If you haven't heard it yet, check it out here.
A little background information. From what I was able to gather from old threads, memory, and discussions with other boardies who have heard part of the story, the original "Pity and Fear" was supposed to be the theme song for the movie Cruel Intentions, a poor modern take on Dangerous Liaisons. However, the filmmakers wanted Sean to change the lyrics to fit the movie. As Sean puts it, "I was reluctant to change the words and botched the deal; a movie version of the song, contrived after the fact, half to please the filmmaker and half to satirize him, exists; it's pretty funny." I'm going off of memory now, but I believe Sean said that in a telephone conversation with the filmmaker, when they asked him to change the lyrics, Sean made some kind of snide comment about them asking him to sacrifice his artistic credibility or something like that, and they hung up on him. Aaron also weighed in on the board saying "Yeah, it was specifically tailored to the movie. It was an experiment that didn't quite work out. Not as good as the real version."
So yeah, this song is fucking insane. I would agree with Aaron that it didn't really work out. I would even go as far to say that the lyrics are pretty bad. I was questioning whether Sean could have written them or if the filmmakers did, but if it was partly meant to satirize them, that makes a bit more sense. Besides, given what they were asked to do, how could anyone make a song like that any good? BUT AT THE SAME TIME, I am very glad I got a chance to hear it, and that Sean was willing to put it out there for super fans like us that had only heard the stories. As Sean said, it IS pretty funny, and it is a snapshot in the history of the band that was unseen (for us) until now. What do you all think?
A little background information. From what I was able to gather from old threads, memory, and discussions with other boardies who have heard part of the story, the original "Pity and Fear" was supposed to be the theme song for the movie Cruel Intentions, a poor modern take on Dangerous Liaisons. However, the filmmakers wanted Sean to change the lyrics to fit the movie. As Sean puts it, "I was reluctant to change the words and botched the deal; a movie version of the song, contrived after the fact, half to please the filmmaker and half to satirize him, exists; it's pretty funny." I'm going off of memory now, but I believe Sean said that in a telephone conversation with the filmmaker, when they asked him to change the lyrics, Sean made some kind of snide comment about them asking him to sacrifice his artistic credibility or something like that, and they hung up on him. Aaron also weighed in on the board saying "Yeah, it was specifically tailored to the movie. It was an experiment that didn't quite work out. Not as good as the real version."
So yeah, this song is fucking insane. I would agree with Aaron that it didn't really work out. I would even go as far to say that the lyrics are pretty bad. I was questioning whether Sean could have written them or if the filmmakers did, but if it was partly meant to satirize them, that makes a bit more sense. Besides, given what they were asked to do, how could anyone make a song like that any good? BUT AT THE SAME TIME, I am very glad I got a chance to hear it, and that Sean was willing to put it out there for super fans like us that had only heard the stories. As Sean said, it IS pretty funny, and it is a snapshot in the history of the band that was unseen (for us) until now. What do you all think?