friday music cover /// waste - phish

i don't know if this is a thing on here, where any one day a week a bunch of us her musicians cover a song that we like, but if it isn't already, let's make it a thing! i'd love to hear some of the songs the rest of you are into, and what music is really inspiring you from week to week!!!!!!

this one goes out to any phish fans out there - and no i'm not talking about the bad type of phish that we all hate.... i'm talking about the band that only most people hate :) i myself am actually quite fond of the band, and although they are mostly known for their extended instrumental improvisation, they have surely written a ton of beautiful and powerful songs.

trey anastasio, the frontman for the group, is the band's main songwriter, and is an artist i alone have seen perform live on 3 separate occasions in the past 3 years (his side project oysterhead (with les claypool and stewart copeland) was the last concert i saw pre-pandemic on 2/15/2020 in boulder, co), but i have yet to hear this song performed live. although trey is better known for his extremely complex and extended compositions, this song is vastly different. a bit humbling for himself as an artist, and i think accents the subject of it well.

this song was recorded with a relatively simple arrangement, extremely stripped down when you compare it to the normal phish sound, yet trey's soothing voice accents the melody beautifully, at times even harmonizing the two together (which i cannot do the song any justice for). the song just feels so accessible in listening to it, but then as you begin to hear the lyrics and really comprehend them, it all begins to make sense.

recently i have been obsessing over sappy love songs - call it a phase, but it's kind of always been this way as the hopeless romantic i am; this song plays perfectly into that. the most ironic thing about this song is in the fact that it is called "waste" when in fact the type of wasting that the song's protagonist wants is not really a waste at all. often times it does feel like you can just waste your time with someone special and it wouldn't matter. often times you actually want to waste all of your time with a lover, and ignore all of the responsibilities of having a profession or legitimate things to do. there is something extremely romantic and calming about being able to do nothing with someone you love and being completely fulfilled in doing so.

but it is not just the protagonists desire to want to waste his time with his love, but it is really his love's need to realize that she wants to waste her time with him (i use these pronouns because trey is a straight man, and i am also a straight man interpreting these lyrics, but they can obviously go any way your heart desires). the protagonist is asking her that if he is inside of her head, to not believe what she may have read, or see what he may have said, but to hear him. he wants her to come waste her time with him. come waste your time with me. nobody wants to "waste" their time with the wrong person, but to find that person would be something special.

this, in my eyes, may be the pinnacle form of love we are all searching for. the person to waste the rest of our lives with.

P.S. if anyone has any recommendations on how to become a better singer, please let me know. i am obviously trying my best, but i am very very sorry for making you all suffer through my harsh and off-pitch singing.

waste - phish

don't want to be an actor pretending on the stage
don't want to be a writer with my thoughts out on the page
don't want to be a painter 'cause everyone comes to look
don't want to be anything where my life's an open book

a dream it's true
but i'd see it through
if i could be
wasting my time with you

don't want to be a farmer working in the sun
don't want to be an outlaw always on the run
don't want to be a climber reaching for the top
don't want to be anything where i don't know when to stop

a dream it's true
but i'd see it through
if i could be
wasting my time with you

so if i'm inside your head
don't believe what you might have read
you'll see what i might have said
to hear it

come waste your time with me
come waste your time with me

so if i'm inside your head
don't believe what you might have read
you'll see what i might have said
to hear it

come waste your time with me
come waste your time with me
come waste your time with me
come waste your time with me

come waste your time with me