Song #021: Gavin Creel - These Four Walls (off GOODTIMENATION - 2006)
Though I adore girlpop on an unhealthy level for someone who hasn’t been a teen for a number of years, this is NOT a Miley Cyrus cover. I’d apologize, but I get the feeling you’ll be thanking me. Today’s theme is “mellow, passionate acoustic rock about feeling alive.”
Gavin Creel has been one of my favourite broadway actors ever since he played Jimmy Smith in the remounting of Thoroughly Modern Millie in 2002. Hands down my favourite musical of all time (and I WILL ardently defend it to people who actually know what they’re talking about), TMM combines so many of my favourite things: flappers; scoundrels; stopping human trafficking…
Gavin Creel plays Jimmy. Say what you want about other romantic leads (Melchior, Emmett Forrest, Marius), I’d choose Jimmy over any of them. Gavin Creel has what I refer to as “attractive man voice,” so when he put out an album of his own stuff, I was all up ons. The songs didn’t show off his voice as well as I’d have liked, but These Four Walls stuck with me all these years.
Maybe it’s the simple guitar part; maybe it’s that it’s blatantly NOT a broadway showstopper; I know I use the term “haunting” too often to describe songs I like, but I feel as though that adjective especially describes this song. Recently someone described to me his ideal musical genre, and - while I forget exactly what words he chose, they were similar to today’s theme at least - I kept thinking, “he’d probably really enjoy These Four Walls.” Since then, I’ve had this song stuck in my head. It could definitely be worse…
