I'm starting this one off with a question: are kids of today familiar with Schoolhouse Rock? I bring it up because that's actually one of the first things I thought of when I saw this for the first time. That got me thinking about the use of music in education and how helpful it can be. Especially when it comes to helping to remember things. For example, Animaniacs is why I know all of the state capitals. Facts are just easier to learn in song form. At least for me and I'm guessing a lot of other people. That and music can also teach you about life in general. For instance, "Stuck in Traffic" taught me that belting out your swears is extremely cathartic. Seriously, I recommend it. Maybe not so much when other people are around.
One of the other things I thought of after watching this for the first time? It got me thinking about what I remembered about learning about electricity and such in school. You know how much I remember? Very little. Maybe if my teachers had made up songs about it I would have. I'm just saying. Luckily, I have the guys of VoicePlay to shed some light on the development of the light bulb. Ah, the light bulb. Without which we'd be crashing into things all the time. Yes, the light bulb. A glorious invention that is indeed worthy of its own 1 Minute Musical. It is Eli Jacobson who is credited with both the music and lyrics for "Lightbulb" and so it is Eli who we'll be mainly focusing on. After watching the video.
Lumos.
Okay, we need to chat a bit about Eli, but first I need to make a maybe odd and most likely unexpected detour into the world of country music. Laying some groundwork here. Go with it. One of the biggest complaints about today's country music is the lack of lyrical depth. This complaint is not an entirely valid one; there's still a lot of depth to be found in the genre. Unfortunately, it's rare for those songs to end up of country radio. I have heard some truly ridiculous lyrics over the past few months and I don't mean the good kind of ridiculous. I'm talking about the cringeworthy kind of ridiculous.
What can this possibly have to do with "Lightbulb" and Eli? Well, I think being so bogged down by weak lyrics made me even more receptive to his. Let's consider some of the "Lightbulb" lyrics, shall we? "He'd literally be visually/ Absentee and unworldly". Then, later, we get this: "Swan gave lightbulbs the filament start and Edison/ Made them oxygen free/ Indoor incandescent safety". Are you kidding? Tell me, when was the last time you heard incandescent used in a song? Filament? Color me impressed. In this time of overwhelming lyrical sameness, "Lightbulb" is like that first breath of fresh air after being cooped up in a stuffy room.
What makes it even better is that I find it to be incredibly catchy as well. It's a very pleasant melody. I really like what the other four are doing, musically speaking. The way the harmonies hit in the breakdown. "Lightbulb" feels so different from most of their other stuff and it kind of brought home how good they are. I think these guys can sing just about anything in any style. Plus it's a cool set. Kudos to whoever did the drawings; I like both of them. Earl gets some bonus points for playing with fire and using the microscope as a microphone. That just tickles me. And then there's Geoff. Frankly, I don't believe I have the words to do his dancing justice so I'm not even going to try. Other than to say Geoff, never change. Actually, I could say that to the group as a whole. These guys are all great just the way they are.
Jumping back to Eli, I've had a bit of a soft spot for him after meeting them last year. He's so personable. It feels like everyone I've see talk about meeting him always says something about how nice it was to chat with him. He seems like he makes a point of connecting with each fan he meets. Not to say that the others don't - I only have nice things to say about each of them. Eli just has a special knack for it. He reminds me of Jerrod Niemann that way. Which, to those of you unfamiliar with Jerrod, is high praise indeed. Incidentally, I think it'd be interesting to hear what VoicePlay would do with one of his songs. Back on topic, Eli's also been Periscoping for the group more lately and those have all been pretty entertaining. I always appreciate when artists take the time to do those kinds of things.
And to top it all off, we've recently learned that Eli can rap. I mean, he's said that he's not a rapper, but I'd say their most recent videos prove otherwise.
Think that'll do it for this one. Next up: "Miley Cyrus". That's gonna be a fun one.
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