It's very rare for a song to exceed 10 minutes, an implausible feat in the modern age of music you could say, but if one does attempt such an outrageous runtime could it ever possibly be coherent or even listenable? Well, in this case, it's absolutely not - and that's what makes me love it even more. One of my favourite songs EVER is the maddening, overdramatic brain-breaking soliloquy that is 'Human Sadness', an 11-minute genre-less and chaotic masterpiece courtesy of The Voidz, a side-project from The Strokes' leading man, the ever melodramatic eccentric, Mr. Julian Casablancas. The song was released in late 2014 as the lead single from the band's debut record 'Tyranny', and ironically releasing through Cult Records, has since become somewhat of a cult classic, falling quite a bit behind in popularity compared to the bands more successful and ever-so-slightly more mainstream material from their second album, the brilliant 'Virtue' from 2018. For me, however, this song's alien-like weirdness, overflowing with emotion, reaches as far as anyone could possibly venture into the sonic capabilities of what we call music.
The opening bass-line of 'Human Sadness' instantly hypnotizes you, almost luring you into a false sense of security that this song will maintain such a peaceful vibe throughout, but there is something off-putting about the calmness of the first section of the song, almost like a threat is looming over it. Casablancas' hummed opening lyrics of "Vanity, overriding wisdom..." give a hint of this song's self-reflection as well as personal deflection which will continue to evolve and eventually attack your ears across the next 10 minutes. One of my most adored aspects which manages to survive through the chaos and re-appear later in the song is the auto-tuned verse, roughly quoted from a poem by Rumi which says; "Beyond ideas of right and wrong, there is a field, I will be meeting you there". Ugh, how beautiful is that? The Voidz' use of auto-tune, while weird, could now be considered their trademark as its use here and on their 2019 banging single (which is currently my ringtone) 'Did My Best', and only adds to their artistic weirdness. From a lyrical point of view for the entire Voidz catalogue, the words peak here.
 |
| 'Tyranny' Album Cover (left) and Single Artwork for 'Human Sadness' (right). |
While 'Human Sadness' does have it's beauty, most of the middle section even I would say is quite harsh to listen to. Part of why I love the song is that it trudges through it's self-made storm. Once the opening fades out past it's quirky double-guitar solo and briefly enters this phase of what feels like being above the clouds during a brutal storm, it quickly barrels back toward earth and the song gets caught up in a musical hurricane to the point where every instrument and Casablancas' voice all meld together into one. It's not merely a wall of sound, but a universe, and in moments it becomes purely incomprehensible. BUT... it finds it's way out, and eventually the beautiful bassline reveals itself to you once more which is a very welcome return, and Jules' strained and almost relieved voice closes out the song, still holding on to the desperation he began it with. "All is lost, I'll find my way. I say, to be is not to be. To be is not the way to be..." Now, while I could argue that this is my favourite song of all time, the album that beholds it I don't have too much praise for. The other 11 tracks on 2014's 'Tyranny' are mostly, for me, brutally unlistenable. I can honestly appreciate the harsh musical abandonment from Casablancas' usual style, but man, this album just isn't it. Aside from the hardly bareable 'Nintendo Blood', I don't think I'll ever be able to name another record that reeks this badly yet also somehow manages to have one single saving grace in the most beautiful piece of music that has ever graced my ears.
 |
| The Voidz performing live in 2018. |
Anyway, not much information about the creation of the final song can be found online, however the 2-minute long demo surfaced not too long after the song's release as it plays over the credits for the track's music video, and can be found here. This softer, more synth-centric version was co-written by songwriter Simon Taufique and used in the short documentary 'The Unseen Beauty' about New York painter, Sam Adoquei. The demo is a fascinating listen if you're a fan of the final 11-minute version or just Jules' music itself. It's only the final section of 'Human Sadness' played very softly on a synth, absent of chaos and incessant production, but lends itself more to a softer Strokes style track, or Daft Punk's 'Instant Crush' featuring Casablancas. I love that it shows a different side to the final product. But that is all! One of the songs that lives proudly in my heart, and I hope that one day Casablancas will knock us out with something that's 12 minutes long. Thank you for reading.
No comments:
Post a Comment