“Say yes or no before I choke on all this swallowed pride,” croons Fontana. It’s a pitch-perfect throwback to the Cole Porter era of musical comedy, but with an appropriately deflated 21st century twist: This isn’t true love, but it’s a hell of a lot funnier. This jaunty, jazzy joint in season 1 demonstrated the powerful pairing of Schlesinger and Bloom. “Some people reach for the stars / Some just reach for the panel in the ceiling where they keep their drugs.” “Not for a second did I think / you wouldn’t end up dead or in the clink,” Donna Lynne Champlin sings, pouring her heart into letting her child know she only expected failure from him all along. While “You Stupid Bitch” is self-hating, “I’ve Always Never Believed In You” tackles a subject even more taboo in the history of American balladry: a mother with less-than-maternal feelings. But as always, the mordant humor takes the edge off: “I know this town like the back of my hand, but I’m not such a fan of the back of my hand.” And Schlesinger’s production work – complete with a rush of canned applause at the start, as if the ‘live’ audience knows this smash hit and has been waiting for it – demonstrates his attention to the minute details of recorded music history.įollowing Schlesinger’s passing, CEG co-creator Aline Brosh McKenna shared his Billy Joel-styled demo for a season 1 song sung by future Tony winner Santino Fontana that heartbreakingly captures the emotional weight and embarrassment of feeling like your adult life has little meaning or direction (“Am I doomed to stay here pouring my high school friends beer for the rest of eternity?”). “You ruined everything you stupid, stupid bitch – you’re just a lying little bitch who ruins things and wants the world to burn.” Words you might hear in any number of songs, but in a heartfelt piano ballad that sounds like it’s coming from a powerhouse diva projecting her voice to an adoring arena? And wait, Rachel Bloom’s Rebecca Bunch isn’t singing this to an ex-lover, but to herself? This is Exhibit A of CEG‘s ability to plumb the uncomfortable depths of obsessive self-loathing while still making you belly laugh.
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