Guest contributor: Charlie Crane
Charlie is, of course, the lead guitarist (and occasional drummer, vocalist, and book rearranger) for the Baguettes. His other credits include the Dyes, the Parasites, the Unswept, Julie&, Brad Bru & the Crowd Goes Wild, and ButterBean (among many others). He recently wrote and released a solo single, "When It Happens," which he discusses below.
The meaning of this song isn’t particularly mysterious. If you search your favored social media site (as long as it isn’t X) for the phrase “when it happens,” you’ll find countless people openly wishcasting about it. Similarly, searching your favored streaming service for the phrase yields hundreds of playlists with that name, collecting songs to soundtrack an anticipated inevitability. (Here’s my own playlist – feel free to suggest other appropriate songs in the comments!) Nobody needs to say exactly what it is – who wants to end up on a government watchlist? – but it’s clear that this event will cause much rejoicing. So I figured I’d write a bespoke song on the subject. (I should also mention that the wonderful Julie Jurgens encouraged this train of thought, suggested a Twin Peaks-referencing line, and designed the gum-forward cover art.)
As a musician and music fan, I always appreciate when songs incorporate homages or references to other songs. At a time when the lines between tribute and infringement are increasingly blurred, I feel it’s important to show my work and share with you 5 songs that influenced “When It Happens”:
1. “When Will You Die” (TMBG)
This song is mostly an influence for its thematic similarity – its lyrics are also concerned with celebrating the impending death of an unnamed person. So similar, in fact, that I had to rewrite a line from my first draft ("We're gonna get together and celebrate/Just like we will every year upon this date") when I discovered that John Linnell had already used the same end rhyme.
2. “Something Happened” (Adam Schlesinger)
An unreleased song intended for a Muppet movie, which wasn’t publicly heard until shortly after Schlesinger’s untimely passing in 2020. (Micky Dolenz has reportedly recorded a version with revised lyrics that will be released later this year.) This was more of an unconscious tribute, as I didn’t spot it until the song was mostly finished, but there is a similar melodic and lyrical structure to the verses (both of which culminate on a vague “happening”).
3. “Dame Fortune” (Andy Partridge)
Another unused demo, rejected from the last XTC album. I took several cues from the arrangement, which is also rhythmically driven by a strummy acoustic guitar and a four-on-the-floor kick drum, with a busy bassline providing much of the melodic movement.
4. “Faith” (George Michael)
This classic track by my birthday buddy inspired how the percussion was layered. In this YouTube video, the contagiously enthusiastic Sammy McCormack breaks down the deceptively complex drum programming, which consists of several interlocking rhythmic sounds of natural and synthetic origin (cowbell, cabasa, handclaps, finger clicks, etc). This and the preceding track also were templates for the twinkly/jangly (twangly?) guitar solo.
5. “I Believe She’s Lying” (Jon Brion, live 6/25/2006)
Not the trip-hop adjacent version from his sole solo album “Meaningless,” but a live version that blew my mind when I witnessed it 20 years ago at the Intonation Festival (on my 19th birthday, no less). (There are a few scraggly cell phone videos on YouTube, but a board recording does circulate amongst collectors.) The looped kick drum/hi-hat pattern on which Brion built the rest of the arrangement in real-time is practically identical to where I ended up.
Charlie is, of course, the lead guitarist (and occasional drummer, vocalist, and book rearranger) for the Baguettes. His other credits include the Dyes, the Parasites, the Unswept, Julie&, Brad Bru & the Crowd Goes Wild, and ButterBean (among many others). He recently wrote and released a solo single, "When It Happens," which he discusses below.
The meaning of this song isn’t particularly mysterious. If you search your favored social media site (as long as it isn’t X) for the phrase “when it happens,” you’ll find countless people openly wishcasting about it. Similarly, searching your favored streaming service for the phrase yields hundreds of playlists with that name, collecting songs to soundtrack an anticipated inevitability. (Here’s my own playlist – feel free to suggest other appropriate songs in the comments!) Nobody needs to say exactly what it is – who wants to end up on a government watchlist? – but it’s clear that this event will cause much rejoicing. So I figured I’d write a bespoke song on the subject. (I should also mention that the wonderful Julie Jurgens encouraged this train of thought, suggested a Twin Peaks-referencing line, and designed the gum-forward cover art.)
As a musician and music fan, I always appreciate when songs incorporate homages or references to other songs. At a time when the lines between tribute and infringement are increasingly blurred, I feel it’s important to show my work and share with you 5 songs that influenced “When It Happens”:
1. “When Will You Die” (TMBG)
This song is mostly an influence for its thematic similarity – its lyrics are also concerned with celebrating the impending death of an unnamed person. So similar, in fact, that I had to rewrite a line from my first draft ("We're gonna get together and celebrate/Just like we will every year upon this date") when I discovered that John Linnell had already used the same end rhyme.
2. “Something Happened” (Adam Schlesinger)
An unreleased song intended for a Muppet movie, which wasn’t publicly heard until shortly after Schlesinger’s untimely passing in 2020. (Micky Dolenz has reportedly recorded a version with revised lyrics that will be released later this year.) This was more of an unconscious tribute, as I didn’t spot it until the song was mostly finished, but there is a similar melodic and lyrical structure to the verses (both of which culminate on a vague “happening”).
3. “Dame Fortune” (Andy Partridge)
Another unused demo, rejected from the last XTC album. I took several cues from the arrangement, which is also rhythmically driven by a strummy acoustic guitar and a four-on-the-floor kick drum, with a busy bassline providing much of the melodic movement.
4. “Faith” (George Michael)
This classic track by my birthday buddy inspired how the percussion was layered. In this YouTube video, the contagiously enthusiastic Sammy McCormack breaks down the deceptively complex drum programming, which consists of several interlocking rhythmic sounds of natural and synthetic origin (cowbell, cabasa, handclaps, finger clicks, etc). This and the preceding track also were templates for the twinkly/jangly (twangly?) guitar solo.
5. “I Believe She’s Lying” (Jon Brion, live 6/25/2006)
Not the trip-hop adjacent version from his sole solo album “Meaningless,” but a live version that blew my mind when I witnessed it 20 years ago at the Intonation Festival (on my 19th birthday, no less). (There are a few scraggly cell phone videos on YouTube, but a board recording does circulate amongst collectors.) The looped kick drum/hi-hat pattern on which Brion built the rest of the arrangement in real-time is practically identical to where I ended up.
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