Men of Musical Genius Monday: Steven Page

[sorry for the later than usual post today.... was writing about orphans- don't ask. -JL]

Today's Men of Musical Genius pick may be the most controversial this blog will see, at least as far as the indie snobs would be concerned. In giving this man his due credit, I am running the risk of having my indie credentials revoked immediately by the powers that be, but that's just a change I'm going to have to take.

Ladies and Gentlemen, I present for your consideration today Mr. Steven Page.

Yeah, that's right; I said it- the guy from Barenaked Ladies is a musical genius. Yes, long before they achieved one hit wonder status in the US with the pop culture referencing white boy rap that was "One Week" (which to their credit (?) was every middle schooler's favorite song when I was in the seventh grade), Barenaked Ladies already had three successful studio albums (as well as a live compilation) under their belt in their homeland of Canada. The best songs from this era, in my opinion, were written by Steven Page in collaboration with British pop musician Stephen Duffy. Songs such as "Alternative Girlfriend" and "Jane" were lighthearted, enjoyable, and above all very clever pieces of pop music.

Sadly, in the post-Stunt era, the contributions of Page and Duffy became less prevalent, as the band started to make songwriting a more collective effort. Though some terrific material was produced out of this as well, it was mostly hampered by the record label constantly promoting whatever song featured Ed Robertson saying a bunch of words really fast (even when said song was an obviously absurd throwaway track about postcards with chimpanzees on them)*

In any event, just as things were looking bleak, Steven Page came forth with a glimmer of hope for the long-suffering BNL fan: a solo collection of songs written with Duffy called (what else?) The Vanity Project. Though admittedly a bit less bright and carefree, the music and wordplay was as solid as ever. (The band, meanwhile, has finally been released of its contract with Reprise, giving them the freedom to make great music again as well).

The track I'm featuring today (alongside a classic BNL song) was actually a bit of a bonus track for The Vanity Project, recorded in conjunction with an article Page wrote for The Believer magazine. Nevertheless, it is a gorgeous song, and certainly representative of Page at his best.

Barenaked Ladies- Jane
The Vanity Project- The Chorus Girl [linked from TVP website]

*This, mind you, is not a critique of Mr. Robertson, who is quite talented in his own right, but rather one directed at stupid record companies trying to find the next "One Week" and uttely failing at it. Y'know, just to clarify.