Dr.
Something is the solo project of Alison Dennis, whom you may also know from her
work with The Piping Hot Love Engines, Coney Island Cartel, and All I Feel Is
Yes, previously reviewed on this site under their former name, Hot Apparatus.
Alison is
also a coworker, whom I know outside of music review. She once tweeted about a
certain song title (the final track on Puppies Are Nature's Rainbows),
with a word in it that garnered a lot of attention. I had to take exception,
due to the profanity, but she assured me that it really raised the hit count.
I believed
her, but having now listened to "Sh**splosion at the Lloyd Center Macy's "
I have to say I am most impressed by the universality of the song. Not only has
anyone who regularly rides public transportation had a time when the need for a
bathroom was desperately urgent, but in this area the Lloyd Center Macy's is a prime
destination for that, based on its accessibility and proximity to light rail.
It has seen many a 'splosion.
There is a
definite local flavor for Portland Metro Area residents, with frequent Tri-Met
references, but the emotions and experiences are relatable outside of the
region. Everybody can understand nausea, and unsatisfying relationships, and
being reminded of art by something you see in nature, even if that does not
always turn into a short biographical sketch of landscape artist Marvin Cone.
Who wouldn't hear the title "Crying in a Cubicle" and not feel
recognition?
(Possibly
someone who has never worked in a cubicle, but my point stands.)
Obviously
there is a sense of silliness that may come through in the titles. There is
humor there, but a lot of it is simply because these songs incorporate the
mundane in a way that corporate pop often chooses not to.
It's not
unheard of - I distinctly remember Menudo having a song about the shopping mall
- but the rhymes and lyrics were as cheesy and perfunctory as you'd expect. For
Dr. Something, just because you are singing about the cat getting into your
food is no reason not to add unexpected vocabulary or lilting rhythms. She will
refer to something as Mahlerian and she will not be wrong.
The Dr.
Something bio page refers to "silly folk pop". That's a pretty good
description, but I will sum it up as beautiful and deeply strange.
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