It's always tough to accept our own naïveté. But "Love Alone," a track off of indie-rock artist Goodman's newest release The Visscitudes, starts out with that acceptance.
"What do I know about love?" the singer asks, before detailing how he screws around with some poor girl's head–presumably forcing her to review in a more specific sense the questions that he himself faces.
It's a fun little song, and easy to dance along to, but the lyrics touch on a vulnerability and dichotomy not oft-acknowledged by songwriters. Instead of playing the sad sack musician boy who just wants a girl to notice him, or the tough as nails rocker who plays with women as sexual objects, it taps into something more deeply human. Although he may not treat this particular woman well ("I feed you lies 'til I'm bored/I leave you dry and ignored,") it doesn't mean he's proud of it or even enjoys it–he is playing the game we all play sometimes in order to feel just a little bit less empty, to fill a hole we are all sometimes aware of in ourselves. He's not afraid to admit this in the chorus, which begins with "I've been losing my mind here alone" and doesn't really get any happier or less lonely from there.
It's easy to play a role, even easier if it's one that's been scripted out for you by generations of people in the same spot you are, doing the same thing you are. But on "Love Alone," Goodman acknowledges the shades of grey in who he is, being more honest with both himself and his listeners than even the most famous rockers deign to be.
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