In Hear This, A.V. Club writers sing the praises of songs they know well—some inspired by a weekly theme and some not, but always songs worth hearing.
I like Ween, but I don’t consider myself a fan. I don’t own any of their records, even, but I’ve always been fond of the ridiculously wonderful “Don’t Get 2 Close (2 My Fantasy)” from the band’s 1992 major-label debut, Pure Guava. Eschewing some of the helium-voiced weirdness of the rest of the record—a record that includes “Push Th’ Little Daisies”—“Fantasy” is notable in that it’s not exactly a parody of pompous ’70s rock, but not exactly an homage, either. For the first couple of minutes, it sounds like Space Oddity-era David Bowie, with watery guitars and inscrutable lyrics like, “It’s just around the corner / the destiny that I embrace with you.” But then the chorus kicks in, and it’s sort of explosively hilarious: “Don’t be afraid to clutch the hand of your creator / Stare into the lion’s eyes / And if you taste the candy / You’ll get to the surprise!” Then, in its last minute, the song goes from funny to near-perfect: The instruments drop away, and the chorus is repeated a capella, with multi-tracked vocals (complete with faux British accents) ascending to sublimely silly heights.