Okkervil River: “The Stand-Ins”

What stands in the way of an actor and the audience is the actor.
It is the role, the lines written by an invisible party, then said in dramatic interpretation of a fictional character. The actor assumes the identity of a creation, enmeshed in the being before witnesses who, not knowing the actor’s true self, believe the character more real than the person.
These are the subjects of Okkervil River’s latest records, 2008’s “The Stand-Ins,” and last fall’s “The Stage Names,” which thematically envelop fame, its actors, and the drama behind the curtain.

What does an artist do when the art blooms, bouquets snipped and arranged on admirer’s tables? The escaped work, no longer in the grasps or sight of its maker, lives separately. When the work stands on its own, there is no need for explanation, nor attachment to its root.

Okkervil is known as much for the density of their lyrics as well as the distinct voice of their translator, Will Sheff.

Creating a work of art is about the relationship between it and the artist, but importance lies in its relationship with a witness. When a work is well received, it is inevitably haunted by those wanting more knowledge of behind-the-scenes, a kind of relationship with the band.

This is troubling if the work is cloaked in a language misunderstood by its audience-vying for definition, they are determined to examine the seed, to know how it came to be.

What people may not know, or have difficulty understanding, is that the translator is generally unassociated with the words themselves.

Much of Okkervil’s lyrics is borrowed from other songs and makes reference to the lives of other people, then is shaped to mean something separate—the ultimate artist’s statement.

“…I feel like a lot is lost when someone talks too much about their direct inspiration for something…I feel like if this stuff isn’t a little mysterious, even to me, than some kind of wholeness is broken. And if it’s not mysterious to listeners than the whole album can be thought of as just a bright fluorescent-lit room with nothing in the corners, no secret doors, nothing hidden, nothing special.”
Such is the problem for the artist, who planted the seed, but did not arrange the bouquet, the witness necessary for the art’s survival.

“The Stage Names” possessed undertones of irony to the celebrity scene, over songs musically laden with “la-la-la” or “woot-woot,” giving the lazy listener something pleasurable and the more ardent seeker something to muse about.
“The Stand-Ins” is a more musically subtle sequel, revealing fame and our impression of it as a misconception. The artist as actor who succumbs to his glorified creations, allows himself to be consumed and ultimately to fail.

While the words of both albums explore heavier subjects than the music would suggest,it is this contrast that perfectly explains the message: a person becomes utterly decadent through the process of pretending, and this façade is what must be uncovered by the interpretations of its fans. There are hints along the way, if you look for them, as in “The Stage Names,” “Unless It’s Kicks.”

What gives this mess some grace unless it’s fiction
Unless it’s licks, man, unless it’s lies or it’s love?

Whether it is art or artifice, the world is up for interpretation, and our need not to be fooled by the acts in the play.

If You Go

What: Okkervil River
Where: the Aquarium
When: Mon., Sept 15, 6:30 p.m. Early show, all ages.
How Much: $18, $20
Info: 235-5913