The Pop Zeal Project: She & Him: “In the Sun”
Indie-pop group, She & Him, consisting of Zooey Deschanel and M. Ward, released “In the Sun” in 2010 as the first single from their second album, the aptly titled, Volume Two. Their sound has often incorporated a wink and a nod to cheerful-sounding ‘60s pop, with Deschanel’s lyrical content at times providing stark contrast to anything but. “In the Sun” is one such track, featuring a bouncy piano intro that sounds like the musical equivalent of summer, only to be eclipsed by the opening lyric that describes a relationship reaching its winter: “It’s hard to be ignored/When I look at you, you look so bored.” The choice for now it seems is the ignorance-is-bliss approach, perhaps until the one day when the sun goes down on creating excuses instead of facing reality, when feeling “ashamed sometime, every day” can no longer be kept inside.
Pop Playlist: The Smiths: “Please, Please, Please…”
The Smiths’ “Please, Please, Please, Let Me Get What I Want” is just shy of two minutes long, but it efficiently goes straight to the heart of desperate longing. The lead singer, Morrissey sounds as if he’s in mid-prayer, a plea to experience “Good times for a change.” Acoustic guitar, and the defeated sadness in his voice, create a somber tone, yet not one of complaining, but contemplation. There’s disappointment, but he’s also hopeful; he’s the “good man” who doesn’t want to “turn bad.” The lyric, “Haven’t had a dream in a long time” may be the track’s most vulnerable, with the later “what” in “get what I want” open to interpretation, the “what” replaceable with “who.” (Morrissey has in fact applied this lyric change during live shows.)
The song works well in the heartwarming (and heartbreaking) film about the confusion of unrequited love, (500) Days of Summer, with Joseph Gordon-Levitt (Tom) and Zooey Deschanel (Summer). In the hopes of getting Summer’s attention, Tom plays the song out loud for co-worker and fellow Smiths admirer, Summer, only for Summer to walk right by his desk.
“Please, Please, Please…” has been covered by Deschanel (She & Him), and the Dream Academy, whose version appears in the film, Ferris Bueller’s Day Off.
Pop Playlist: She & Him: “Sing”
Leave it to She & Him lead singer, Zooey Deschanel to write an eccentric lyric referencing the MTV show, “Cribs,” which is evident in the first line of the track, “Sing” from their album entitled, Volume Two. “Sing” is another offering that showcases the group’s love of traditional-pop-song brevity. At just over three minutes, Deschanel’s vocals are once again soothing to the ear, and features a harmonious delivery of jazzy “ba-da-da-dums” as a carefree conclusion.
Two-Minute Warning: She & Him: “I Knew It Would Happen This Way”
The solemn “I Knew It Would Happen This Way” is the bonus track on She & Him’s Volume 2. It features an acoustic-guitar intro followed by dreamlike electric guitar, reminiscent of something playing on the jukebox at the Double R diner in David Lynch’s “Twin Peaks.” Zooey Deschanel’s equally ethereal vocals barely utter lyrics such as “And you don’t want me anymore”; “I won’t be waiting on the dock.” This weary-sounding character now knows her prediction about the relationship has come true and is most assured of her decision to leave. M. Ward concurs musically and provides a brief acoustic run to quickly close out this two-minute vignette.
Volume One is the Loneliest Number: She & Him: “Black Hole”
The actress and singer, Zooey Deschanel and the musician and producer, M. Ward teamed up to form the alt-country/pop duo known as She & Him. Their first release, 2008’s aptly titled Volume One, consists of 13 songs (nine of which Deschanel penned, one she co-wrote, and three covers). Their sound, which often feels sunny like a Southern California beach (boys) day, is often offset with Deschanel’s overcast lyrics, as represented in the opener, “Sentimental Heart” and this track, “Black Hole.”
“And it just gets/So foggy/It’s nowhere in here/And it’s everywhere else/That I don’t want to be/But I’m stuck here/Getting misty over you/I’m alone on a bicycle for two.” It’s this last line that creates such a vivid image of a lonely someone newly single. Deschanel takes that idea of the tandem bike, which has traditionally been seen as an innocent, happy-go-lucky activity shared between two people, and veers it off course.
She also incorporates inclement-weather-related terms (“rain” [in my head]; “foggy”; “misty”) as analogous descriptors for obsessive mental “spinning,” confusion, and sadness, respectively. “Black Hole” conveys how difficult it can be to move forward, not just literally, for a bicyclist without a riding partner, but emotionally, for this “she” in the song now finds herself without a “him.”