“Banana Wind” pt. two: more than beach music

Hello everyone, and welcome back! In case you forgot, we are in the midst of reviewing the 1996 Jimmy Buffett album, “Banana Wind.” We are halfway through the album and so far, no skips, let’s see if he can keep it up!

Now, we all know Jimmy Buffett as the beach music guy, however, by now I hope you have realized there is more to him than just that. Jimmy can make socio-political commentary when he wants, such as in the song “Overkill.” It’s a song critical of the extravagantly decadent wealthy class of “people gettin’ rich and crazy, locked up in mansions on the top of the hill.” At this point, someone ought to tell them about overkill. They’re driven only by greed, and if you remember “Diamond as Big as the Ritz” from Buffett’s last album, greed kills, and in this song, it’s plainly put that if you “climb too fast and shove too hard, you’ll be pushin’ up the daisies in the old boneyard.” This might be my favorite song off this album; if not, it’s the best of the second half for sure. Its instrumentals are on point as always, the message is important and in the bridge of the song he literally raps: he is singing fast, he is rhyming and even swearing a lot, it’s amazing, you have to listen to it (Tupac and Biggie better look out for Buffett and his gulf coast flow)!

“Desdemona’s Building a Rocketship” follows Desdemona, the baker from “Fruitcakes” who tells Buffett about our human condition, and her mission to reach the cosmos. This song is repetitive and methodic, slowly telling the story of how she wants to reach the Seven Sisters, aka the Pleiades stars. I really enjoy how Buffett makes connections to stars and constellations throughout his career; it’s a good reminder to look up.

“Mental Floss” isn’t my favorite song, but it’s alright. In some ways, it feels somewhat like you’re listening to Buffett explain his shower thoughts, such as him stating, “I’d like to be a jellyfish, ‘cause jellyfish don’t pay rent.”

It is often forgotten that Jimmy Buffett was a part of a countercultural, musical movement, in his own unique way. He started off as a folk singer who made music Nashville hated, so he left and hated Nashville back, going off to Key West, where he’d make his beach bum music about drinking, smoking weed and literally a song called “Why Don’t We Get Drunk and Screw.” This wasn’t your typical musician. In “Cultural Infidel,” we see how Buffett counts himself as someone who is critical of the wider culture and those trying to control it. He hears those forces in Congress and on TV and hopes “the inquisition remains a memory.” I really enjoy how intense the bridge feels relative to the rest of the song, instrumentally and lyrically.

“Happily Ever After” is a lovely song, in which Buffett takes on a mentor role to the listener, describing how he has had his ups and a fair share of trouble. But he explains that through his many years, he has learned you must truly seek out what you want in life, because “if you leave it, then somebody else is bound to find that treasure, that moment of pleasure, when yours it could have been.” We can’t live our lives wondering what if, that is simply living a lie to others and ourselves, and who can keep up a charade like that? What about Buffett? What has he sought? He only just wants to “live happily ever after, every now and then.”

This song is just beautiful in its meaning of living life to the fullest, because that is truly an important message to take away from this. Also, I have to say that in the second verse he sings, “one has to learn havin’ fun is just smilin’ through those changes in latitudes, changes in attitudes.” Did you see it??? He said the thing! He referenced his 1977 album “Changes in Latitudes Changes in Attitudes!” I love it when musicians get into their self-referential era!

“False Echoes (Havanna 1921)” is a beautiful, yet somber song. I won’t go into deep detail as I think you should listen to it, but its acoustic instrumentals accompany James Delaney Buffett Jr.’s story and his life since his first birthday in Havanna, 1921. James, Jimmy’s father, sadly had Alzheimer’s, and this song uses a line from Buffett’s memoir to describe what the disease was like: “he waltzes on memories while he fades like a flare.” It’s sad to listen to, especially if you know someone who is going through a similar experience, but it’s meaningful. The song leads into the “hidden track”, that being a cover of the Stephen Stills song, “Treetop Flyer.” The song is mellow, and Buffett does a good job at making the song his own, which is always important to achieve when making a cover.

This was “Banana Wind,” yet another no skip album from Buffett, continuing his renaissance era to three albums. Amazing, isn’t it? I believe that this might be his best album from this era, and it’s amongst my favorites of his as a whole. That is that, so what is next? Who knows, another no-skip album? That remains to be seen, until then don’t forget to look outside your dorm window sometimes; it can be pretty. In fact, legend has it, if you look up at night, you just might be able to see a “Beach House on the Moon.”