Steve Martin & Edie Brickell "When You Get To Asheville"

When I hear the first line of "When You Get To Asheville," I immediately think of "Your House" and the story I wrote about yesterday.

"When you get to Asheville, send me an email."

It's such an interesting opening line, because it does nail the song down to a time and place.  It couldn't have been written 20 years ago.  And probably wouldn't be written 20 years from now, when we don't use email anymore because there is some kind of future-communication.

And, unlike Alanis Morissette, I get the feeling that this reference by Steve Martin and Edie Brickell is fully intentional.

The Old-Time/Bluegrassy/banjo sound is an immediate throwback.  Whether it was recorded 40 years ago or 40 minutes ago, it can sound old.

Starting of a Pop song or a Rap song with a mention of "send me an email" would be perfectly appropriate and uneventful, as that music is crafted to sound "here and now."

But starting off a banjo song with "send me an email" catapults the Old-Time-sounding song, and the story, firmly into the present.

It's a clever move.


Hear the song on Youtube.

Alanis Morissette "Your House"

Here's another "Dismissive One Sentence Reviews By Friends" post . . .

In the mid-90s, when Alanis Morissette's "Jagged Little Pill" was out, I had a close friend who was attending an all-Women's College in Roanoke.

Naturally, I visited quite a bit.

And naturally, the kick-ass, bare-it-all nature of Alanis' breakthrough record, resonated with many of the young women.

But there was one critique, by a girl that I really liked, that stood out to me.  It was about a lyric in the final, a capella song on the record, titled "Your House."

I took off my clothes
Put on your robe
I went through your drawers
And found your cologne
Went down to the den
Found your CD's
And I played your Joni
And I shouldn't stay long, you might be home soon
I shouldn't stay long

"I don't like it when a songwriter puts in a detail that keeps the song from being timeless."

Basically, she was saying that by referring to "CDs," the song was destined to become an anachronism.  A song about CDs couldn't have been written in the 60s or 70s, because they didn't exist.  And she had the foresight to realize that in the future, we wouldn't be listening to music on CDs, we'd be hearing our music via other mediums.

Eventually, the song would sound as silly as if it had said "Found your 8 Tracks" or "Found your cassingles."

I don't think I really agreed with her.  I don't find it necessary for a song to be timeless.  Sometimes it even helps.

Then again, maybe I was just more weirded out by the idea of some ex-girlfriend breaking in my place to take a shower.


Hear the song on Youtube.