I cannot whistle. It has been a problem for me strictly in moments that involve others whistling merrily, causing me to frown upon their merriness. I can never shame a person by whistling them over to me, which is bothersome because I love to shame people. Musicians that are skilled whistlers annoy me. Musicians like Andrew Bird who has octaves to his whistles and can mimick the mating calls of endangered birds. It really gets under my skin. I love everything Otis Redding, but I lift the needle on “Sitting On The Dock Of The Bay” at a certain point. My one exception is Prince Paul's looping of that whistling on De La Soul's “Eye Know”.
Liam The Younger's “An Easy Place Pt. 3”, is an exception to the ire I typically have for whistling. Taken from Liam's After The Graveyard record, the song deals with getting comfortable in your small corner of life, but in the security of that Liam channels an insignificance. The track's soft whistling outro is the black humor of the song. It's as though Liam is shrugging away his cares, despite his conclusion that even the thought of an easy life is painful.
Liam The Younger, “An Easy Place Pt. 3”
After The Graveyard is out next year on Underwater Peoples.
