The mental energy necessary to take a simple idea (a few notes on a piano, a melody, a motif) and turn it into a fleshed-out song is unfathomable and the sheer fact that so many musicians do it successfully is beyond me. But I guess sometimes all an idea needs is a gentle nudge, a story per se. (Sandy) Alex G's "rosebush", likely a one-off loosie, is one of these ideas. But it's the presentation that rounds out the idea and fills in the gaps. Discreetly thrown on YouTube with a slow zoom out of a text filled document revealing the full prose of a strange little story. A whimsical and bizarre tale of a sweet woman unabashedly playing songs for the singing critters around her is a companion for the instrumental composition. The piece feels just as playfully weird as the story with a driving, syncopated rhythm backed by a gorgeous mesh of violin strokes and midi vocals. The strings lead way to a repetitive piano bass line as a clamoring saxophone solos over it, elevating the absurdity of the composition. The piece of art as a whole feels so fitting for Alex G, who's perfected the art of making music by himself in his bedroom -- a situation many musicians now find themselves in. And while some get stir-crazy among the chaos, Alex G escapes into his world of singing cats and black-flowered dreams.
Listen to the song above, and read the accompanying poem below.
"In a dream, black flowers grew around her bed. She picked one and held it close to her face, twirling it by the stem. What a wonderful mess, she thought. How did these blossoms get here overnight?
Joanna woke. The sun through her bedroom window made it impossible to go back to sleep. She left the bedroom, walked down the stairs and through the hall to the kitchen.
What songs will you sing for me? She asked the birds from her kitchen window. The window above the kitchen sink overlooked her garden, out of which grew a great rosebush surrounded by spring flowers.
The birds go around the rosebush. Yes and they sing and fly to the trees at the edge of the property. Joanna listened to their songs and smiled as she filled her teapot with water.
Plunk plunk goes the piano.
Whose song is this? Joanna asked the piano. She sat on the bench and positioned her fingers over the keys.
Plunk plunk plunk plunk.
She left a window open in the night. Three gray cats crawled through the window into Joanna’s home. Being so busy at the piano, Joanna didn’t see or hear the cats prowling and purring in the room.
The three cats, moved by Joanna’s song, began to sing:
Crawl back to your hole, rat!
Crawl back to your hole, rat!
Crawl back to your hole, rat!
Crawl back to your hole, rat!
Crawl back to your hole, rat!
Crawl back to your hole, rat!
Crawl back to your hole, rat!
Crawl back to your hole, rat!
Crawl back to your hole, rat!
Crawl back to your hole, rat!
Crawl back to your hole, rat!
Crawl back to your hole, rat!
Crawl back to your hole, rat!
Crawl back to your hole, rat!
Crawl back to your hole, rat!
Crawl back to your hole, rat!
Crawl back to your hole, rat!
Crawl back to your hole, rat! Crawl back to your hole, rat!”
Check out Natural Music’s “Top 100 Albums of 2019,” featuring House of Sugar at No. 66.
