Bareilles apparently wrote “Love Song” as an angry answer to record executives who said she needed a hit, a love song they could put on the radio. Once again, tension at the crossroads of art and commerce saved the day.

Bareilles apparently wrote “Love Song” as an angry answer to record executives who said she needed a hit, a love song they could put on the radio. Once again, tension at the crossroads of art and commerce saved the day.

In that interview with Puremusic.com, Tashian said that he didn't own the rights to the “Lovetest” songs for a while, but now he does, which may be why they're no longer available on his blog. That may also mean an actual album release is in the works.

When that song was discussed in Scott's Basement Songs column a few months ago (I linked to it above), I made a comment about the end of the song, where Gregg Alexander takes some shots at then-current pop stars, as being a letdown, because the rest of the song is so great, so why is he instantly dating the song with those references? Someone who commented under the name of “oldradical” replied that those references probably helped New Radicals and “You Get What You Give” get on the radio and MTV in the first place — they courted cheap controversy, creating buzz for themselves. Maybe that was Alexander's way of subversively commenting on the state of radio and MTV in 1998, but it's hard to say.

Funny you should mention Schuba's and David Mead: I saw Mead open for Ron Sexsmith at Schuba's, then drank with him until two in the morning. Great guy.