Emily's Albums A to Z

Listened: Thursday July 12

I can’t help but be reminded of Iggy Pop’s famous song Now I Wanna Be Your Dog when I hear the title of Jens Lekman’s When I Said I Wanted to Be Your Dog. Despite the music being nothing like Iggy Pop, I presume it’s an intentional reference. Jens claims in song that “When I said I wanted to be your dog, I wasn’t coming on to you, I just wanted to lick your face.” I don’t believe him!

I’ve definitely compared Jens to Morrissey before, but there are songs here that cement my confidence it’s a good comparison. Romanticism, dramatics, and irony entwine like a perfectly woven lyrical braid.

My favorites are “They all fall for me – psychogirls. They are drawn to me, mysteriously. I don’t know why… If I’d be your psychologist, who would be the psychologist’s psychologist?” and “In church on Sunday making out in front of the preacher. You had a black shirt on with a big picture of Nietzsche. When we had done our thing for a full Christian hour, I had made up my mind that there must be a higher power.”

I hope Jens stays self-effacing in his later years!