It Got Me at the Ending
There are songs that will get you right from the start. Right from the first strum, bang, chord, scream, or whatever the artist has used to demand attention. Others will have this moment somewhere in a bridge at the middle of the song. For me, the call of “Soft Stud” came somewhere between the fourth and fifth minute (it’s a six minute bang!) when slowly, I began to realize that there was something not usual about this song. Its call was impossible to ignore. It was drums beating like freedom and harsh guitars with hints of low fidelity whispering, whatever you’re doing right now, I want to sing to you.
This second part of the song consists of an ending to the cries and heartache of the singer. The weeping guitar is about to have had enough of wailing. With the promise of hope, a second guitar comes alive and takes control, striding in honest grit and valor, and charging the rhythm in simultaneous joy and sadness. The song’s call is a force wailing on you to wake up. But it is also a call to tend. A call that says, I am waiting for you to hear me, are you listening? It is a that song you can dance to, and cry to, and reminisce your dreams of a better life. “Soft Stud” is a call to the universe in the name of unrequited love. It’s a song I wished would never end.
“Soft Stud” is the opening track from Mother of My Children, the debut album by the Portland songwriter Black Belt Eagle Scout.
