Zanilonia – “MacGuffins Of The Mind”
Zanilonia – “MacGuffins Of The Mind” – Single Review
As I sat here trying to recall where the heck I’d seen the word or name MacGuffin in the past, and couldn’t do it, eventually I resorted to Google. That’s one of the things about us writers I suppose – we tend to have a solid grip on the words we use regularly and can instantly spot the ones we don’t. And I personally like to learn, so heck yeah, I looked it up. Turns out that it’s a reference to some kind of object or thing we’d write that becomes a plot device to steer a story in one way or another, which is cool and does factor into the lyrics of this single from Zanilonia for sure – but I’m always more distracted by innocuous tidbits of information. As in, sure it’s great to learn the definition of a new word, even if there’s no real place where I’d personally use it – but did you know it could be MacGuffin OR McGuffin? Same thing! Fascinating ain’t it? You’d think that’d make a difference. What a world we’re living in.
Anyhow. Zaninlonia – you’ve seen’em here on these pages of ours in the past, and if you’ve heard’em, you certainly remember them. They’re that strange music project, brought together around the mind & ideas of David Zee, who have brought you tracks like “You Disarmed Your Robot Army” last year, and more recently, “Meet The Metal Me” in the summer of this year we’re in now. I’ve got time for this weirdness. I don’t know that I’m ever gonna be the guy that’s gonna tell you that you’d find Zanilonia as a regular part of my playlists…but it’s not an impossibility one day in the future. Perhaps they’re still on the way to that track that’d have me listening long past writing about something…or they might just be relegated to that realm of audible oddness I know I’d reach for when looking to scratch that very oh-so-particular itch. Which is fine with me…I’d assume it’s fine with them too – not all music we’re ever going to listen to lives on every single playlist we’ll ever make, and Zanilonia seems to make tunes that would definitely fit into the strangest of our moods. As in, you’d know when you wanna put’em on, and when that’s the case, you’ll clearly be satisfied by getting that hit of Zanilonia you knew that you’d be getting.
When it comes to “MacGuffins Of The Mind,” I’ll readily admit that Zanilonia was up against it a bit more than usual for me. I’ve got about as much use for spy-themed music as I do for spy movies and shows – which is just a little less than zero overall. But that ain’t their fault, that’s on me. In terms this song and of what they’ve created here, it works, it’s on point, it’s a mission accomplished. Heck, I can even get into the heavily synthesized groove at the core of the main hooks in the music – that’s effective, catchy, and dare I say, even fun. “Listeners hear what they want to hear” anyway, don’t they David? So look – I mean…the first thing I’d tell ya is that if you DO dig your James Bond theme songs and spy movies and all that, then you’re in great shape – “MacGuffins Of The Mind” is probably that much easier for you folks to love than it might be for some of the rest of us. I’m always looking for a win to be found in a variety of ways…to figure out what the appeal might be to those out there that wouldn’t readily identify with the sound, you know what I mean? Zanilonia has always proven to have something clever goin’ on in the lyricism, and I felt that remains to be true on “MacGuffins Of The Mind” for sure. While you could definitely take this audible tale at face value, I’d charge that it’s much more likely to be an allegory of some kind, or metaphorical in many ways, representing the challenges we’ve all been facing as a society trying to determine what is or isn’t real in the information we receive. “The story is the same as always told,” as David will tell ya himself…and he does a solid job in detailing how we absorb information with a penchant for taking the darker parts of what we hear as the truth, in addition to pointing out the fact that we’re quite often fed the kind of things that’ll rile us up on purpose, to keep the ants we are marchin’ along day after day after day…and you’d need a MacGuffin or two in order to do that I reckon.
Also in keeping with what I’ve heard from Zanilonia in the past, the strengths remain the strengths and the rest is somewhat subjective. Like…look…I’m not here to really argue about whether or not Zee can sing – I think fundamentally, he’s fine. Does he fit into the music he’s making? That’s probably a bit more debatable in each case…he’s got a very distinct tone of voice and that’s either going to work for or against him when it comes to the court of public opinion, such as it does with all music really. So to me, what I think becomes completely key in knowing and understanding that, is giving the people out there listening multiple access points and gateways into the music that could potentially help steer around the more polarizing qualities of Zee’s voice, and I’d argue that Zanilonia succeeds in doing that. Lyrically, a track like “MacGuffins Of The Mind” is remarkably sound, smart, and thought-provoking – and musically, quite honestly, this track jams. It’s like…very obviously a spy-theme type of sound, but it’s also surrounded by unique moments of classic Folk, wildly futuristic synth vibes, AND…heck…I’d even call that solo before the end somewhat built on the roots of great Jazz/Rock too. So like I was tellin’ ya – it’s all about the access points here…it’s about variety…it’s about a plethora of things that’ll get you paying attention for one reason or another, and I appreciate that. I even think you’ll find a cleverness involved, like around the fifty-five, 1:05, or 2:35 marks too if you’re listening closely…there’s an audible popping sound that I’d imagine is in there to audibly represent what a MacGuffin is like in how it can distract us so very easily. I ain’t gonna lie to ya and say I love that it’s in there, because it IS as distracting as something could ever be in music for myself personally, but chances are it’s gonna be missed by most people listening…but for me, it’s crystal clear as a part that stands out every single time I listen and I almost can’t hear anything else. There’s no doubt that it’s effective if you’re the type to pay attention to the smallest details…but it’s also crucial to remember that effective can also work both for and against ya. “MacGuffins Of The Mind” would be that much more listenable to me without that moment when it comes to the sound of the song, but I do appreciate what David is communicating by keeping it in there.
Find out more about the music of Zanilonia by visiting the official website at: http://zanilonia.com
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