The Size of Song

Some rule of birds kills off the song
in any that begin to grow
much larger than a fist or so.
What happens as they move along
to power and size? Something goes wrong.
Bird music is the tremolo
of the tremulous. Birds let us know
the songsters never are the strong.

One step more on the way of things,
we find a second rule applies
to birds that grow to such a size
they lose, or start to lose, their wings:
they start to lose the very strings
of sound itself. Give up the skies:
you're left your weight. And your last ties
to anything that sings.

- John Ciardi

A great and thought-provoking poem, I hope you agree, that always brings to mind one of the most original of rock acts: Sparks. The Mael brothers, from Los Angeles, during a career of over forty years and twenty albums, have explored aspects of life not usually covered in rock songs: nervousness, trepidation, confusion, awkwardness. Their sound is so distinctively "the tremolo of the tremulous" that first-time listeners often don't stick around long enough to recognize what their fans do: their stuff is a blast.
For an introduction to the band, I would recommend their fourth album, Propoganda (1974). It starts with the very bizarre (even for them) title track, one of the few a capella pieces that could be qualified as disturbing. There are fearful and funny tracks like "Reinforcements", "B.C.", and the sublime "Don't Leave Me Alone with Her" (the line that follows: "Every home is Rome alone with her.") "Something for the Girl with Everything" includes the memorable wish: "Here's a really pretty car/ I hope it takes you far/ I hope it takes you fast and far." Their songs are always tuneful, and there are particularly exquisite melodies on "Never Turn your Back on Mother Earth", "Achoo", and "Bon Voyage". But you have to get past the fact that the tone and content of their work is unusual.
Another line in the above poem ("...the songsters never are the strong.") makes me realize why I so rarely find music of interest in acts of any genre that try to hide their humanity by pretending to be "tough" (or "hard", as the English say). It takes courage to show fear (and make music) - a bit of a paradox, but there it is.