There is a longstanding debate on the Secret Unicorns Forum between Beulah fans and Destroyer fans. I am a Beulah fan. Now, not to say that you have to be one or the other, that’s just the way it turned out. So while I wait for the nice people at our local cable company to come give me the internet, I figured I’d weigh in with a post on another great Elephant6 band.

MP3: Beulah – Emma Blowgun’s Last Stand
I recently burned a ton of cds for my friend Joe’s graduation present. When I wrote down the tracklisting for one mix cd, I put a star next to “Emma Blowgun’s Last Stand” with a note that read “this will become your favorite song if you let it.” As I wrote those words, I realized that they perfectly summed up my relationship with Beulah’s music.

For the longest time I was intimidated by “Emma Blowgun’s Last Stand.” I don’t know if it was the opening druming that seemed to take forever or the fac that it clocks in at well over the five minute mark, but when I first began listening to Beulah, I just couldn’t enjoy this song. Now all those things that seemed to be detriments, the length, the drum intro, even Miles’ voice, have somehow become my favorite parts of the song. It’s another case of Beulah having arranged every last bit of this song so well that it would fall apart if it were changed in any way.

Another strange thing I tend to do is apply quite a few of Beulah’s lyrics to their semi-recent breakup. And as those lyrics go, this song has the kicker. If Beulah had a tombstone, it would be inscribed with the opening lines of “Emma Blowgun…”: “Goodness knows its been a wonderful run.”

Head over to Beulah’s site and pick up some cool merch before they finally sell out. I plan on snagging the “Beulah Love Me” tshirt once I finally get the internet.