5 albums into their profession, the band exudes a cocky confidence in its skill to make use of rock songs as autos for each social commentary and private angst.
DAVID BIANCULLI, HOST:
That is FRESH AIR. The Paranoid Model is a Washington, D.C.-based rock band led by Elizabeth Nelson, whose dense, intelligent lyrics have marked her as a superior pop music composer. Nelson’s writing additionally has appeared in print in publications like The New York Instances and The Atlantic and in liner notes for historic reissues of acts equivalent to Bob Dylan and The Replacements. The Paranoid Model’s new album is named “Recognized Associates,” and rock critic Ken Tucker says it is the band’s most rocking report but.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, “KNOWN ASSOCIATES”)
THE PARANOID STYLE: (Singing) All of the flames gathered in your coronary heart. All of the names, Rodgers and Hammerstein, Rodgers and Hart. All of the rays when you do not even know the place to cease. You begin from the guts. Recognized associates. And you then take it to courtroom. Recognized associates. I imagine we have crossed paths. Recognized associates. I imagine we performed playing cards. Recognized associates.
KEN TUCKER, BYLINE: That voice you hear, flatly declarative, wry and verbose, belongs to Elizabeth Nelson, lead singer and chief songwriter for The Paranoid Model. 5 albums into their profession, the band exudes a cocky confidence in its skill to make use of rock songs as autos for each social commentary and private angst. On “Shut Up And Deal,” Nelson deploys a sarcastic nation music melody to usher you into a tricky lyric concerning the cynical compromises individuals make to achieve life.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, “SHUT UP AND DEAL”)
THE PARANOID STYLE: (Singing) Hey, fairly child. Are you prepared for me? I am a Lengthy Island woman dwelling in D.C. I am a tall drink of water standing 5-foot-2. I am an engineer’s daughter. I have been peer reviewed. Hey, they’re coyote, do you wish to wager? Do you prefer it in minor or do you prefer it in main? They will make you a suggestion. They will offer you a pager. They will name you a physician. You are going to owe them a favor. Take you out to dinner. You will get a verify for the meal. Everyone loves a winner, child. Shut up and deal. Shut up and deal. Shut up and deal. You stroll round city such as you invented the wheel. You are getting on my final nerve. Child, shut up and deal.
TUCKER: As a band, the paranoid fashion most frequently will get its inventive spark from the stress between the guitars garage-rock roughness and Nelson’s chatterbox eloquence. On the music “A Barrier To Entry,” the band steals the hook from The Riviera’s 1963 surf music smash “California Solar” as Nelson sings concerning the sorts of limits music snobs and cultural gatekeepers attempt to impose on our concepts of pop greatness.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, “A BARRIER TO ENTRY”)
THE PARANOID STYLE: (Singing) You case the joint, you class it up. Dime retailer hooch in a silver cup. You’re taking a job as a waitress, serve the land of gentry. We’re one-quarter via the century, it is a barrier to entry. The phrases are binding. You’ve got had unhealthy luck. The gears are grinding. You refuse to get caught. You realize a man named Bruce. You realize a man named Henry. You continue to like Sonic Youth. It is a barrier to entry.
TUCKER: Talking of thumbing her nostril at music snobs, in a current piece she wrote for the literary journal Southwest Assessment, Nelson says Linda Ronstadt’s 1977 cowl of The Rolling Stones “Tumbling Cube” is, quote, “my favourite recording of my favourite music of all time.” She makes a case for Ronstadt as an important singer of rock ‘n’ roll, a notion with which I couldn’t disagree extra. Ronstadt an important pop balled singer? Sure, certainly. A fantastic rocker? Come on. However Nelson is such a provocative critic that I fortunately entertain her arguments. On this identical essay, she says her favourite music she’s ever recorded with The Paranoid Model is that this one she wrote for Ronstadt referred to as “It is A Canine’s Breakfast.”
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, “IT’S A DOG’S BREAKFAST”)
THE PARANOID STYLE: (Singing) Stranded, for all of your greatest efforts. Remanded, they will see you again in Texas. You had been reckless past your years. You had been frightened past your fears. You considered shopping for a Lexus. It is a canine’s breakfast. Shorthand, for all it is best to’ve been studying. Ship a telegram out to the closest legal professional. The bailbondsman says it by no means hurts to know the bailiff. All of the individuals you rode with all of the individuals you sailed with. Inform the reality, they kinda anticipated this. It is a canine’s breakfast.
TUCKER: Taking a cue from Nelson on Ronstadt, it happens to me that there is a case to be made for Elizabeth Nelson as the perfect rock lyricist of this second. Her vary of material is prodigious. Her technical command of images and kind is impeccable, even when she’s breaking the foundations by cramming extra phrases right into a line than it will appear in a position to bear. Take, for instance, the joyfully rushed cadences of “White Wine No matter,” a manic romp or what Nelson calls a pure brawl that invokes every little thing from Roxy Music to Jean-Luc Godard.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, “WHITE WINE WHATEVER”)
THE PARANOID STYLE: (Singing) Standing on the desk, talkin’ Cain and Abel. Are you prepared for the nation? Are you totally unstable? White Wine No matter. Speaking out of college a few authorities textual content. Who do you reply to? What ‘cha suppose’s going to occur subsequent? White Wine No matter. Holding earnings in thoughts, conserving working people aside. The boot of oppression is the expression of their artwork. Child what’s your identify? Is that even germane? Are you Northern Virginia or Virginia Aircraft? White Wine No matter. You are a bit of bit tawdry, you are a bit of bit tart. You are a bit of bit nation, a bit of Jean-Luc Godard. White Wine No matter. Anybody can see that…
TUCKER: “Recognized Associates” is The Paranoid Model’s most exhausting rocking report, whilst Elizabeth Nelson extends the attain of her affect. Looks as if everybody’s obtained a podcast, however Nelson’s, additionally referred to as “Recognized Associates,” reveals her to be a advantageous interrogator of fellow musicians and writers. Nelson and The Paranoid Model are probably the most persuasive argument I do know for the continuing vitality of rock ‘n’ roll.
BIANCULLI: Ken Tucker reviewed “Recognized Associates” by The Paranoid Model. Arising, Justin Chang evaluations the brand new Pixar movie “Hoppers.” That is FRESH AIR.
Copyright © 2026 NPR. All rights reserved. Go to our web site phrases of use and permissions pages at www.npr.org for additional data.
Accuracy and availability of NPR transcripts could fluctuate. Transcript textual content could also be revised to right errors or match updates to audio. Audio on npr.org could also be edited after its unique broadcast or publication. The authoritative report of NPR’s programming is the audio report.
