Almost everybody knows at least one couple so enamored with each other that it's a wonder they can function for five seconds when separated.
Madison recording artists It's not the most politically correct title, Kennedy admits, but it's an accurate one, noting not only the weird interpersonal dynamics of this situation but the fact that it's a bit immature. "I sometimes worry while we're singing it that people are going to think it's an insensitive jab at actual conjoined twins, but it's really just an insensitive jab at figurative conjoined twins," says Kennedy of the track. Everyone's entitled to a cheap shot every now and then, but there's more to the story in this case, it seems: As much as codependency and over-the-top lovey-dovey antics are obnoxious to watch, they make an appearance in plenty of fairly normal relationships as well -- just not all the time. Like the lyrics to the song so pithily put it, "Every little thing you do to you / You do to me": Sometimes it's hard to escape the effects of another person's behaviors -- or even figure out the meaning of your own actions -- when your life is deeply intertwined with theirs. Even if you want to do your own thing, you can't. At times, this predicament is a blessing, but at other times, it's a curse. And if the situation's escalated to the point of sharing a head -- literally or figuratively -- it's definitely gone too far. Well, unless you're Curl and Kennedy, who chose that very phrase, Sharing a Head, as the title for the EP that contains "Siamese Babies." Thankfully, the two musicians -- who met through the now-defunct band Albert -- both have minds of their own, which makes their songwriting much more interesting. Musically, "Siamese Babies" takes on a bit of an Aimee Mann vibe: melodic and poppy with dark, sarcastic undertones. Throughout the track, Curl begins sentences and Kennedy finishes them, just like one of those wonderfully annoying couples. Most of the lines are even sung in harmony, like a couple that can't breathe unless it's a collaborative effort. In other words, while the track calls attention to a problem and illustrates it quite cleverly, it most likely wouldn't exist if the dynamics Curl and Kennedy are mocking were actually taking place during the process of writing and recording the song. Two heads sure are better than one. An MP3 of "Siamese Babies" is available in the related downloads section at right. More music by Amy Curl & Dan Kennedy can be found on their MySpace page. Fans can listen to a live rendition of the song when the duo performs at a "Songwriters in the Round" show at the Brink Lounge on Wednesday, June 24. MadTracks highlights and provides MP3s of songs performed by local musicians. All tracks here are provided with permission of the artist. If you are a musician based in the Madison metro area and are interested in sharing your work as a MadTrack, please send a message.