Tell Me I’m Pretty is an album that holds a special place in my heart for a few reasons:
The first being that it brought me one of my best friends Jonathon Peterson. Back in our junior year of high school he tweeted about Cage The Elephant releasing their (then) new album which led to us dm’ing about how excited we both were for it, then to us talking about music for the next 5 years and counting.
The second reason I hold this album close is simply because it’s incredible and in my opinion their best album. I had the privilege of getting to see them perform twice during their TMIP album phase and they were two (yes, they hold two spots) of my top five concert experiences. This band has so much energy and their stage presence made me never want to leave those moments.
Cage The Elephant- who were originally named Perfect Confusion until a strange man ran up to them, repeated the phrase “you have to cage the elephant”, and inspired them to change it- consists of brothers Matt and Brad Shultz, Daniel Tichenor, Jared Champion, and recently Matthan Minster and Nick Bockrath.
After the success of their first album, Cage The Elephant released two more (beautiful) records before creating the masterpiece that is Tell Me I’m Pretty. The album was produced by Black Keys member Dan Auerbach and won the band their first Best Rock Album Grammy.
TMIP can be described as indie/garage rock, but no matter the genre it’s my personal favorite from the Kentucky born band. Each song is a unique experience that somehow all come together to create one cohesive vibe.
Vocalist Matt Shultz told Alternative Nation, “…the songs have so much diversity in them that I don’t feel like any song is representative of the entire album, kind of like each sound has its own personality.” Matt also said that the band found inspiration in David Bowie for his eclectic and ever-changing style.
Despite my love for the record as a whole, my top 2 songs are Punchin’ Bag and How Are You True.
Punchin’ Bag is a bad-ass song about an equally bad-ass woman who decides to finally fight back against an abusive partner. It’s full of strong feminist lyrics such as “If you take a swing, she swing back. She say I’m not your punchin’ bag” and “No more time for cheap excuses. If I were you, I would be leaving, Best you go while you’re still breathing. She won’t take no more”.
I love this take on a song about domestic abuse because it puts the strength in the voice of the victim. Its energy makes you want to sing the lyrics as loud as you can and reminds you that you should never put up with being treated any less than you deserve.
While How Are You True has a similar theme to Punchin’ Bag about deserving better in life, the story is based on a true story about a young musician named True who was on his way to rehab when he encountered Matt Schultz on the plane to Nashville.
The song is Matt reflecting on how True might be doing now and giving him advice. He sings “Hey, how are you true? The light will guide you home, yes it will. Oh the years, they turn so fast, Soon the present will be past and you’ll look back and laugh, Yes you will”.
It’s a slow, rather sad, ballad, but it’s also a beautiful reflection on the possibility of a wasted lifetime due to addiction.
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