Album: One Simple Word
Year: 1990.
Gotta tell the truth: I really didn’t like One Simple Word that much at all. They wanted to toughen their sound, so they added big rock guitars all over the record, pummelling every bit of melody right out of the songs. And I really hated the lead guitar that sounded like it was just plugged into the mixing board and played by whomever was walking by.
It’s not that I’m against jangly bands plugging in and getting loud: The Posies, for one, did it quite successfully when they reinvented their sound for Frosting on The Beater. It’s just that the production on One Simple Word felt totally wrong for the songs. And from what I could tell, the songs really up to snuff, either.
Except, of course, for “Get a Gun,” where that annoying guitar sound didn’t detract from either the melody, or Doug MacMillan’s weary, resigned vocals, which were perfect for the slightly disturbing chorus:
She never listens to me at night
Get a gun, get a gun, we’re losing altitude
She never listens to me at night
Ah, but I remember
What I remember is that when my brother Joseph was crashing at my Linden Apt, this was a song that caught his ear, and we probably talked about covering it for Sedan Delivery, though it really didn’t fit our style.
And that when this song came up one one of my mixtapes while driving in my car, I’d sing the chorus “Get a gub, get a gub” in honor of Take The Money and Run.
Official video for “Get a Gun”