culture / music

Open Mic Adventures XXXIX: “(I’m in the) Business of Love)”

The Portly Politico4 Comments

After a brief hiatus, I’m back with more tasty jams.  I’ve dedicated this summer’s open mic excursions to performing my “deep cuts,” which is a bit of a misnomer, as most of these tunes have never been “cut” to  a recording at all!  Fortunately, I need constant content to feed the insatiable appetite of the YouTube beast, so it gives me a good excuse to play these forgotten pieces.

I wrote “(I’m in the) Business of Love” back on 7 February 2019, one week out from Valentine’s Day.  The song is about the woes of a “beta male provider” who is just looking for a little “transactional romance.” Is there any topic more tragically postmodern than that of the “nice guy” finishing dead last in the reproductive sweepstakes? This song is a humorous exploration of that phenomenon.

I was listening to a lot of Eighties KISS when I wrote this song, which accounts for the melody and harmonies.  The song starts in Bb minor on the verses, then moves to G minor on the choruses.  The motion of the harmonies remains largely the same, though (VI -> VII -> i), between the verse and chorus.  Other than the pre-chorus and the bridge, the progression stays fairly simple.

And here’s the recording on YouTube, for those who prefer their transactional romance on a platform dedicated to video:

I’ll confess, I’ve never been entirely satisfied with this song.  The late Jeremy Miles (Rest in Peace, buddy) looked over the lyrics when I was writing the song, and noted that it lacked some of the cheeky cleverness of my earlier writing (although he praise the “transactional romance” line).  Composer Mason Sandifer weighed in as well with some suggestions for the style and arrangement, so I might be tweaking this one in the future.

What do you think?

Happy Listening!

—TPP

Other Editions of Open Mic Adventures:

4 thoughts on “Open Mic Adventures XXXIX: “(I’m in the) Business of Love)””

  1. You say love like I do, with a little sleaze on that last curve down – lurve! 🙂 🙂

    The lyrics I caught really do hit on the ‘business’ part rather than the lurve. I think women 5 decades ago might have been looking for a provider but since many women now work, romance, a good sense of humour and a little adventure is more what they’re looking for, rather than a bloke whose sole interest is to be the bread winner. As for the composition, I guess it comes down to how much you tinker with the lyrics or whether you change the theme. Once your lyrics are in place, the rest will fall into place.

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    • What’s love without a little sleaze, eh, friend?

      Yes, the tune is a bit of a commentary on how things were as much as how they are now. The basic viewpoint is sympathetic to the “beta male provider,” though, who has perhaps been the biggest loser in the long decades of “female empowerment.” But the “beta male provider” also has a skewed view of “love” as a transaction between two economic units, not as a spiritual melding of two into one.

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