The Poision is a love song...

I have been in this state for awhile where I absolutely love bands that are [fiction] storytellers. I remember that I started picking up on this a few years ago, thinking how crazy this or that subject matter was in a song, only to later find out that it wasn't true, it was just something that this or that frontman wanted to say. At first I was kind of turned off by this notion, I wanted "my" bands to be honest and loud and either pissed off or happy, but I wanted them to be doing this while excavating their own demons. Don't get me wrong, I still have a wonderful appreciation for this kind of honesty (not in a whiny emo way) that is so masterfully conveyed by many artists that are currently living in my iPod, but these storytellers had something else to offer. Searching for more music like this, I started getting into Pedro the Lion, The Decemberists, Neutral Milk Hotel, the more recent Fleet Foxes and last but not least my dear friends in The Apprentice (their sophomore effort "An American Portrait" really shows the talent that lies in Eric's writing).
I was recently watching some clips from the new DVD that's coming out from David Bazan (formerly of Pedro the Lion) entitled "Alone at the Mic" which consists of him playing songs in his home studio, in his truck while at red lights and interviews with him. In one of these interviews he is talking about how someone at Barsuk challenged him to write a lovesong, to which he starts talking about how he has written several, just not in the stereotypical sense. One of these songs is called "The Poison" from the last Pedro the Lion album "Achilles Heel". I thought that thinking of it as a lovesong was an interesting take on the song as it seems to me to be about defeat, although I guess love lost is still love, in some sense. Anyway, I thought I might share this song, and if anyone actually reads this, let me know some of your favorite bands that do this kind of songwriting, or if you don't have any of those, just any other kind of band that you may want to post.



Edit: I couldn't find a live video for this song, so here's one that some fan made. It's kind of weird, but not as weird as the time Andrew sang "Oh Comely" in front of the Haugh family. Semen.