The Subject Of Irony Or: Who Are/Is/Was/Were Grandpa Griffith And Why Did They Make Such A Damn Amazing Song About Aquaman?

Lets have a little chat about irony. It's a subject that's near and dear to my heart, all but impossible to avoid regardless of what circles you run in in, odds for it being name dropped tend to increase wherever pop culture discussion and the desire to be the smartest one in the room clashes with alcohol, and it's the one word that you can take comfort in knowing that you're not alone in using while not being entirely sure of what the hell it is. It was all the rage in the literary circles of ye olden times. However, it is a literary device that has made quite the comeback in recent years thanks social media and heated online discussions of TV shows. The downside is that it's a literary device that's meaning has been mangled so much that these days almost everyone uses it wrong and worse, has lead to the birth of the nonsense phrase " doing it ironically". There is NO other phrase that I would like to see disappear more then this. Irony is the dividing argument in any discussion about art. With any form of art or media the only two questions they should ever matter are, "What was the intended message?" and "What message did I get?". That's it.


 My problem with the phrase "doing it ironically" is that it becomes the "dog ate my homework" excuse for doing something and for it turning out shitty. Did a lousy job? "Oh, we where doing it ironically. It's suppose to suck." That's the hipster equivalent of the emperor wearing no clothes. Artists owning up to their visions and being honest with their feelings is something that we've just become jaded to.  Everything seems to be calculated to appeal to a specific audience rather then invoke honest emotions. Emotions are tricky and can't be taken back. You risked being laughed at for daring to not care about what certain circles perceive as cool. So bullshit irony is the easy way out. It's the non-committal boyfriend of misused literary devices.


Which brings me to the later weird part of the title to this blog entry: Every so often someone comes about that's adamant about not carrying about being popular that it comes out in their music. This doesn't necessarily mean good music by the way. Steel Panther for instance are probably (and unfortunately) earnest as fuck and they still suck.

Not pictured: subtlety

But in Grandpa Griffith you have a group that was so hell bent on not carrying that they succeed in becoming all but a blip on the music radar. They appeared, set out what the wanted to do, and presumably returned to their jobs of being whimsical lab instructors/mustache enthusiasts.

 

There's a chance that I never would have found them if I wasn't drifting through the Internet trying for some damn reason to find a song about Aquaman so badly. And you know what, to understand Grandpa Griffith's message, there's no better place to start. You see, most songs about Aquaman are either tongue-in-cheek mockeries or flat out ballads to self-loathing. It's just too easy to make a song fueled by negativity. It's 1) ridiculously easy 2) expected and 3) relatively safe. You an throw a bottle at an big target with everyone else in the crowd and not worry about being judged for pondering "do I really hate this?"  Grandpa Griffith have no such aversions. That is why they can, without a trace of irony pen what has gotta to be the most earnest song about the plight of being Aquaman ever. Additionally , it's quite possibly the best son about Aquaman ever.

  The second greatest song about Aquaman.

 They're not lauding him, or using him as a cheap punchline for an easy laugh to be the "cool" kids. They take us into the mind of one a hero cursed with the plight of being useful in a painfully limited setting and sympathize with him. Which isn't particularly "cool", but that's all right with them because Grandpa Griifth don't look they ever once cared about being cool. Look at this group shot again.

Does it it look like ANYONE could give less of a shit about you liking them?  It's not the angst ridden, "I don't care if you like me but by saying that, I'm really hoping you do.". It's the earnest as fuck "hey! we're in a  band! This is cool. Maybe you'll like us! That's cool too!". It's the musical equivalent of Bryan Cranston. ( On Malcom In The Middle as opposed to Breaking Bad which is decidedly different kind of not giving a shit)

It doesn't just stop at the Aquaman song either. They have a whole album of material, consisting of the tongue in cheek fun of They Might be giants minus any of the popularity. Most of which an be found on the band's vacant Myspace page. It's so unbelievably refreshing to find something on the Internet that for once, isn't not a calculated attempt at being quirky to target an audience. It's the realistic, accidentally kind of quirky. The kind that steams from being yourself. Their song, "Mustache Man" is quite literally a song about a guy who's wearing a mustache and apparently the king of France. They probably thought it was funny.

If you followed that link and got to the end, you'll realize that this was a live recording on a radio station somewhere, in an interview that Grandpa Griffith most likely forgot. They could stick around and wonder who's listening to them, but they're a little too busy taking off to play at a place in Oklahoma called Iron Cactus. A place which in all likely hood probably doesn't exits anymore. It could have been their best show ever. Or maybe it wasn't. Maybe they blew on stage and everyone was too busy trying to ask"are they for real?" Grandpa Griffith doesn't care. Because they know they're for real. And more importantly, they don't give a shit to make sure you know that. It's what music should always be about. Not being acclaimed. Or even good. Just doing what you love, doing it to best of your abilities, and being proud enough to put your name on it. Grandpa Griffith probably thought their songs were kick ass. At no point did they worry about being quirky enough or indie enough or anything enough. And that was enough.

Grandpa Griffith, I'm not sure who you were. Information on you has been sparse and two hours of the strictest Google research has turned up dead ends. But from what I've learned, I believe should the day come when Aquaman: The Motion Picture is a reality and the rousing chorus of "I'm Aquaman" plays over the end credits, you'll be turning around to look at each other with excited smiles on your weekly group movie nights. And one of you will say, "Sweet! That was our song! That's kinda cool." You might even cash a check for it as an after thought. Not that you'll care too much. And I love you for it.