A Square Foot Of Empire

Father John Misty “The Next 20th Century”

“The Next 20th Century” is a song only Father John Misty could write. In fact, it may be the most “Father John Misty” song he’s written, the one where he perfects his very particular way of stacking a world weary cynicism upon dark humor and sick ironies without it collapsing in on itself or negating the very sincere longing and despair at the center of it all. He’s practically daring the listener to take him the wrong way from the opening line, but if you make it through to the concluding verse his POV is very clear: This is someone who sees the same old tragedies in each new disaster and doesn’t believe there’s any real escape from the world we’ve all been making for centuries on end. Even romance and fantasies are infected by the rot, even the purest true love is burdened by the weight of historical context. “And now things keep getting worse while staying so eerily the same,” he sings, really getting to the bitter core of the song. Everyone is waiting for some brutal apocalypse, but we never get the punishment we crave. It’s worse to live in the anticipation.

There’s a deliberate cinematic quality to the arrangement “The Next 20th Century,” with little nods to westerns and melodramas along the way. The song is aiming for a very 20th century sort of grandeur, but true to concept, the song itself sounds more like an endless plateau rather than some dramatic vista. The instrumental spaces between verses are the most striking musical elements of the piece, particularly in how each verse is punctuated with a very different sound. After the first time, it’s a glorious and melodic string sequence. After the second time, it’s a thunderous distorted guitar solo. The space between the third and fourth verses is mostly just a simple keyboard part plinked out in a way that makes it sound very small and tinny in the middle of this grandiose track. It’s a very effective moment of calm but also something that foreshadows the feeling of impotence expressed in the following verse.

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