I don’t care what anyone says, the Barenakes Ladies are great. Canadian Rock is awesome.

Glad I got that out of the way. Never you mind that large chip on my shoulder.

I like most of the music that comes from those crazy Torontarian guys. For a long time my favorite of their songs was “If I Had a Million Dollars” which is what any good 14 year-old kid would do with a thousand thousand dollars.

“Call and Answer” is a totally different animal. It’s an adult song about adult material. This is not to say it has any expletives in it, but that the person singing and the person to whom it is sung are involved in an extremely emotional, complicated relationship. It looks like they were estranged for some time, and are just now making amends and rebuilding, as they sing over and over in the song.

Here’s the video, which is a little odd. Why Matthew McConaughey and Jenna Elfman are in the beginning, I’ll never know:

There you have it. The Barenaked Ladies are really interesting in that their lyrics always seem to have a conversational tone, and they point to specific examples. For example, in the song:

You think I only think about you
when we’re both in the same room
I’m only here to witness
the remains of love exhumed
You think we’re here to play
a game of who loves more than whom

Not your typical lover’s fight material, is it? I love some of these examples.

On top of that, the guitar baseline seems to be pensive, like we’re waiting to see what it’s going to say. And then it gets heavy:

But I’m warning you, don’t ever do
those crazy, messed up things that you do
If you ever do
I promise you I’ll be the first to crucify you
Now it’s time to prove that you’ve come back here
To Rebuild

Awesome. He’s saying, “I love you, but if you start acting like you used to, I’m going to call you out on it.” And then he demands that she take the next step in rebuilding their relationship.