Rampaging lovers, suicide, infidelity, the deep fear of lost love—let’s face it: heartache, trouble and woe seem to be predominant in songs we come to think of as “brilliant.” You know: our true love abandoning us is deep, her falling to a wretched cancer deeper still. How many comedies and light romances have won Oscars, after all? Or even been nominated?
When’s the last time a Bob Dylan lyric elicited even a chortle?
When’s the last time a Bob Dylan lyric elicited even a chortle?
I, no less than critics across MusicLand, am every bit as prone to this bias toward the serious if not flat-out sullen when I consider songs for this “Brilliant Songs” series. But I am going to forsake that Quest for Depth for the moment in favor of a brief flare of bemusement that I consider brilliant on its own terms of droll humor and merry mischief: Vilray’s (one name only) straightforward suggestion to a partner who quickly assents in this duet to join him in an undisclosed location at 37,000 feet: “Let’s Make Love on This Plane.”
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