Barenaked Ladies just get me. And I don’t say that lightly. I pride myself on being something of a journeyman wordsmith, and in that regard I find it grating when someone describes something he or she enjoys with nothing more than “They just get me.” It sounds non-descript, unthoughtful, and inarticulate. Yet when an individual employs the phrase “they just get me,” we grasp that person’s meaning. Whatever the subject, it is evident that this person finds some transcendent resonance with a piece of art or another individual. Something mysterious about the subject that “just gets” touches the spirit and stirs the emotion in a way that other entities do not. The resonance is the mystery, so adjectives fail and the person can only resort to a statement verb portraying a relationship. “They just get me.”

So yes. Barenaked Ladies just get me.

Maybe it is because I first saw Barenaked Ladies perform on Good Morning America in the summer of 2001. I was 13 and entering the 8th grade. I recognized the band’s name, and I knew they had that hit “One Week,” and couple others. But then I saw five pasty, white guys in glasses rocking like mad. They played the single “Falling for the First Time,” off of their 2000 album, Maroon. It left an impression. Were they singing about failure? Were they filled with joy at the prospect of not being good enough at something? Were they singing about falling in love? Were they singing about some emotional tapestry composed of all these things and more?

Whatever they were singing about, it was fascinating and catchy, and they looked like some distant cousin of mine. These were guys that I could imagine would want to hang out with me.Remarkable. I was hooked. As an young teenager who listened to mostly ska and awful Christian rock, seeing that the Barenaked Ladies were becoming a household name and frequently played on the radio was affirming. I, too could be a rock star. While my lack of rhythm and perseverance put a stop to that fantasy, it was encouraging to seeing guys that looked like me in the entertainment world who were not acting as the punchline to a joke. Throughout high school, I dove into their catalog, and was captivated by their eclectic lyrics. Some songs were dry and laden with snark, others were sarcastic but belied some real insecurities. And then there were the tracks that dropped all of that pretense and were naked and raw emotion. I listen now and can hear the echoes of a confession in songs like “Shoe Box,” “Alcohol,” and “Thanks That was Fun.” Despite owning nearly a dozen albums by Weird Al Yankovic, and only 4 by BNL, they remain the only artists on my iPod that can set to shuffle and stay on for four hours.

So here is my no-order-at-all, Top 10 BNL playlist…

Falling for the First Time
Pinch Me
Bank Job
Every Subway Car
Brian Wilson
Take It Back
Maybe You’re Right
Golden Boy
Light Up My Room
The Old Apartment

Be sure to check out their efforts to off-set their carbon footprint while touring.

And here’s some always welcome humor from Community…