NOTE: THIS TRACK HASN'T BEEN MASTERED YET, AND SO YOU'LL NEED TO TURN YOUR SPEAKERS UP A BIT.
Well, this one is some pretty "Zappa level" satire, lyrically, while being more Steely Dan-ish, musically. Like all my songs the last few years, this one came in a dream. I think it was prompted the night before, when I was scrolling through YouTube (as one will) and saw a video titled "Female Nashville Songwriter Reacts to Iggy & the Stooges." So I thought, "Yeah, ok, I'll click on that," and it was not anything special except at the end, where she said "I liked that it was provocative for real.....everything now would be provocative by committee."
The song is about how image consultants, PR flacks and management teams script every word and move for maximum profit, all but ensuring a total absence of authenticity in popular culture. And no worries about who gets exploited along the way.
Many thanks to my (ex)Nashville friend Mike Duncan for the background vocals!
Provocative By Committee (© 2025 Walter Ehresman)
We counted 27 gasps of outrage;
That’s three more than the previous focus group;
And so Young Missy’s costume will be altered
to keep that nipple even more in view.
Our polling shows misogyny ascendant,
and so we’ve drafted phrases he can use
while opening for the orange head headliner
to keep the yahoos’ minds off of the news.
[chorus]
There’s too much money here to be unscripted;
The shareholders are not served by ad libs;
--contrivance ups the bottom line;
--lip-syncing keeps the sound so fine
with no room for what might flow from your id.
[bridge]
Studies show this is the way to go.
The woman on the dog-leash sold like hot cakes—
the merch was simply flying off the shelves;
So our team suggests the cover for the new one
show a teenage girl’s fellatio in Hell.
For the tour, we’ve hired very special dancers
who all look much (MUCH!) younger than they are;
All trained to stand the bullwhip from the singer,
and to scream in key beneath the lead guitar.
--stick with us, boys, and you’ll go far!
Walter Ehresman: lead and vocoder vocals, guitars, 4-string acoustic/electric fretless bass, keyboards & key percussion, electric percussion pad, drum machine programming. Special guest--Mike Duncan: background vocals.
For official solo and band releases from Walter Ehresman, please click here: https://walterehresman.bandcamp.com/
p. 2025 Walter Ehresman. All rights reserved.
