Yearlong Song Challenge, Day 140: Brianna

Prompt: "Is it even a song? It's... yes, it's a song. Maybe."

Selected by Brianna

"Who Are You? Point To It!"

Ron Gallo

Stardust Birthday Party, 2018

What would the music industry be without the weirdos? Your David Byrne and the like? My guess is: not very good. And I would bet that Ron Gallo feels about the same.

It's not a foolproof method of creating well-received hits, but pushing the boundaries between music and performance art certainly does churn out the memorable. In the past decade, one of the most memorable albums for me has been Gallo's 2018 Stardust Birthday Party. 

Surf rock meets Napoleon Dynamite meets plain old fun, SBP has a lot to both enjoy and raise an eyebrow at; opening track and choice for this prompt included in the latter reaction, for sure, as well as the mid-album meditative interlude. Persevere through the weird, however, and have a hell of a time. 

You might be inclined to skip the tracks altogether, but I think that would take away from what Gallo and other ranking weirdos are trying to do. There's a certain atmosphere created by such silliness, and skipping ahead to easy listening means you lose some of that. 

It's one of those things, you know? Like, trust the artist you're taking the time to listen to. Most of the time there's a point to what they do, and if you're going as far as putting on one of their creations, shouldn't you take it in its entirety? That's how I look at it, at least.

But who are you? Point to it!