The Best of 2010 Pt. 5: The monsters dragged you out of my life
Rae Spoon has told interviewers in the past that his songs are meant to be written with a certain sense of universality; that he prefers to have people glean their own meanings from his words; that they see themselves reflected in his experiences.
Thankfully he doesn’t always succeed, as some of the finest tracks on the virtually flawless Love Is A Hunter likely couldn’t have been written by anyone else. They are undoubtedly the direct result of a life uniquely lived.
Context is everything, so here’s some background: Spoon is a female to male transgender (please don’t call him “her”) whose early career consisted of touring as a country-influenced folk artist (literally touring with a single-string gut-bucket bass). Of late he’s begun incorporating more electronic sounds and elements into his music, starting with previous album Superioryouareinferior and continuing with Love Is A Hunter.
Foremost are two of the best tracks here, acoustic torch-ballad “Joan” and “Monsters,” the most rock and roll song on the album. Despite Spoon’s insistence of vagueness, the easy read on these two numbers is that transgendered persons face a significantly different set of challenges in finding and keeping love than, presumably, straight people do. Certainly both have a sense of menace lurking in the background.
“Joan” seems to see Spoon calling on the titular character to try and overcome the notions of people who may not understand or approve of their relationship or them as people: “We’re kind of wild/they don’t understand/because we’re not obligated/to be a woman or a man/and we are stronger together/we won’t hide when we’re hunted/let’s walk home holding hands.”
When viewed through that lens, “Monsters” is also a less-than-encouraging piece of lyricism. “You said that you loved me before I did you wrong,” Spoon laments. “We took a bus and you slept in my arms/but then the monsters took my hand/and the monsters took my eyes/and the monsters dragged you out of my life.” It’s a metaphor that probably does have some universality but also boasts plenty of gravitas in the hands of the former cowboy singer. Some abrupt tempo changes and reverby vocals help reinforce that jarring image with a vague sense of discombobulation and anxiety.
Love can be found anywhere on this album, as well as in any stage. “Death By Elektro” is an acoustic number with a melody so devastating you barely notice that the song is about
an equally shattered relationship. Connecting with a partner/potential lover is a bit of a recurring theme as well, providing the lyrical backbone for “We Can’t Be Lovers With These Guns On Each Other,” “You Can Dance,” “Lighthouse,” and “You Like All The Parties,” several of which continue his experiments in electronic sounds and near-dance music structures. It definitely seems like he’s trying to push himself as an artist with those elements; based on the lyrics and tone of the dancier songs it certainly seems like Spoon isn’t a big fan of dance clubs. The progression and refinement of those elements, however, are a natural progression after his work in 2009 with a German artist (if Norm MacDonald taught me anything it’s that Germans love techno).
I feel like I might be treading on ground I know nothing about, but here goes: Spoon seems like an introvert. From what I can tell that’s perfectly understandable given his background and the field he originally started performing in (I can imagine hicks don’t take kindly to transgendered folks singing them country tunes). Most of the songs here seem to either be about fighting personal demons that may or may not have something to do with that background and his efforts to find love despite those circumstances. The idea of love being a hunter or being hunted is a common theme on the album. Perhaps the difficulty of being transgendered, and what I have to assume is a lack of acceptance of transgenders in many if not most communities, leads to a fairly downtrodden outlook at times (on his last album, Spoon opined, “My heart is a piece of garbage/fight, seagulls, fight”).
Of course, interpretation is almost as important as context. I knew all this information about Spoon before I heard this album. I have the feeling that Spoon has achieved universality with these songs in the sense that, regardless of what lens you view the songs through, you can’t help but connect with them. Regardless of gender identity or sexual preference these songs can speak to the realities of all romantic relationships: the desire to be loved and to be loved well and to accept your place in another person’s heart.
I truly believe that words count, regardless of the medium. Rae Spoon has done an incredible job of putting forth a truly unique and fully-formed vision on this album. Our pal Emmet Matheson noted that Love Is A Hunter “contains a lyrical mastery…that approaches Leonard Cohen’s I’m Your Man.” If Emmet’s credentials aren’t bona fide enough, just listen for yourself. You’ll be overcome by this one.
Rae Spoon - Death By Elektro [2:51m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download Rae Spoon - Monsters [3:10m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | DownloadCheck out (and BUY) Rae Spoon tunes through his website which has handy-dandy links already there.
