Mardeen's "Telephones" has no music video that I'm aware of, nor could I find guitar tabs or even lyrics posted online under the original artist. That's because this version has been clearly outstripped in popularity by a cover of "Telephones" from Mo Kenney, who you've never heard of either. Every so often, Spotify will take my hand and rag me a little farther down this Nova Scotian indie rabbit hole, and it's never let me down, because this song is a magnificent bit of power pop.
"Telephones" is part of the sub-genre of "Side Piece Music," which we've already seen in "Dirty Work" and will come up at least one more time in the Top 100. This song's about a not-quite-relationship where two people seem to like each other a lot and have a great time, but are talking themselves out of actually getting together. I'm not sure why it's a given that "You know as well as me we're not in love," but it is.
Lyrically, this very simple song--which spends most of its three-and-a-half-minute running time repeating itself--paints a pretty clear picture of what the "relationship" is like, and I guess my overwhelming reaction is...that it seems kind of nice? It's got much more conflict than most songs about girls, which tend to fall into "I love you so much, you're great and this is perfect" or "I don't love you anymore, and I hate you" or "Please don't leave me, I'm so sad." I'd watch this song, expanded into a 95-minute rom-com.
But my favorite thing about this song is that the dominant musical force in it is a walking-pace, running-eighth-notes bass line. It's the kind of bass line that usually serves as the guiding track, and ordinarily there'd be a few vocal lines, some guitar, maybe some keyboard, playing over it while it keeps the tempo and reminds you what key you're in. Not this time--for about half the song, it's the only thing going on apart from the drums and vocals. That gives off a very pleasant, sort-of-but-not-quite-contrapuntal effect with the vocal melody, which changes from verse to prechorus to chorus as the bass line remains more or less the same. I love it when songs do that.
You don't think of a jaunty, upbeat song by a four-piece full-on electric rock band as being heartfelt and stripped-down, but that's sort of what "Telephones" is, and it's why it's one of my favorite songs you've probably never heard of.
