20 February 2008

"should i say yes" || nu shooz || 1988


There have been many songs written about the anguish that romance can bring. This particular tune deals with the difficult decision that one must face sometimes when faced with an ex that wants to give things another shot. It taps into feelings of mistrust and disdain, yet still there's a longing for things to be right and happy again.

The lyric that hits hardest for me is: "We may be different but there's one thing that stays the same / I know I need you in a way that I can't explain."

I mean, geez, what a mouthful.

How horrible a feeling is it to know that someone is just awful for you, but to feel like you can't live without them? This song is about working through those feelings, and he insecurity that one inevitably feels about making their final decision. It can be the toughest one you'll ever have to make.

This is one of the only songs on this subject that truly captures the painful emotions that one must suffer through during a time like this. The entire Told U So album helped me through the worst breakup that I've ever been through, and it remains my favorite breakup LP to this day.

If you've ever had your heart broken, grab this album and hold it close to your heart. It'll help you. I promise.

Listen to it here.

1 comments:

Unknown said...

DEAR MAXWELL K

THE POOLSIDE ALBUM WAS BASICALLY THE SWEEPINGS FROM SEVEN YEARS IN THE CLUBS, DONE IN SIX WEEKS BECAUSE I CAN'T WAIT WAS ALREADY HUGE. MAKING 'TOLD U SO' WAS MUCH HARDER. SO MUCH NUSHOOZ WATER UNDER UNDER THE BRIDGE BY THAT TIME. WE ENDED UP MAKING THE ALBUM TWICE, FIRST WITH PRINCE ALUMNUS DAVID Z, THEN AGAIN WITH OUR OLD RELIABLE PRODUCER, JEFF LORBER. THE LABEL WANTED ANOTHER I CAN'T WAIT, BUT WE WERE COPING WITH THE AWESOME WEIGHT OF SUDDEN STARDOM. OUR BAND WAS DISSOLVED AND I FOUND MYSELF ALONE IN A ROOM WITH A GRAMMY NOMINATION AND THE WHOLE WORLD LOOKING AT ME. THE RESULTING ALBUM TOOK TWO YEARS AND WAS SADDER AND JAZZIER. IT'S FUNNY BUT NO, ON SECOND THOUGHT IT'S NOT, THAT TWELVE YEARS LATER I FOUND MY OWN RELATIONSHIP ON THE ROCKS. THAT ALBUM STARTED PLAYING IN MY HEAD, AND EVERY SONG APPLIED TO MY OWN LIFE. CRAZY! NOW I WOULDN'T PRESUME TO TELL ANYONE WHAT 'SHOULD I SAY YES MEANS.' BUT WE WANT YOU TO KNOW IT REALLY MADE OUR DAY TO HEAR THAT IT MEANT SO MUCH TO YOU, AND ALL THAT HARD WORK AND GUT WRENCHING ARTISTIC ENDEAVOR, ALL THAT SINCERITY FOUND ITS MARK. WHO KNOWS, MAYBE IT WAS ALL JUST FOR YOU.

JOHN SMITH
NU SHOOZ BAND
NU SHOOZ ORCHESTRA