Ben Lee – ‘Ben Lee’

Ben Lee - ‘Ben Lee’

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For all the light-hearted pop he’s eschewed over his career, Ben Lee also possessed strains of over-earnestness and white-boy spirituality that sat uncomfortably alongside his more inter-textual, self-reflexive lyrics (‘We’re All In This Together’ anyone?). Fortunately, the hits always far outweighed the misses and even those who hate on this still-divisive little songwriter probably found themselves humming one of his tunes at one time or another.

It’s great, then, to hear his most transparent and heightened offering of self-aware humour so far floating around the internet. The song in question is ‘Ben Lee,’ originally recorded by The Ataris as a hate letter to title performer and presented here, unedited, with its full anti-Lee rhetoric still firmly in place.

It’s a wonder Lee can sing with his tongue clearly planted so firmly in his cheek. I don’t know whether Lee or the listener are having more fun here.

www.myspace.com/benlee