Ben Hanna

"Well, I'm a pretty funny guy, but I'm not hilarious/I don't make a lot of sense, but I'm not mysterious/And you know, sometimes I just stare at the wall." Those are the first lines from "Every Time You're Near Me," the opening cut on Ben Hanna's We Were All Like...

By Jon Solomon

March 14, 2013

[
        {
          "name": "Air - MediumRectangle - Inline Content - Mobile Display Size",
          "component": "12017618",
          "insertPoint": "2",
          "requiredCountToDisplay": "2"
        },{
          "name": "Editor Picks",
          "component": "17242653",
          "insertPoint": "4",
          "requiredCountToDisplay": "1"
        },{
          "name": "Inline Links",
          "component": "18838239",
          "insertPoint": "8th",
          "startingPoint": 8,
          "requiredCountToDisplay": "7",
          "maxInsertions": 25
        },{
          "name": "Air - MediumRectangle - Combo - Inline Content",
          "component": "17261320",
          "insertPoint": "8th",
          "startingPoint": 8,
          "requiredCountToDisplay": "7",
          "maxInsertions": 25
        },{
          "name": "Inline Links",
          "component": "18838239",
          "insertPoint": "8th",
          "startingPoint": 12,
          "requiredCountToDisplay": "11",
          "maxInsertions": 25
        },{
          "name": "Air - Leaderboard Tower - Combo - Inline Content",
          "component": "17261321",
          "insertPoint": "8th",
          "startingPoint": 12,
          "requiredCountToDisplay": "11",
          "maxInsertions": 25
        }
      ]

"Well, I'm a pretty funny guy, but I'm not hilarious/I don't make a lot of sense, but I'm not mysterious/And you know, sometimes I just stare at the wall." Those are the first lines from "Every Time You're Near Me," the opening cut on Ben Hanna's We Were All Like Whatever, and in a way, those lines sum up what Hanna's all about. The dude's quirky as hell, and he's got this deadpan talk-singing thing going on that's part Lou Reed and part John Prine, with a little bit of Jonathan Richman tossed in. The great thing about Hanna's vocal delivery and phrasing is that his lyrics, which are pretty damn funny and poignant, are front and center, whether he's singing about eating $5 titty-bar chicken, going through a breakup, or a guy hiding dime bags in his gym socks.

KEEP WESTWORD FREE... Since we started Westword, it has been defined as the free, independent voice of Denver, and we'd like to keep it that way. Your membership allows us to continue offering readers access to our incisive coverage of local news, food, and culture with no paywalls. You can support us by joining as a member for as little as $1.