Baracuda- Ass Up
In an age of meaningless lyrics and pop songs, it takes a truly exceptional piece of art to remind us that the words put into song should mean something; far too often, they are looked upon as just an accessory to the melody. "Ass Up" reminds us of a bolder time, where lyrics had meaning and function, simultaneously interacting with both the listener and the music. A time when art didn't just imply or suggest emotions, it demanded them.
Baracuda's control over the listener's emotions is established before the song even begins. The band manifests feelings of discomfort, confusion, and slight annoyance at the purposeful misspelling of their name. Baracuda uses these feelings to grab the listener's attention and lead them on an emotional journey. They know what they want their audience to feel and how to get them to feel it.
On the surface, "Ass Up" seems to be a simple song- but much power comes from its simplicity. It grabs the listener's attention, commanding them of what to do even before the beat comes in. There is no confusion, as the song tells the listener to "put your ass in the air," and even going as far as to tell them how to put it in the air- like "you don't care." It's a sharp juxtaposition of the age we live in today, where people soften everything they say by adding 'like' before saying anything- turning it into a simile instead of a concrete statement; a startling contrast of a world where people no longer 'know' or 'think' things, instead, they 'feel like' things. The song's power over the listener derives from the assertion that they WILL put their ass in the air, and they'll do it like they don't care.
Not only are the lyrics commanding the listener to move, but the music behind them is a heavy influence as well. At the 1:15 mark in the song, all of the high and mid frequencies of the beat are filtered out for a few bars. Then, as the song builds back up, the frequencies are filtered back in, accompanied by a very simple, hard-to-miss riser. As the frequencies and the riser rise, so too will the ass of the listener, as the music- "The Universal Language"- tells it to.
Following the bold, aggressive, and assertive nature of the band's name, lyrics, and music, the structure of the song also bucks the modern conventions of today's popular songs. There are no verses in "Ass Up." Baracuda correctly concluded that they had said all they needed to say with their few simple lines, and the message certainly gets across to the audience. There are only a few moments where the song deviates from its repetitive, almost-hypnotic chorus, but otherwise there isn't much more to its structure. It's simple; it's effective.
But with it's simplicity comes just a touch of subtlety. If the audience happens to listen from a distance mentally, maybe as some background music, they might notice something strange with the lyrics. The vocalist, Suny, sings the lyrics "Put your ass in the air. Put your ass up in the air" in such a way as to make it sound very similar to "Put giraffes in the air. Put giraffes up in the air," showing two different sides to this song and giving it a much deeper meaning upon a closer look. It is at this point we must look back.
The very nature of the band- from the name, to their music, to their control- simultaneously shows us their aggression, assertiveness, and will-power while also putting a mirror to society, allowing us to see our reserved, reticent, passive side. In conjunction with this Duality of Man, they throw in a duality of lyrics, bringing up a new, tertiary level of duality: the Duality of Dualities. The mind bends as it now sees that nothing about this song is as simple as it seemed before. Is this song trying to take control, if only for a few minutes? Or is it meant as a commentary on society today? If it is a commentary, what is it trying to say?
So few works of art have raised so many questions so deeply and effectively. It is through the power of the lyrics and its dualities that I nominate Baracuda's "Ass Up" for Best Lyrics of 2013.
-Billy Hentenaar
*Billy Hentenaar is a local sound technician-turned-music critic. More of his writing can be found at his blog, skinsnacks.blogspot.com
Baracuda's control over the listener's emotions is established before the song even begins. The band manifests feelings of discomfort, confusion, and slight annoyance at the purposeful misspelling of their name. Baracuda uses these feelings to grab the listener's attention and lead them on an emotional journey. They know what they want their audience to feel and how to get them to feel it.
On the surface, "Ass Up" seems to be a simple song- but much power comes from its simplicity. It grabs the listener's attention, commanding them of what to do even before the beat comes in. There is no confusion, as the song tells the listener to "put your ass in the air," and even going as far as to tell them how to put it in the air- like "you don't care." It's a sharp juxtaposition of the age we live in today, where people soften everything they say by adding 'like' before saying anything- turning it into a simile instead of a concrete statement; a startling contrast of a world where people no longer 'know' or 'think' things, instead, they 'feel like' things. The song's power over the listener derives from the assertion that they WILL put their ass in the air, and they'll do it like they don't care.
Not only are the lyrics commanding the listener to move, but the music behind them is a heavy influence as well. At the 1:15 mark in the song, all of the high and mid frequencies of the beat are filtered out for a few bars. Then, as the song builds back up, the frequencies are filtered back in, accompanied by a very simple, hard-to-miss riser. As the frequencies and the riser rise, so too will the ass of the listener, as the music- "The Universal Language"- tells it to.
Following the bold, aggressive, and assertive nature of the band's name, lyrics, and music, the structure of the song also bucks the modern conventions of today's popular songs. There are no verses in "Ass Up." Baracuda correctly concluded that they had said all they needed to say with their few simple lines, and the message certainly gets across to the audience. There are only a few moments where the song deviates from its repetitive, almost-hypnotic chorus, but otherwise there isn't much more to its structure. It's simple; it's effective.
But with it's simplicity comes just a touch of subtlety. If the audience happens to listen from a distance mentally, maybe as some background music, they might notice something strange with the lyrics. The vocalist, Suny, sings the lyrics "Put your ass in the air. Put your ass up in the air" in such a way as to make it sound very similar to "Put giraffes in the air. Put giraffes up in the air," showing two different sides to this song and giving it a much deeper meaning upon a closer look. It is at this point we must look back.
The very nature of the band- from the name, to their music, to their control- simultaneously shows us their aggression, assertiveness, and will-power while also putting a mirror to society, allowing us to see our reserved, reticent, passive side. In conjunction with this Duality of Man, they throw in a duality of lyrics, bringing up a new, tertiary level of duality: the Duality of Dualities. The mind bends as it now sees that nothing about this song is as simple as it seemed before. Is this song trying to take control, if only for a few minutes? Or is it meant as a commentary on society today? If it is a commentary, what is it trying to say?
So few works of art have raised so many questions so deeply and effectively. It is through the power of the lyrics and its dualities that I nominate Baracuda's "Ass Up" for Best Lyrics of 2013.
-Billy Hentenaar
*Billy Hentenaar is a local sound technician-turned-music critic. More of his writing can be found at his blog, skinsnacks.blogspot.com
