Something weird happened to me a few months back. It was an October evening. I was driving along in the car when I heard a song I disliked. Instead of flipping the station, I turned the volume up.
Why did I do this? Because I didn’t actually dislike the song. I just thought I did. Interesting, eh?
That song was “Lips Of An Angel” by Hinder, a 2006 hit rock song that I actually love.
So why did I think I disliked the song? I don’t know. Maybe because it was all over the radio when I was in high school, and I associate most everything from my high school as being bad, like science, or rectangular pizza, or French horns, or the color combination of purple, teal, and silver.
Wait, hold on a minute…
Purple, teal, and silver actually is a bad color combination! What were you thinking, North Cedar?!?! I get that it was the mid-90s when you dreamt up this color scheme, and we all had terrible taste in things in the mid-90s, but… purple, teal, and silver? That’s like, one step away from yellow and hot pink. Gross.
Anyway, you know what’s not actually bad even though I used to think it was?
“Lips Of An Angel” by Hinder.
When I turned the volume up in my car on this foggy October night (or was it clear?) (I think it may have been foggy.) (No, wait, it was definitely clear, but with some weird spotty showers.) (Actually, I don’t remember.) (Actually, this took place in September.), I slowly came to realize that “Lips Of An Angel” is a jam. I don’t know what I liked about it – but I think it’s the level of cheese.
Now, don’t think I’m ripping on the song or anything. I think a lot of cheesy music is great. And, man, “Lips Of An Angel” is patently cheesy. No, it’s not like, an “I’m Alright” by Kenny Loggins sort of cheesy, but it’s more like an Aerosmith sort of cheesy, but not, like a “Livin’ On The Edge” sort of cheesy or even a “Jaded” sort of cheesy.
No.
It’s a whole ‘nother level of “I Don’t Wanna Miss A Thing” cheesy.
So much so, that I believe “I Don’t Wanna Miss A Thing” actually inspired the creation of “Lips Of An Angel.” Listen to the two songs back-to-back and try to tell me this conversation DIDN’T happen:
GUY FROM HINDER #1: Hey bro, I got this idea for a song.
GUY FROM HINDER #2: Yeah?
GUY FROM HINDER #1: Yeah. You know the song “I Don’t Wanna Miss A Thing?”
GUY FROM HINDER #2: Yeah. By Pink and Nate Ruess?
GUY FROM HINDER #1: No, that’s “Just Give Me A Reason.” And that song doesn’t even exist yet.
GUY FROM HINDER #2: Oh. Whoa.
GUY FROM HINDER #1: Yeah. I’m talkin’ about the Aerosmith song, “I Don’t Wanna Miss A Thing.” You remember it, right?
GUY FROM HINDER #2: Yeah, I do.
GUY FROM HINDER #1: That song is fire, bro.
GUY FROM HINDER #2. It is fire, bro. I agree.
GUY FROM HINDER #1: So fire, I think we should try to do it.
GUY FROM HINDER #2: Like a cover?
GUY FROM HINDER #1: Nah. Let’s make our own song. It’ll be like “I Don’t Wanna Miss A Thing,” but not quite exactly. But almost.
GUY FROM HINDER #2: Oh, okay.
GUY FROM HINDER #1: Yeah. And instead of the song being about not wanting to miss a thing, it’ll be about infidelity.
GUY FROM HINDER #2: Oh, okay. Wait, what?
And that (is how I strongly believe) a great tune was born.
“Lips Of An Angel” is about a guy who’s talking on the phone to some girl he shouldn’t be talking to because he’s already in a committed relationship with a girl (who happens to be in the next room!).
No, seriously, listen to the song! She’s not, like, in the bathroom on the second floor or something. She’s not puttering around in the basement. She’s in the next room!
Don’t believe me? Here are some lyrics. The pre-chorus goes:
My girl’s in
The next room
Sometimes I wish she was you
I guess we never really moved on
What a risk this guy’s taking! Making a phone call! To some other girl! While his girl! Is in the next room!!!! When a text would have probably done the trick. Of course, this was 2006, when sending a text message still probably cost $.15 or so. These things must be kept in perspective.
The singer goes on to say some other stuff before claiming:
Girl, you make it hard to be faithful… with the lips of an angel.
A sweet sentiment that probably every woman wants to hear at least once in her lifetime, sure. But my one scathing criticism of the song is that the boys of Hinder could have worked on the rhyming a little bit. “Faithful” and “angel”? C’mon! I can come up with other lines that rhyme better with angel.
Oh, you’re skeptical of my abilities? Here, let me demonstrate.
Girl, you me make want to go out to the spa and get a facial… with the lips of an angel.
Girl, you’re hotter than my good friend Rachel… with the lips of an angel.
Girl, you make me want to toast you a bagel… with the lips of an angel.
Okay, turns out there’s nothing that rhymes with the word “angel.” Faithful, I guess, is close enough. I will give Hinder credit for their good lyricism and retract my statement about their rhymes not being good enough. They are. That’s why they should write songs. And why I should write blogs.
-Just John