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the ballad of mona lisa
Jan. 20th, 2011 11:47 pmIt's leaked! This is not the original leak from Strikegently and the Panic LJ, because that copy contains a slur inserted by some random. I shaved it out of this copy, so it's missing a few seconds of Brendon holding a note around 2:55. If you want the original leak I can send it to you.
Verdict: I love this, and can't wait for the album. It's extremely dancy, which was predictable from the clip, and more power pop (although I hate that term) than rock and will be stuck in my head for days, I'm sure. The strings and bells in the intro and verses are a nice counterpoint to the driving chorus and sinister nature of the song. I think that Brendon's voice is well-suited to that aspect of it, too. (A good example of this is on "assess the sins she's paid for," and again on the last line of the song.) And is that anguished moaning I hear in the background at the end? The song's so layered it's hard to hear some of the individual pieces.
I take it back about the strings--I think they're very tip-toey. Ominous tip-toeing. The bells are still counterpoint, they sound like a music box to me, so lost innocence? There's this quiet urgency to the verses, with a quick and steady bass drum, which drops away after the build to the chorus.
The lyrics aren't gonna win a Nobel Prize or anything, but I think they're comparable to Fever-era Ryan Ross. I am a little worried that they're emulating Ross here, consciously or not, because of the whole heavy drinking, life of sin, selling sex thing. ( Here they are, for reference: )
This is like ominous cabaret stuff, but still completely different to Fever (for me) and the bottom line is that I love it and I'm thrilled that they've come out with something this nuanced and complex after TYV released Take a Vacation! and Jon Walker did his solo songs, because, much as I love those guys, they said some pretty shitty, mean things about Spencer & Brendon's songwriting abilities and this single, and hopefully the album, is proving them so very wrong.
Verdict: I love this, and can't wait for the album. It's extremely dancy, which was predictable from the clip, and more power pop (although I hate that term) than rock and will be stuck in my head for days, I'm sure. The strings and bells in the intro and verses are a nice counterpoint to the driving chorus and sinister nature of the song. I think that Brendon's voice is well-suited to that aspect of it, too. (A good example of this is on "assess the sins she's paid for," and again on the last line of the song.) And is that anguished moaning I hear in the background at the end? The song's so layered it's hard to hear some of the individual pieces.
I take it back about the strings--I think they're very tip-toey. Ominous tip-toeing. The bells are still counterpoint, they sound like a music box to me, so lost innocence? There's this quiet urgency to the verses, with a quick and steady bass drum, which drops away after the build to the chorus.
The lyrics aren't gonna win a Nobel Prize or anything, but I think they're comparable to Fever-era Ryan Ross. I am a little worried that they're emulating Ross here, consciously or not, because of the whole heavy drinking, life of sin, selling sex thing. ( Here they are, for reference: )
This is like ominous cabaret stuff, but still completely different to Fever (for me) and the bottom line is that I love it and I'm thrilled that they've come out with something this nuanced and complex after TYV released Take a Vacation! and Jon Walker did his solo songs, because, much as I love those guys, they said some pretty shitty, mean things about Spencer & Brendon's songwriting abilities and this single, and hopefully the album, is proving them so very wrong.
