"...Well, Better Than the Alternative" (stylized as ...well, better than the alternative) is a song by American musician Will Wood. It was released via Say-10 on June 26, 2020, as the third single for his third studio album, The Normal Album (2020). It features an up-tempo pop composition with piano and ukulele. A music video was released alongside the single, featuring paintings of Wood animated with a program called EBsynth.
| "...Well, Better Than the Alternative" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Single by Will Wood | ||||
| from the album The Normal Album | ||||
| Released | June 26, 2020 | |||
| Recorded | 2019 | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 4:14, 4:16 (2024 edit) | |||
| Label | Say-10 | |||
| Songwriter(s) | Will Wood | |||
| Producer(s) | Jonathon Maisto | |||
| Will Wood singles chronology | ||||
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| Music video | ||||
| "...Well, Better Than the Alternative" on YouTube | ||||
Background
editIn 2016, Will Wood was inspired by an emotional connection to the Netflix series Stranger Things to write a song about it, focusing on British actress Millie Bobby Brown's portrayal of Eleven in the series.[4][5] He began performing it in early 2017 as "Still Pretty (Millie Rolls a 7)".[6] Shortly after his second studio album, Self-Ish (2016), Wood would often jokingly refer to a fictional daughter named Millie, as part of a tendency at the time to fictionalize his life to an implausible extent.[7][8] He later revealed he was making a reference to Brown.[4]
Once Wood began writing and producing material for his third studio album, The Normal Album (2020), he considered the song the easiest to produce for having demos made long in advance.[9] Wood then renamed the song as "...Well, Better Than the Alternative", stating its relevance to the song's meaning and that he preferred it over its former title.[10] It was revealed as the fifth song on the tracklist for The Normal Album in May 2020.[11]
Composition
edit"...Well, Better Than the Alternative" is an upbeat song, with avant-pop piano melodies juxtaposing the track's lyrics. Its instrumentation builds throughout, climaxing during the final chorus with Addison Herron-Wheeler of New Noise Magazine describing it as "Wood's vocal performance tak[ing] on an anguished energy".[8] It was produced by Jonathon Maisto,[12] with Wood noting its tonal difference from his other work.[9] The song's meaning is intentionally ambiguous; some lyrics act as "conceptual red herrings" to obstruct Wood's intention, making fan interpretations varied.[13]
Music video
editA music video for "...Well, Better Than the Alternative" was released alongside the single on June 26, 2020. The video begins with footage of Wood playing a video game, later transitioning into a painted rendition of the same shot with a shadowed figure behind him. Throughout the song, Wood and the figure are depicted in various actions and poses with paintings overlaying them as a filter-esque animation. During the bridge, Wood offers a game controller to the figure, which results in the two interacting together for the rest of the song.[8]
The video was created by Will Wood and Chris Dunne in collaboration with Sorin Michaels, a subscriber of Wood's Patreon. The latter frequently shared fan-made animations of previous Will Wood and the Tapeworms music videos with the Patreon community, which led to Wood hiring Michaels to revolve a new video around the animation style. Dunne, who previously co-created The Real Will Wood (2020), filmed scenes of Wood in his unfurnished home for the video, which had key frames painted over by Wood and Michaels. The latter used EBsynth to apply the handmade paintings to live action footage of Wood, making it appear animated. Wood edited the animated footage together, finalizing the video for "...Well, Better Than the Alternative".[8]
Personnel
edit- Will Wood – lead vocals, piano, ukelele, backing vocals
- Jonathon Maisto – production, recording engineer, mixing, mastering
- Matt Berger – alto saxophone
- Vater Boris – bass guitar
- Mike Bottiglieri – guitar
- Mario Conte – drums
- Victoria Goettel – viola
References
edit- ^ New Jersey Stage (August 21, 2020). "Will Wood Releases Lyric Video For "Marsha, Thankk You for the Dialectics, but I Need You to Leave"". New Jersey Stage. Retrieved August 21, 2024.
- ^ Blum, Jordan (September 10, 2020). "Will Wood Works His Madcap Magic On "BlackboxWarrior – OKULTRA [Live in Studio]" (Premiere)". PopMatters. Retrieved August 21, 2024.
- ^ Herron-Wheeler, Addison (July 9, 2020). "Album Premiere: Will Wood - The Normal Album". New Noise Magazine. Retrieved August 21, 2024.
- ^ a b Nelson, Joshua (July 12, 2020). "Review: Will Wood's "The Normal Album" – Anything But, And Better". Bleeding Cool. Retrieved August 21, 2024.
- ^ Winter Street Media (2018-11-17). The Will Wood Interview. Retrieved 2024-10-13 – via YouTube.
- ^ Coffee Haus Studios (January 24, 2017). Will Wood and The Tapeworms - ...Well, Better than the Alternative (YouTube video). Green Bean Films. Retrieved August 21, 2024.
- ^ Makin, Bob (October 16, 2016). "Makin Waves with Will Wood & the Tapeworms". My Central Jersey. Retrieved August 21, 2024.
- ^ a b c d Herron-Wheeler, Addison (June 25, 2020). "Video Premiere: Will Wood - '... well, better than the alternative'". New Noise Magazine. Retrieved August 21, 2024.
- ^ a b Nelson, Joshua (April 1, 2021). "Interview: Will Wood, On His New Documentary, "What Did I Do?"". Bleeding Cool. Retrieved August 21, 2024.
- ^ Shumaker, Shannon (June 23, 2020). "Will Wood Reinvents Himself on "The Normal Album": "There Was Nothing That Couldn't Be New"". Prelude Press. Retrieved August 21, 2024.
- ^ New Jersey Stage (May 28, 2020). "Will Wood To Release "The Normal Album"". New Jersey Stage. Retrieved August 21, 2024.
- ^ New Jersey Stage (July 1, 2020). "Will Wood Releases Music Video For "... well, better than the alternative"". New Jersey Stage. Retrieved August 21, 2024.
- ^ Nelson, Joshua (July 5, 2020). "Even More "Normal" Interview Questions With Musician Will Wood". Bleeding Cool. Retrieved August 21, 2024.