Video: Father John Misty – “God’s Favorite Customer”
Directed by Emma Tillman. From God’s Favorite Customer, out now on Sub Pop.
Another bummer from Papa John Misery.
I’m out here testing the maxim
That all good things have to stop
The bar closes at 5
But the big man is just opening shop
Once again, Tillman’s voice sounds great and the song is pretty but the lyrics are lamenting a period when he was “all bug-eyed and babbling” and separated from the woman he loves. Or, as it’s stated in the press release, “being caught between the vertigo of heartbreak and the manic throes of freedom.”
Of course, he’s reflecting on that experience with disgust. Which is not fun. Why does Tillman fear fun now? He might as well drop the “Misty” persona and resume recording as “J. Tillman” if he’s going to be this humorless and self-lacerating…
Maybe it’s time for a change. Maybe the “Misty” thing has peaked anyway. Look at his first-week sales history:
• Fear Fun: 4,000 sold (May 2012)
• Honeybear: 28,000 sold (February 2015)
• Pure Comedy: 33,000 pure album sales (35,000 equivalent album units) (April 2017)
• Customer: 19,000 sold (22,000 equivalent album units) (June 2018)
Maybe he’s overdue to gobble up some mushrooms, climb a tree, and contemplate the absurdity of his life again. It worked last time. Stop being so serious. Time to drown old Neil down on the beach one more time.