Dangerous, Dirty, and Unfun

My buddy Reeves over at Meanderings does this thing from time to time called Aural Stories. Long story short, he highlights songs that have a strong narrative element. Actually, that was a short story to begin with. Here’s a quick one about Weezy. It’s a neat idea, so I’m promoting it. But with a twist. I’m going to talk about a song that USED to have a strong narrative element.

Regular readers of Dangerous, Dirty, and Unfun know that I’m a demo fiend. If the production values aren’t real good, if the song was recorded in a hotel room on the European tour, or if most of the lyrics are completely different, then I want it. I gotta have it! I just find it fascinating to see the creative process in action.

Sometimes, unfortunately, you come to discover that the demo is, in fact, better than the track that makes it onto the album. Brand New’s “Untitled 09,” from the Fight Off Your Demons samizdat, is a classic example. Here’s the demo . . .

. . . which is like, one of my favorite Brand New tunes. Now listen to “The Archers’ Bows Have Broken,” from 2006’s The Devil and God Are Raging Inside Me, and keep an ear out for the one bit that they pulled out of the demo.

Great song, indeed. But . . . the demo was better!

Which leads me to Dashboard Confessional’s “Rooftops and Invitations.” It’s on Dusk and Summer. Listen to a little live rendition:

Great tune, right? I’ve felt that way for years. Then, one day, I got a link from Chris Carrabba’s Twitter feed about a couple “Rooftops and Invitations” demos. Here’s the most polished version.

Notice how different it is? And like, better?

Firstly, the album version’s hook

She just might get you lost
And she just might leave you torn
But she just might save your soul
If she gets you and she, gets you any closer

doesn’t even exist. And the rest of the verses are all mixed up. What you’ve got between the album’s track and the demo is the difference between a song with some hooky lyrics, and an actual story.

She leads you up, points out skylines and steeple chases,
All lace in secret places she moves you to touch with her hand.
The city longs well for water and conversation, rooftops and invitations to stay for the night, in her bed
Under the cool sheets where the welcome touch of skin and skin will meet.
Hot on the inside where the girl’s prize is at the tip of your tongue.
Sweet, and pure, and longing for your deep embrace.

You’ve listened to both tracks. How much hotter and more soulful is the demo? It’s not even close, right? “Rooftops and Invitations” the album track is a song that I wouldn’t skip on a shuffle. “Rooftops and Invitations” the demo is a song that’s been burning a hole in my iPod for the past week. And I’ve been operating with only one working earphone!

That’s why being a demo fiend is such a double-edged sword. Yeah, sometimes, you find a gem like this one. But then you realize you live in a world where Chris Carrabba thinks a great song needs to be made worse to make it onto his album. Kinda sad.