The clock
crawls past 12:15, sixth period, and I’m dumping my thoughts onto the page of
an in class essay ‘sobre la inmigración’. My eyes drift away from the paper and
out the window and a thought crosses my mind: I don’t belong here. My heart
lies with nature, not with the pens-paper-and-staples life of the indoors. John
McCrea of Cake agrees in his song “The Distance”.
The song
tears office dwelling life to shreds without directly addressing it in its
lyrics. The protagonist radiates frustration through body language. He throws
hands up in anger and hopelessly rests his forehead on his palm in response to his work. Crowds glide
through spacious corridors while John McCrea attempts to perform his
music. The trumpets, like taxing office lives, are muted. And over all of this,
guitars belt out gnarly riffs featuring minor thirds, music’s most frustrating
interval.
In his
lyrics, McCrea paints the protagonist’s journey to freedom as a race. He gives the
song drive with powerful verbs and he ties them to the theme with connotations
to the competitive nature of office work. In a diesel-powered race as well as
in a sweaty, drab office you must “deftly maneuver and muscle for rank.”
However our protagonist is not interested in this competition. In McCrea’s
words “The sun has gone down and the moon has come up. And long ago somebody
left with the cup.” The protagonist is not interested in leaving work and going
home. Somebody already took that cup. He’s interested in leaving the cubicle
life for good and connecting with nature.
The chorus
frees your soul from the oppression of what came before it with raw excitement.
The drums introduce the thrill when the band suspends their heart-pounding
fill. The lead guitar takes over, repeating the drum's rhythm to maintain the
song’s exhilarating cadence. The lyrics are brief and catchy. McCrea could have
taken out all lyrics except those in the chorus and the song would remain a pop
hit. The power of the lyrics lies in their simplicity. Anybody can sing along
with “He’s going the distance!” and the actual meaning of the lyrics in the
chorus is ambiguous enough that nobody can disagree. They serve only to raise
your heart rate, giving you the primal, free feelings associated with nature.
The
ultimate connection with nature leaves our protagonist swimming into the ocean
towards an unreachable goal. So maybe by human nature, our desire for freedom
is insatiable. But even if “going the distance” is pointless, Cake does what
all music should do: They give our primal urges the spotlight.
Great song, Liam. This song was part of the soundtrack to my freshman year in college. I remember it fondly. Your analysis of the song and the video is quite good. I appreciate that you synthesize the lyrics into your explanation, even though, as you suggest, the lyrics remain intentionally nondescript. I think your writing also catches the energy that Cake tries to generate with their song/video.
ReplyDeleteOverall, you write fairly well in this post. However, there are some words and expressions that strike me as less-than-precise. I will point them out to you:
First, I'm not sure the verb "agrees" best captures the video's intent. John McCrea doesn't agree with you. He tries to incorporate the same impulse that you felt sitting in Spanish class. Perhaps you could have assumed that McCrea "would agree." Regardless, the verb "agrees" was too simple.
Second, please void the use of the adjective "powerful" unless you are talking about something that tangibly possesses power. You write about "powerful verbs." This really doesn't say anything. I know what you are trying to say, but rather than actually say that the song's verbs intend to inspire action in an otherwise depressed, stagnant state, you rely on the simple word "powerful." This is not good enough. Be more specific.
Finally, be careful about the pronouns you use. You confuse your narrative perspective when you write, "drab office you must 'deftly maneuver and muscle for rank.' However our..." Are you writing in the second person or first person? Narrative consistency is important.
Regardless, this is a good post. Just be mindful of the importance of precision when you're writing. You're a good writer, but there are minor lapses that will be conspicuous to an experienced reader.
The drums introduce the thrill