JOHN GRANT - WHERE DREAMS GO TO DIE

WHERE DREAMS GO TO DIE

JOHN GRANT

SONGWRITER: JOHN GRANT

WHERE: IN CONCERT 2011

COUNTRY: U.S.A.

ALBUM: QUEEN OF DENMARK

LABEL: BELLA UNION

GENRE: INDIE

YEAR: 2010

American singer-songwriter, born 25 July 1967 in Buchanan, Michigan, USA. Formerly associated with the Denver-based alternative rock band The Czars in the 1990s and early 2000s.

Although co-founded by John Grant and Chris Pearson, the Czars were always Grant’s band, with most of the group’s acclaim stemming from his deep, resonant vocals and songwriting. The frontman reportedly butted heads with his four bandmates, but such creative tension helped mold the Czars into an eclectic group, and Grant’s voice -- despite being the cornerstone of every Czars album -- wouldn’t have shined as brightly without the dreamy, shoegazing music that flanked it. Queen of Denmark, his first release without the Czars, lacks that creative tension. Although recorded with Midlake (the band even shares billing in the album’s title), it feels more like a solo release, lacking both the cohesion of a proper lineup and the checks-and-balances system that Grant’s former bandmates provided. Left to his own devices, he unknowingly dilutes his strengths, whether he’s trading poetry for campy lyrics (“I wish I had the brain of a Tyrannosaurus Rex so I wouldn’t have to deal with all this crap”) or aiming for a contemporary version of ‘70s soft rock and coming up with mundane Americana instead. There’s no hiding the fact that Grant is a seriously talented vocalist, and the album’s best moments occur whenever he tones down the camp and, with a mix of Eddie Vedder’s baritone and Tim Buckley’s vibrato, reaches for the heartstrings instead. But with song titles like “Sigourney Weaver” and “Jesus Hates Faggots,” Queen of Denmark is more concerned with Grant’s cynicism.

Your beauty is unstoppable; your confidence unspeakable.

I know you know I know you know that I know that you know.

I'm willing to do anything to get attention from you, dear,

Even though I don't have anything that I could bargain with.

This is like a well-oiled machine. Could I please see that smile again?

It's all that makes me feel that I am living in this world

I see you closing all the doors. I see the walls as they go up

I know it's what you have to do. I'd probably do the same thing, too, my dear.

Baby, you're where dreams go to die.

I regret the day your lovely carcass caught my eye.

Baby, you're where dreams go to die.

I've got to get away. I don't want to, but I have to try.

Oh, baby!

You have to play your part, my dear. I've written it all down for you.

It doesn't matter if the things you say to me aren't true.

Just do it then I'll let you go. Just say the words and say them slowly.

I promise I'll tell no one. Yes, I cross my heart and hope to die

Baby, you're where dreams go to die.

I regret the day your lovely carcass caught my eye.

Baby, you're where dreams go to die.

I've got to get away. I don't want to, but I have to try.

Oh, baby!

Baby, you're where dreams go to die.

I regret the day your lovely carcass caught my eye.

Baby, you're where dreams go to die.

I've got to get away. I don't want to, but I have to try.

Oh, baby!

Oh, baby!

Oh, baby!

Oh, baby, please!