Song of the Week: "I Need a Dollar" from Aloe Blacc

I have to believe this song is more than just a great blues piece. Yes, it's a down-on-my-luck story about a man who loses his job and needs both work and money. Yes, it falls back onto the familiar pillow of repeating a similar 4 bar or so pattern of beat, rhythm and melody. But it just strikes me as being so meta.

"I need a dollar...if I share with you my story, would you share your dollar with me?" What do you think that's about? Not to put to many words into Mr. Blacc's mouth, but the subtle theme of this chorus revolves around the perversion of art through commercialization. The main character loses his job, then is forced to make a living by selling the only thing he has to sell, which is his craft, his art, his storytelling. But he has to make the story, his only story, a hit. It has to be popular or he is doomed. Then, with the help of good friends whiskey and wine, he becomes doomed.

Or maybe its about the doomed spirit of the amateur-turned-professional artist. We start with a young man, energetic and adventurous. He dreams of hitting it big with his true passion: his stories. But his whimsy costs him his job; his boss fires him for his lack of focus. So he is left, like then hobby-painter venturing to an art auction or that funny guy in the office climbing onto the stage at The Laugh Factory, to turn something that a few people appreciate when it is given to them for free into something that he hopes many people will love after paying for it. But he gets distracted when he meets new friends whiskey and wine.

Or maybe it's just your run of the mill sad song about a vague character who is vaguely down on his luck and then strikes up a one-sided relationship with alcoholic beverages. Or maybe it doesn't matter, because regardless of what this song might mean, regardless of what selfish narrative I project onto the lyrics, Mr. Blacc's work is and will be nothing less than a fantastic, fantastic song. It's great to dance to, to which the above video attests. Its great to listen to, to which anyone with ears can attest. And it's great to think about, to which this incoherent rambling can attest.