Deja Entendu

I'm going to start writing again. Soon. I don't know if anyone else thinks the topic is interesting but I've been writing a lot about music and its connection to memory. It will probably end up being an essay collection. I love music not just for music but how songs become marked with memories. It's something that never fades.

One album that means a lot to me is Deja Entendu by Brand New. I know that a lot of my friends don't like this band. Brand New was a band that came at just the right time for me. Songs that are perfect for syncing to high school life. Songs about girls, friends, etc. Pretty immature stuff. In any case, it's really something to watch a songwriter's maturation. Jesse Lacey was a great songwriter to being with but he became even better.

Most people think he's whiny and "emo" and all those stupid tags that people can't seem to get past but he's a truly special songwriter.



Yes, he writes sad songs and yes, I have a penchant for writing about despondent tunes. Give it a listen. You may be surprised.

"If it makes you less sad I will die by your hand. I hope you find out what you are, I already know what I am. And if it makes you less sad we'll start talking again. You can tell me how vile I already know that I am.

I'll grow old and start acting my age. I'll be a brand new day in a life that you hate. A crown of gold, a heart thats harder than stone but it hurts a whole lot and its missed when its gone.

Call me a safe bet, I'm betting I'm not. I'm glad that you can forgive, I'm only hoping as time goes on you can forget.

If it makes you less sad, I'll move out of this state. You can keep you yourself. I'll keep out of your way. And if it makes you less sad I'll take your pictures all down. Every picture you paint I will paint myself out.

It's cold as a tomb and its dark in your room when I sneak to your bed to pour salt on your wounds. So call it quits or get a grip. You say you wanted a solution, you just wanted to be missed.

Call me a safe bet, I'm betting I'm not. I'm glad that you can forgive. I'm only hoping as time goes on you can forget. So you can forget.

You are calm and reposed, let your beauty unfold. Pale white like the skin stretched over your bones. Spring keeps you ever close, you are second hand smoke. You are so fragile and thin, standing trial for your sins. Holding on to yourself the best you can. You are the smell before rain, you are the blood in my veins.

Call me a safe bet, I'm betting I'm not. I'm glad that you can forgive. I'm only hoping as time goes on you can forget."

I mean, come on. It's worth listening to the song just for the line "You are the smell before rain, you are the blood in my veins." If that doesn't hit you... you may or may not be cold blooded.

There's also this song:


Shipwreck as metaphor for love gone wrong. Got it. Trite, but so well executed. He also mentions Montauk which scores points.

"Sent out an SOS call
It was a quarter past four in the morning
When the storm broke our second anchor line
Four months at sea
Four months of calm seas
To be pounded in the shallows off the tip of Montauk Point

They call them rogues
They travel fast and alone
One-hundred-foot faces of God's good ocean gone wrong
What they call love is risk
'Cause you always get hit out of nowhere
By some wave and end up on your own

The hole in the hull defied the crew's attempt
To bail us out
Flooded the engines and radio
Half-buried bow

Your tongue is a rudder
It steers the whole ship
Sends your words past your lips
Keeps them safe behind your teeth
But the wrong will strand you
Come off course while you sleep
Sweep your boat out to sea
Or dashed to bits on the reef

The vessel groans
The ocean pressures its frame
To the port I see the lighthouse
Through the sleet and the rain
And I wish for one more day
To give my love and repay debts
The morning finds our bodies washed up thirty miles west

They say that the captain stays fast with the ship
Through still and storm
But this ain't the Dakota
And the water's cold
Won't have to fight for long

(This is the end)
This story's old but it goes
On and on until we disappear
(This is the calm)
Calm me and let me taste the
Salt you breathed while you were underneath
(We are drowning)
I am the one who haunts your
Dreams of mountains sunk below the sea
(After the storm)
I spoke the words but never
Gave a thought to what they all could mean
(Rest in the deep)
I know that this is what you want
A funeral keeps both of us apart
(Washed up on the beach)
You know that you are not alone
I need you like water in my lungs
(This is the end)
This story's old but it goes
On and on until we disappear
(This is the calm)
Calm me and let me taste
The salt you breathed while you were underneath
(We are breathless)
I am the one who haunts your
Dreams of mountains sunk below the sea
(After the storm)
I spoke the words but never
Gave a thought to what they all could mean
(Rest in the deep)
I know that this is what you want
A funeral keeps both of us apart
(Washed up on the beach)
You know that you are not alone
I need you like water in my lungs
(This is the end)"

I think there is some fantastic songwriting buried under not-so-desirable vocals (for some people) and I think that's really unfortunate. You wouldn't not read a book because of the author's speaking voice would you? Eh? Lyrics aren't necessarily looked at as writing but I think they should be. Lyricists are writers in a different medium, that's all. THIS STORY'S OLD BUT IT GOES ON AND ON UNTIL WE DISAPPEAR.