Stranger than Fiction, Larger Than Life: the Finn Brothers song-by-song discussion thread

He has a remarkable memory. I won't need to remind him. I read him bedtime stories every night. When he was younger I used to make them up. I told him a story once (I can't remember them once I've told them) two years ago. He asked me to tell it to him again last week. I had a desperate stab at making something up that might resemble the original, and afterwards he told me all the bits I'd missed out...

 

"Teenage Queen" doesn't grab me as immediately as some of the previous material did, but it's still a solid song that's exactly the sort of thing The Young People should be writing about.

3.7/5

 

"Teenage Queen" has a strong melody and the early '80s sounding synthesizer coupled with a contemporary production give the song an appealing flavour. Harper's singing is again very good. I like this song, but it doesn't make quite as strong an impression as the previous Harper songs we've discussed.
3/5

 

Cool groove and nice keyboard sounds here. I also like the vocal effect in the chorus, and yeah the whole thing sounds pretty "modern 80's throwback". Good song and a grower, but not something I love.

3.5/5

 

Our votes for "Teenage Queen"

1-0
2-0
3-2
4-7
5-0
Average: 3.5722

 

Today's song is "Good For Me", written by Harper Finn and Dan Wilson.

Lyric.

"Good For Me" was released digitally by Warner Music on October 19th, 2019.

 

So I love the little piano loop that plays at the beginning and throughout the song. Harper also sounds unusually great here. He always sounds good, but he sounds really good on this one.

I must’ve forgotten about this song; it’s really good, and I’d almost put it shoulder to shoulder with his first two releases. Wonderful piano and a pretty effective vibe shift at the end, with the additional drums and such. I also think the sentiment of the song (posted above) is so beautiful and important.

Ultimately this is a great track. It falls a little short of the first two tracks for me, but definitely holds more emotional weight and maturity than those.

4.3/5

 

Good for Me

This is another great song which is very catchy - both the well crafted vocal melody and the piano. The synthetic aspects are well reined in for much of the song, allowing the song and Harper's voice to shine. And by the time the song goes very synthetic we're well used to the song. Very effective production.

4.2/5

 

Good For Me

What a great chorus and bridge! This song sounds effortless in every way, although I’m sure it was the result of a lot of hard work. His voice is amazing!

4.5/5

 

Good For Me - Great Song, Harper is really good at writing a ballad. I agree with all the comments above that the addition of the drums and other (restrained) additions near the end of the song really elevate the song. He really is a terrific vocalist - he pretty much carries the entire song based on his vocal.

Listening to the lyrics, it's just so relatable and heartbreaking.
4.5/5

 

4.5/5

I have mentioned it before but I will say it again : Harper has the most commerical voice of all Finns. Even with the generous lacquer of 21st century gloss applied you can tell it’s just a beautiful instrument. And this song just has a classic melody, it’s played in my head all day.

It’s hard to believe this wasn’t some kind of mega-hit, it just sounds so so commercial. In fact it almost borders on “too commercial” for me.

But I can feel it really is from the heart so that’s all right.

 

Good For Me almost sounds like a McCartney piano ballad, without the plod. (But it also sometimes sounds like Chris Martin, so there's that.)

His voice is excellent, as others note, his tonal quality, pitch and phrasing are all highest quality. The only quibble I have are the one or two 21st century production flourishes, but since this is the 21st century, they're nothing to find fault with.

I had the debris of a sh***y relationship from 40 years ago unexpectedly rear its ugly head last week, so yes, this is really relatable.

4.4/5

 

hee hee. If there's one thing this thread has given to my lexicon it's "the McCartney plod."

 

Oh, God. That happens? Sorry. Since most of my relationships before the current one were ****ty, I guess I I can still look forward to that.

 

Moving countries can help you evade that...or at least I'm hoping that's the case...

 

I’ve had the debris of a 30 year old toxic relationship resurface periodically ever since the pandemic started. Talk about messing with my head! Unfortunately, we (still) live less than an hour away from each other.

 

I can't really "like" these comments, but I do appreciate that we are all reasonable people who respect each other.

In my case, I thought the mutual friends we had were still mutual friends, it appears not. It took me this long to figure it out.

 

"Good For Me" is my favourite Harper song so far, a classic sounding piano ballad that his voice can carry superbly, and then it soars with the wonderful bridge. It's very commercial sounding, reminiscent in places of Chicago's "Hard To Say I'm Sorry".

4/5

 

I've heard some guys on the radio sing that "everywhere you go, you always take the weather with you" though...

 

My 'likes' for the above comments are meant in a supportive manner. It's good that people are able to discuss their issues, and I hope the rest of can usefully wish thread members best wishes for being able to address past problems and grow.

 

"Good For Me" is beautiful piano ballad. I like how the intensity builds through the song. The drums towards the end really add some urgency to the song. Harper's singing is again top notch and the lyrics are well-written, capturing the strong emotions that can stem from bad relationships.
4/5

 

Yes, and I think one of the things that makes so much of the Finn family's music so special is that it is empathetic, reassuring, positive and full of hope. Harper has proved he belongs here with the few songs of his we've examined so far.

People have shared some very personal and touching stories in the years (!!) I been on this thread, and even though I don't personally know the people here, there is a shared experience that we've all had through these songs that has created something special. It will be difficult when we reach the end of our Finn song-by-song discussion.

 

This is really good stuff. Luckily I haven't had any relationships come back on me recently, but he's wise beyond his years to recognize that all this crap makes you a better, more fully-formed person in the long run. I certainly didn't fully grasp it at the age he was when he put this together.

4.4/5