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Jon Quijano

The website of St. Croix Valley photographer and storyteller Jon Quijano

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331. "Waiting For an Invitation" by Benji Hughes

This is the best, most beautiful song Benji Hughes has ever written.

There are two things I have to point out.

One: Benji Hughes has an exceptional ability to write lyrics that fit his melodies as if the words and music spontaneously self-generated pre-figured. In this song, there is unbelievably sublime power in the way he sings the key line, "You're gonna wait a long time." How he hits down on those words, "wait," "long," "time," with such exhaustion. Those words are to be sung that way. They simply are.

Two: To have an idea of the attention to detail in "Waiting For an Invitation" (and to all songs on Benji Hughes's first album, A Love Extreme), look no further than the final 30 seconds of this song.

It goes out on a long fade to quiet. At a point where it's nearly gone, you might catch the subtle addition of numerous new instruments: Piano, synthesizers, etc. This sparse little song, in its final fading seconds, suddenly fills out into quite a lush arrangement, but it's audible for only a matter of moments before the track completely fades and is gone.

Long ago, I wrote a fan letter to Benji Hughes, my only fan letter, thanking him for these moments.

Sunday 12.17.17
Posted by Jon Quijano
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