Click here to play the podcastTitanic Love Affair never got a big break and flew under the radar with a couple of albums before calling it quits. On this episode, we explore a song by this underappreciated band—a supremely catchy number called “Happy” that shoulda been a contender. Join us in appreciation for this song, this band, and the late, great Jay Bennett.
“Happy” (Jay Bennett, Ken Hartz, Michael Trask, Lars Gustafsson) Copyright 1991 Virgin Music, Inc./Say Jim Music (ASCAP)
Here’s the link to the GREAT episode of the “Rock And/Or Roll” Podcast that turned me on to Titanic Love Affair in the first place. Check it out:
Rock and/or Roll Episode 245 – TITANIC LOVE AFFAIR (rockandorrollpodcast.blogspot.com)
TRANSCRIPT:
Hey, thanks for showing up once again to the “I’m In Love With That Song” podcast– the party never stops here on the Pantheon Podcast Network, home of the earth’s mightiest music podcasts. I’m your host, Brad Page. And as always, I’ve picked a song and we’ll be exploring it together, discovering what makes it a great song.
All guests are welcome at this party. You don’t have to be a musician or have any musical knowledge to get something out of the show. If you’ve got ears, this show has got something for you.
Great music and great songs aren’t measured by sales or chart positions. Despite what American Idol would lead you to believe, music is not a popularity contest. There are thousands of great songs, really great songs that most people have never heard and will probably never hear. So it’s up to us– you and me– to play them and share them.
Case in point: on this episode, we’re listening to an overlooked band that released a couple of albums in the nineties and then moved on. But what they did release, I think, was a cut above most of what came out during that time. This is Titanic Love Affair and a song called “Happy”.
I missed out on Titanic Love Affair the first time around. The first time I heard them was on the “Rock And/Or Roll Podcast”. Yeah, that’s right– It was thanks to Brian Cramp and his podcast that turned me on to this band. So, if you really want to know the whole history and story behind Titanic Love Affair, go and check out that episode of the Rock And/Or Roll podcast– it’s episode number 245. You can listen to it on their blogspot page. I’ll also put a link to that show in the show notes. It’s a great podcast. Check it out.
But just to sum things up here: the band came out of Illinois in the late eighties. Initially, they were a three piece, but by the time they signed with the Charisma label in 1991, they were a four piece, with Jay Bennett on guitars and vocals, Ken Hartz on lead vocals and guitar, Lars Gustafson on bass, and Michael Trask on drums. If the name Jay Bennett sounds familiar to you, it’s because he was a member of Wilco and was a key contributor to three of their best albums: “Being There”, “Summer Teeth” and “Yankee Hotel Foxtrot”. But he was fired from the band after that album was released, which is all captured on film in the documentary about Wilco. “I Am Trying To Break Your Heart”. And that documentary is worth watching, too.
But back in the early nineties, Bennett was still a member of Titanic Love Affair. They released one album on Charisma, the self-titled album “Titanic Love Affair”. Then the Charisma label folded, and the band was dropped or released from their contract. Then they released a five-song EP on an indie label. That EP was called “No Charisma”. Then the band split up around 1994.
But there was one last collection of previously unreleased stuff that came out in ‘96. That album’s called “Their Titanic Majesty’s Request”. These guys had great album titles.
We’re going to listen to a song from that first self-titled album, a song called “Happy”. The song is credited to all four band members, Jay Bennett, Ken Hartz, Michael Trask and Lars Gustafson. And it was produced by Alby Galuten.
The song begins with a quick snare drum fill, and then the whole band comes in. Sounds to me like there are two guitars, one panned left, one right, but they’re playing so tightly together, it almost sounds like one guitar sometimes. This is a really energetic, spirited part, melodic. It just lifts me up as soon as I hear it. And that leads us right into the first verse.
All right, let’s take a look at the first part of this verse. For the vocals, there’s a lead and a harmony part on most of it. There’s also a little bit of echo on the vocals.
When the band started, Jay Bennett was their lead singer, but apparently he blew his voice out and didn’t want to sing anymore, so Ken Hartz took over the lead vocals. And I think his voice is perfect for a song like this.
Now let’s have a listen to Michael Trask’s drums. For the first part of this verse, he’s playing on the floor tom and the snare, a rollicking beat that really drives the song forward. But when they hit the second part of the verse, he’s going to switch from the floor tom to the hi hat.
That brings us to the first chorus. And this is just a great chorus.
The vocal melody and the guitar parts really complement each other. First, let’s listen to just the electric guitar parts again. There’s one on the left and one on the right.
Now let’s hear all the instrumental parts. And this time listen for the arpeggiated part in the left channel. Higher pitched, with a cleaner tone. It stands out against the other guitar parts. And to me, this is the secret sauce. That little bit of extra “pixie dust” on the chorus that really adds something special. Let’s put that all back together and finish up with the rest of the chorus.
A nice little bass lick there that leads right into the last part of the chorus. I particularly like what the guitars are doing here, so let’s listen to that first. Listen to how they play off of each other and how they kind of rhythmically ping pong back and forth.
Now let’s go back and hear that. See how it all fits together in the final mix.
Here’s the second verse, and this time let’s listen to what the guitars are doing during the verse.
Let’s hear the vocals on this chorus.
Nice little drum fill there. And that leads us into a guitar break. There’s a cool little harmony guitar part at the end there. You know, one of the knocks against Titanic Love Affair was that they were just a second-rate version of The Replacements. I think that’s pretty unfair. I love The Replacements. I mean, this show is named after a Replacements song, but I think the musicianship here is just a notch above. Things like this, The Replacements just wouldn’t have done.
And that takes us back into a version of the introduction again. It’s a great melodic guitar part. There’s another nice little drum fill, and he’s going to go back to playing the floor tom here on the last verse. Not many guitar fills in this song, but there’s one right there. After that, there’s going to be a break before they continue with the verse. It’s the first time they’ve done that on this song. It’s always smart songwriting to add something new, something unexpected for the listener.
And notice how there’s a little bit of guitar feedback that swells up in the background before they continue with the verse.
And we haven’t listened to the bass and drums together yet, so let’s hear a little bit of that on this last verse.
Now for the ending, there’s a short guitar solo over a new section. These chord changes don’t appear anywhere else in the song. Right at the end, they’re throwing something new at you. Check it out.
“Happy” by Titanic Love Affair.
After the band split up, I’m not really sure where most of the guys ended up. Lars Gustafson was in a band called Mother May I? But I don’t know what happened to Ken Hartz or Michael Trask.
Jay Bennett, as we mentioned before, landed a gig in Wilco, but after three albums, he was let go. Wilco has always been Jeff Tweedy’s band, and I think Jay was just pushing a little too hard. Bennett was supposed to play a reunion gig with Titanic Love Affair in May of 2009, but Bennett never showed up to the gig. Bennett had died in his sleep. He was in desperate need of hip replacement surgery, but he couldn’t afford it. Like most musicians, he couldn’t afford a healthcare plan. He was trying to manage the pain with a fentanyl patch, and he died of an accidental overdose. In fact, though I don’t think we’ll ever know for certain, his death may have been caused by a defective patch that leaked and caused the overdose.
If we had real, affordable healthcare in this country, Jay Bennett would probably still be alive today.
I want to thank you for joining me once again here on the “I’m In Love With That Song” podcast. Our journey continues, and we’ll be back in about two weeks with another new episode. In the meantime, you can find all of our previous episodes on our website, lovethatsongpodcast.com. Or just look for us in your favorite podcast app. And after that, if you’re still looking for even more music related podcasts, be sure to check out the other shows here on the Pantheon Podcast Network.
If you’re inclined to support the show, well, the best thing you can do is just tell a friend about it, share it with all your music loving friends, because your word-of-mouth and recommendations really do mean a lot.
I will see you back here soon with another new episode. Until then, thanks for listening to this episode on Titanic Love Affair and “Happy”.
REFERENCES:
Rock and or Roll Podcast
http://rockandorrollpodcast.blogspot.com/
Wilco
https://wilcoworld.net/
I Am Trying to Break Your Heart Documentary
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0327920/