It's All Been Done
Barenaked Ladies
The guitar line in "It's All Been Done" has the quality of something half-remembered — melodic and slightly wistful, like a tune you think you've heard before but can't quite place. There's a deliberate circularity to the arrangement, fitting for a song about the impossibility of originality, about two people who are convinced their connection is unprecedented only to discover it's an old story wearing new clothes. The production is crisp and uncluttered, letting the harmonies between Page and Ed Robertson do the heavy lifting, their voices weaving together with an easiness that sounds like long practice. The tempo is moderate, almost nostalgic in pacing, like a pleasant afternoon that keeps circling back on itself. Lyrically it's a clever philosophical joke that doubles as a love song — or maybe a love song that doubles as a philosophical joke. It came out in 1998 and had a lightness that belied its underlying premise, which is genuinely melancholy if you sit with it: the idea that even your most intimate moments have been felt before by strangers across centuries. It fits perfectly on a Sunday afternoon, sunlight through windows, when you're feeling tender and slightly thoughtful.
medium
1990s
bright, warm, airy
Canadian indie pop
Pop, Indie. Indie Pop. nostalgic, melancholic. Opens with wistful, philosophical playfulness and settles into a gently melancholy acceptance — the realization that even your most intimate feelings are ancient and universal.. energy 5. medium. danceability 5. valence 6. vocals: warm harmonized male vocals, easy, slightly wistful, long-practiced blend. production: clean uncluttered guitar, crisp mix, warm vocal harmonies, minimal arrangement. texture: bright, warm, airy. acousticness 5. era: 1990s. Canadian indie pop. Sunday afternoon with sunlight through windows when you're feeling tender and slightly philosophical about the strange circularity of human experience.