**Trigger Warning: Mentions of eating disorders and drug use.**
Who was your most-listened-to artist on Spotify last year? Everyone has their favorite, but for me, it was Will Wood, an enigmatic pianist and lyricist whose music captivates and challenges his listeners. Since his debut in 2011 under the moniker Will Wood and The Tapeworms, he has released seven albums—five studio and two live.
Why is he being covered? This year marks a milestone in his career as he embarks on his first concert in Florida. Now, don’t get your hopes up. Wood has for years now barred those under 18 from going to his shows because of the explicit content in his songs.
Wood’s first album, “Everything Is A Lot,” is a unique and unconventional blend of dark cabaret, rock, and jazz. Each track offers a fresh perspective, with standout songs addressing heavy themes. For instance, “Skeleton Appreciation Day in Vestal, NY” is a keyboard-driven tune that critiques mainstream diet culture, referencing complex topics like anorexia. The line “Ana stands and rends the rancid meat from her bones” uses an anorexia codename, “Ana”, frequently found in online eating disorder support forums. While Wood has stated the song is not about anorexia, its numerous references have led to differing interpretations, leaving some listeners questioning its true meaning.
Another notable track, “Chemical Overreaction / Compound Fracture,” showcases Wood’s lyrical prowess through rapid-fire verses and frenetic instrumentals. It reflects a period in his life marked by hallucinations and paranoia stemming from drug use, aptly captured in the song’s title.
However, not every song resonates as strongly. The album’s namesake, “Everything Is A Lot,” begins with a haunting melody exploring mortality before devolving into a cacophony of construction noises, ultimately fading into a hidden track. This experimental approach may alienate some listeners, but it also exemplifies Wood’s willingness to push boundaries.
Despite its oddities, “Everything Is A Lot” spans several genres and presents a myriad of interpretations within each song. A word of caution: the album’s mature themes warrant discretion, as it delves into topics that may be unsettling for some. Yet, within this eclectic collection, you are bound to find a track that resonates with you, reflecting Will Wood’s ever-evolving musical landscape.
For those not interested in rock, I suggest skipping Will Wood’s early career hits and turn your attention to his by far most popular album, The Normal Album, which was so anticipated that it met its crowdfunding goal on its first day. The Normal Album is Will Wood’s avant-garde criticism of society and individuals, particularly American “nuclear families” and the bastardization of mental illnesses and disorders like bipolar disorder, OCD, and Tourette’s syndrome by people who saw it as “quirky” or “cool” instead of recognizing the serious impacts of these disorders.
In “Marsha, Thankk You for the Dialects, But I Need you to Leave”, several lines emphasize this; “We depress to impress, I guess”, “Ain’t your you-dentity at stake, does aspirin kill you with the pain?”, “And I see your tendency to redefine disease by what you need, and I’m afraid I can’t prescribe the diagnosis that you seek”.
It’s a common pattern that’s been seen over and over throughout the past decades: some form of pop culture media will release featuring an obscure or under-researched mental illness, and uninformed masses will flock to it in droves, trivialize it, water it down to its barest form. “I’m so OCD” is the worst and most common contender, a phrase used by people who simply enjoy having an organized space or keeping their areas clean, with no regard to the actual seriousness of symptoms of OCD, like distressing intrusive thoughts, neurotic compulsions like skin-picking, or a fear of “losing control” of your body.
My personal favorite on the Normal Album is “Memento Mori: the most important thing in the world,” an ironically upbeat song about death. It assures the listener that death is inevitable and no one will remember you, regardless of your faults, flaws, or good deeds. “One day you’re going to die” is a frequently repeated verse, used to support other lyrics like “Rest in peace or pieces and won’t even know why” and “No need to fear ’cause when it’s here you won’t be alive, try not to think about it”.
As for the musical aspect of the album, Will Wood has said that the iconic punk rock band Green Day was an influence in his melody, which plays through with his unconventional melodies in songs like “BlackBoxWarrior” and “SecondSightSeer”.
This album is perfect for those looking for something deeper without losing the familiar zest heard in pop music across decades. Without rambling on further, he changes genres once again in his most recent studio album, “In Case I Make It,” with Wood taking on folk, a heavy contrast to his entire career at that point. Will Wood has said that he has planned on taking an indefinite hiatus from creating music, but that has not deterred him in his community efforts like remasters, concerts, and more! With an active background and a flamboyant personality, Will Wood should definitely be on your list of music artists.
