“Trash Man,” from Ken Cormier’s stellar new album Old King Cloud, is a thoughtful character study, a simple portrait of a man who seems to contain multitudes – and it all starts off with a brilliant AC/DC nod: “He was a trash man / he kept his motor clean / he smoked a big cigar / and ran a magazine.” Those four lines right there already tell you the subject of this song has more going on than you might think at first. Trash man, motor, cigar, sure, checks out – wait, he ran a magazine? But wait, there’s more. This publishing maven – also an ingénue, we find out later – is thoughtful, mysterious, much more than he seems at first blush, giving autograph-seeking kids heart attacks and secretly recording barbeques. Based on what I know of Ken Cormier’s work, it’s entirely possible that this whole song started as a series of words that just work together. Once you hear “he was a maven and and an ingénue / he made a secret tape recording at the barbeque” it will leave a permanent groove in your mind, and I will never hear “You Shook Me All Night Long” the same way again. But in addition to the playful flow of words, this song does tell a story. It brings you into a new world you never could have imagined, and leaves you wanting to know so much more about this trash man, his magazine, and his secret tape recordings.
And I haven’t even talked about the music yet! “Trash Man” keeps a slow, steady pace – perhaps like a garbage truck making its way down the road, or someone thoughtfully flipping through records at the store – but the melodies, progressions, and production are all classic Ken Cormier pop gold. Hell, I only just now realized this song has no chorus and it’s still catchy as hell. Who needs choruses? Not Ken Cormier.