Dangerous, Dirty, and Unfun

So I saw the inimitable Butch Walker last night at the Paradise in Allston. You remember B-Dub, he of DD&U’s Fifth Favorite Album of the Decade. He’s a tremendous showman, and it was a dynamite performance. My only complaint: he didn’t play the song that he’s presently most famous for, his cover of Taylor Swift’s “You Belong With Me.”

Oh well. He more than made up for it. Have you ever been to a performance by a guy that used to be in another band? I’ve seen Straylight Run and Fred Mascherino (both late of Taking Back Sunday), as well as Jack’s Mannequin (whose frontman, Andrew McMahon, was, obviously, the singer for Something Corporate). I go to these shows because I think the music these artists put out is really good. But every time, there’s something in the back of my head wishing desperately to hear some of the old tunes. (Full disclosure: when I saw Jack’s Mannequin, they played “Me and the Moon,” but let’s be honest with each other, precious readers: “Me and the Moon” isn’t “Hurricane,” and it’s most definitely not “Konstantine.” So, you know.) I understand this is unfair of me. After all, the whole reason John Nolan, for instance, went off and started a new band was to avoid playing Taking Back Sunday songs.

So you can imagine my delight when Butch Walker, former frontman of Marvelous 3, sat down behind the piano and played one of that band’s best songs, “Cigarette Lighter Love Song.” Excellent tune. Listen to it live below, as well as Butch recounting a bit of the story of his travels through the record industry. Enjoy.

Firstly, a housekeeping note. Several devoted readers of Dangerous, Dirty, and Unfun have expressed to me concern that I wouldn’t finish this list before the actual end of the decade. To which I respond, so what? Are the post–January 1st entries going to be less valid? Do you guys really look to Dangerous, Dirty, and Unfun for timeliness and relevance? Come on, precious readers. It’s like you don’t even know me! I take the “Tim” out of “timeliness.”

Letters

5) Butch Walker, Letters (2004)

Hoo boy. This is the tough part of the countdown, dearest reader. The next four albums, honestly, I could have flipped a coin to determine the order. (How would that work, though? Would I have to seed the albums and have a four-team coin-flip tournament?) Anyway, Letters comes in in the five spot. This particular selection was doubly hard, since Butch Walker’s entire oeuvre (2002’s Left of Self Centered, Letters, 2006’s The Rise and Fall of Butch Walker and the Let’s Go Out Tonites, and last year’s Sycamore Meadows) is pure dynamite.

You might recall Butch Walker as the frontman for the late 90s pop-rock outfit Marvelous 3 (remember their one song, “Freak of the Week”?) The second semester of my freshman year, a couple upperclassman friends of mine invited me to a show at the House of Blues. (The one that used to be in Cambridge; it’s Tommy Doyle’s now. I continue to date myself in these posts, I’m realizing. Oh well!) The opening act was Brian Vander Ark (who sings for the Verve Pipe, and had a solo album of his own that, while not cracking DD&UFAOTD:AMIMIFE, was still pretty good), and the headliner was Butch Walker. He played a few Marvelous 3 tunes (including, if memory serves, “You’re So Yesterday,” which is just an excellent song), and some tracks from his debut solo album. And they were awesome. At that point, I became hooked.

The Zeroes have proven that Butch Walker is true music industry Renaissance man. He performs (I saw him live again a few months ago at the Paradise, and the man knows how to put on a show); he writes (in addition to his own songs, Walker has written many tunes for other artists, including SR-71’s hit “Right Now,” Bowling for Soup’s “Girl All the Bad Guys Want,” and Avril Lavigne’s “My Happy Ending”); and he produces (Walker is one of the most sought-after producers in the biz, producing records for artists like Pete Yorn, Sevendust, the Donnas, Pink, Katy Perry, Weezer, and Dashboard Confessional). He does pop; he does rock; he does metal; he does emo; the man does it all!

So, Letters. You like heartfelt ballads? How about “Mixtape” (But you gave me the best mixtape I have. / And even all the bad songs ain’t so bad. / I just wish there was so much more than that. / About me and you)? Or “Promise” (What was I saying? / There I go playing / The game I know so well. / I’m talking about myself when it should be / You)? You like radio-friendly pop-rock? How about the intoxicating hook and delightful harmonies on “#1 Summer Jam.” You like withering breakup revenge anthems? How about the granddaddy of the withering breakup revenge anthem, (which I’ll link to here, because it was all that I could do to keep from making it my Signature Track) “Best Thing You Never Had.” (Longtime friends of Dangerous, Dirty, and Unfun will recall these lyrics from sundry away messages from assorted dark times in the life of your favorite blogger: “Like the toilet seat never got lifted / And I pissed on your confidence / When you weren’t around? How can that be? / Don’t turn this around. / You were the one / Who drove my ass right to the ground.”)

Signature Track: “Joan”

I’m going to defer to Mr. Walker here, since I have a good feeling that “Joan” is one of his favorite tracks from Letters. “Joan” is what my pal Reeves likes to refer to as an aural story, so I won’t go and spoil things by transcribing any lyrics. I love this song because it’s a textbook example of how passionate a lyricist and vocalist Butch Walker can be when he wants to. Just a top notch song. I recommend you listen to the whole thing.

Blah. So it was a long holiday weekend, and then I wound up catching the flu, or some similar kind of supervirus. Anyway, that’s why the blogging has been at a minimum. I’ll try to do a better job of tossing some nutty stuff up in the next few days. In the meantime, here’s Butch Walker’s cover of Taylor Swift’s “You Belong With Me” that’s been burning a hole in my iPod. Enjoy!