DUDE NAMED LOU REED HALF-WHIMPERING, HALF-STRUGGLING-TO-HOLD-PITCH OVER PREACHY EXISTENTIAL LYRICS AND SOME SORT OF AMATEURISH XYLOPHONE.9 TIMES I COULDN'T GET PAST THAT FIRST TRACK ON THE VELVET UNDERGROUND & NICO, ONE OFTHE 'GREATEST' DEBUTS OF ALL TIME, FROM WHAT I'M TOLD. NOW, MAROON 5 HAVE THEMISFORTUNE OF ONE OF THEIR FINEST SONGS COINCIDING IN NAME (AND NAME ONLY) WITH THATPIECE OF GARBAGE. ONCE I WAS ON A DATE WITH A GIRL AND SHE HAD SAID SUNDAY MORNINGWAS HER FAVORITE SONG AND SO I TALKED ENTHUSIASTICALLY ABOUT HOW MUCH THAT ALBUMMEANT TO ME GROWING UP, IN FACT IT WAS THE ONLY ALBUM IN MY FAMILY'S MINIVAN ON ROADTRIPS, I FOUND IT ONE OF THE GREATEST DEBUTS OF ALL TIME, AND THE COVER ART... HOWSUGGESTIVE. SEX, VIOLENCE, THE FRAIL CONDITION OF ITS GENERATION'S YOUTH, THAT ALBUMHAS IT ALL! AND STILL ITS TRUE SUBJECT MATTER PACKAGED IN SO SLYLY THAT A FIRST-TIMELISTENER NOT SO KEEN TO THE DETAIL OF THE GROUP'S ARTISTRY MIGHT WRITE THE MUSIC OFFAS, DARE I SAY, EASY LISTENING. CONSUMED BY THE FERVOR OF MY OWN WORDS, I FELT WHATI MISTOOK AS AN INFATUATION WITH THIS GIRL WHO IN MY IMAGINATION REALLY GOT ME, NOTLIKE OTHER GIRLS! BUT THE GLEAM IN HER EYE WAS ALL MISUNDERSTOOD, AS WHEN SHE GOT INMY CAR AFTERWARDS AND I PUT SHE WILL BE LOVED ON THE STEREO, WELL, SO IT GOES FORME AND MISS JOHN CALE.

REFINED MUSIC TASTES LIKE MINE, I'M CONVINCED, ARE A CURSE. IN FACT, I THINK THEYMAY HAVE SENT ME INTO A LENGTHY DEPRESSION, A PERIOD WHEN I SPOKE INCESSANTLY ABOUTMUSIC BUT REALLY DIDN'T FEEL. I COULD EXTOL THE VIRTUES OF, SAY, AMERICAN JAZZ-ROCKPIONEERS STEELY DAN TO OTHERS FOR HOURS UPON END, BUT FOR WHAT? THAT I WOULD FINDHAPPINESS FROM OTHERS AGREEING WITH ME?

AGREEANCE IS SYMPATHY. IT WASN'T UNTIL SHE WILL BE LOVED THAT I FELT TRUE EMPATHYAGAIN. I'D IMAGINE THE SAME FOR MAROON 5 SINGER/SONGWRITER ADAM LEVINE. HE ANDTHREE OF HIS MAROON 5 BANDMATES FOR ROUGHLY A DECADE COMPRISED AN INDIE OUTFIT CALLEDKARA'S FLOWERS, A GROUP THAT MANAGED TO CAPTURE ALL THE ETHOS OF YESTERGENERATION'SPOWER POP TITANS (THE BEATLES, ELVIS COSTELLO, JELLYFISH) BUT LACKED THE AUTHENTICITYTO MAKE AN IMPRESSION ON THE MASSESOR THEMSELVES, FOR THAT MATTER. THEY EMBODIEDTHE PUREST DERIVATION OF MUSICAL PERFECTION. YET COMMERCIALLY, THEY FLOPPED. ITWASN'T UNTIL THE ADDITION OF GUITARIST JAMES VALENTINE (CO-AUTHOR OF SHE WILL BELOVED) AND THE GROUP'S INTRODUCTION IN THE STUDIO TO PRODUCER MATT WALLACE THAT THEYGENUINELY COALESCED AS A UNIT. FATEFULLY (OR TRAGICALLY, DEPENDING ON YOUR POINT OFVIEW), THESE PERSONNEL CHANGES ACCOMPANIED PERSONAL CHANGES IN LEVINE'S LIFE. HEBECAME ESTRANGED FROM HIS GIRLFRIEND JANE, THE IDEA OF WHOM TOOK ON THE ROLE OFMUSE FOR HIM, MARKING THE BEGINNINGS OF A CREATIVELY FERTILE PERIOD FOR THE SINGER.

SHE WILL BE LOVED EMPLOYS A BASS-LADEN HIP HOP BEAT, CHARACTERISTIC OF MOSTCONTEMPORARY R&B (AND LIKELY INFLUENCED BY LEVINE'S TIME SPENT IN NEW YORK POST-KARA'S FLOWERS). ITS INSTRUMENTAL ARRANGEMENT, HOWEVER, SHARES VERY LITTLE WITH ITSCONTEMPORARIES IN TERMS OF SHEER COMPLEXITY. THE ACOUSTIC GUITAR RIFF THAT OPENS ANDSETS THE MOOD OF THE TRACK IS SIMPLE ENOUGH BUT QUICKLY JOINED BY A RHYTHMIC BASSLINE THAT BUILDS THE TRACK AND, LATER, AN ELECTRIC GUITAR ADDING AN UNEXPECTEDHARMONY THROUGH A STRING OF EIGHTH NOTES THAT, ON PAPER, SURELY APPEAR DISCORDANTAGAINST THE OTHER INSTRUMENTS. THE MAD GENIUS OF MAROON 5 HIDING BEHIND LEVINE'SCROON, WHICH HAS NOW JOINED THE POLYPHONIC FRAY. THE TRACK BEGINS LYRICALLY WITH ATHIRD PERSON NARRATIVE OF A VAGUE SHE AND HE BOTH STRUGGLING WITH THEIR OWNTURMOIL, EXPRESSED WITH AN EXPLICIT EXTERNAL-INTERNAL DICHOTOMY THAT MARKS A THEMETHROUGHOUT THE DURATION OF THE SONG. IT IS SOON REALIZED IN THE PRE-CHORUS THAT THISHE IS LEVINE HIMSELF, WISHING TO EXPRESS HIS (CURRENTLY) UNREQUITED AFFECTION FORTHE SHE, BRILLIANTLY SHIFTING THE SONG FROM A MERE ROMANTIC TROPE TO A PERSONALACCOUNT THAT PROVIDES THE LISTENER INSIGHT INTO THE INDIVIDUAL WHO WILL LATER ASSUREUS THAT 'SHE WILL BE LOVED'. SPEAKING OF THE PRE-CHOURS, AND VERSES AND BRIDGE FORTHAT MATTER, ALL ARE OF HIGH ENOUGH QUALITY TO PASS AS A HOOK IN TODAY'S POP MUSICLANDSCAPE. NO WONDER THAT THE SONG PERFORMED EXCEPTIONALLY WELL ON THE BILLBOARDCHARTS. LEVINE'S CLEVER LYRICISM ('NOT ONLY RAINBOWS AND BUTTERFLIES/IT'SCOMPROMISE...') IS COUPLED WITH HIS VOCALS THAT ARE DELIVERED WITH CAPITAL-S SOUL(WHAT THE VELVET UNDEGROUND ULTIMATELY LACKED). SHE WILL BE LOVED DEFINED A MOMENTIN R&B. WHILE OTHER ARTISTS LIKE USHER AND MARIO WERE FOCUSED ON PORTRAYING THECLUB, MAROON 5 EMBRACED EMOTIONAL SINCERITY, NO MORE APPARENT THAN IN THE TRACK'SFADE OUT WHEN A BACKING SINGER (I'M NOT TOTALLY SURE WHICH ONE) REPEATS ASTRAIGHTFORWARD PLEA TO THE SONG'S SUBJECT: 'PLEASE DON'T TRY SO HARD TO SAYGOODBYE'. WHAT MIGHT SEEM A POP CLICHE IN ANY OTHER SONG, THIS LINE IMMACULATELYTIES TOGETHER THE FRUSTRATION OF THE TRACK WHEN LAYERED AGAINST THE RICH TEXTURES OFA GUITAR SOLO, BEFORE GOING A CAPELLA, CONVEYING THE SONG'S UNDERLYING THEME OFISOLATION.

SHE WILL BE LOVED IS THE REALEST DEPICTION OF BEAUTY THAT MAN HATH EVER WROUGHT.

MATTHEW MONTEQUIN2/14/2015