it takes a certain kind of musician to be able to effectively spell in their songs.

aerosmith, for instance, can pull it off for some reason. in the song "what it takes," steven tyler wails, "girl, before i met you, i was f-i-n-e fine," and it works.

gwen stefani, on the other hand, can't do it. i don't care how catchy "hollaback girl" is, spelling out "bananas" was absolutely uncalled for.

aretha franklin can do it. respect, bitch. oh, you don't understand? let me spell it for you. r-e-s-p-e-c-t! fuck yeah!

john mellencamp (or was he john cougar? or john cougar mellencamp? i can't keep his "name eras" straight) did it in "r-o-c-k in the usa," and while it was incredibly cheesy and incredibly 80s and full of springsteen envy, i think it's fun.

the pixies pull it off okay. i didn't even notice it until about a month ago, actually. "v-e-l-o-u.... r-i-a.." i think that one is mediocre, but it works.

stephin merritt of the magnetic fields tried his hand at the spelling in the song "washington dc." while i haven't heard this song, i have it on good authority that the song "staggers along like a wounded musk ox trying to get down to the river to die." ouch.

it's arguable whether or not elvis costello can do it. the song in question is "i stand accused." "i stand accused... i s-t-a-n-d a-c-c-u-s-e-d..."

i think this is completely wrong. if you're going to spell something out, it has to be something relatively short. in "lola" by the kinks, they spell her name. l-o-l-a, lola. that's all. "i s-t-a-n-d a-c-c-u-s-e-d" is taking the spelling thing a little too far.

unless you can pull it off incredibly well (à la aretha, the kinks, or perhaps aerosmith), i'd stay away from spelling. it seems like the artist is begging for some kind of catchy hook, a plea for a "hit song." (i'm talking to you, gwen. i don't care whether or not it worked.)

oh yeah, kanye pulls it off. although i have no idea what "w-h-i-t" means.


those of you going to see mr. mason jennings on wednesday - i unfortunately not be joining you; i'll be at work. do you think if i cried about it into a jar and one of you gave it to him, he'd write a song about it?


ps: remember my funk post where i mentioned (and graciously uploaded) the song "hollywood (africa)" by the red hot chili peppers? well i found a video of them doing it live with george clinton. i've seen it seven times already, and i only cried one time.