Horizons That Just Forever Recede

Father John Misty “Pure Comedy”

If you’ve ever been lucky enough to karaoke with Rob Sheffield, you may have seen his take on John Lennon’s “God.” If you’re not familiar with the song, it’s this ballad in which Lennon runs down a list of people and concepts he doesn’t believe in, some of which he pronounces in rather dubious ways. He denounces the Bible, Jesus, Hitler, and Buddha before getting to the big thing in the climax: Holy shit, John Lennon doesn’t believe in BEATLES!!! It’s a good song, but also one that is unintentionally funny in its overeagerness to be provocative. Rob performs the song as if he’s doing stand up comedy, and draws on the spirit of a “truth teller” like Lenny Bruce deliberately trying to rile up a crowd. Rob plays it like someone delighting in a heel turn while having a smug confidence that they’re the one who is right about everything. It’s hilarious.

I think Father John Misty is coming from a pretty similar place with “Pure Comedy.” It’s a similar sort of piano-centric ballad, and though FJM is considerably less self-absorbed and solipsistic in his lyrics than John Lennon, he’s going for the same sort of TRUTH BOMBS in his words. Everything in “Pure Comedy” casts the human condition as a joke, including the fact that it’s a straight white guy from America who’s letting you in on the joke. Even if you’re inclined to think FJM is a douche, his case for the absurdity of humanity is pretty tight and surprisingly subtle for a song that’s expressing a deep alienation from society at large. A lot of what makes this song work both musically and lyrically is that the song is always giving you an indication that Misty isn’t getting much pleasure from this nihilistic outlook, and genuinely wants people to be better than this. Seeing all of this as a big joke is a coping strategy and a defense mechanism against all the horror and idiocy in the world, and you only need to do that if you sincerely care.

Buy it from Amazon.