‘THE BRECHT AND WEILL OF THE ‘80s’ : DAVID & DAVID’S UPBEAT DOWNERS

If the next single from the duo known as David & David turns out to be a success--and the insistence of the upbeat, lilting hooks in “Ain’t So Easy” gives it every chance of being one--it’ll probably be the first hit single in the history of pop music sung from the point of view of a wife-beater.

The lyric might go over the heads of most of the record’s buyers, since David Baerwald and David Ricketts--who perform today and Wednesday at the Roxy--aren’t the type to always spell things out for less attentive listeners. And their following has quickly spread from the press and record industry intelligentsia to the teeming MTV-trained masses whose critical faculties may be less attuned to the idea of irony.

The idea of millions of kids possibly singing along with David & David tunes while remaining blissfully unaware of their content bothers singer/lyricist Baerwald a little as he ponders the idea. But only a little.

“That’s probably true,” says Baerwald, taking a break from the current tour with his partner at their record company offices in Hollywood. “Then again, if I sing along with some Doors song, a lot of times I don’t know what they’re talking about,” he confesses.

David & David songs do tend to be a bit more meaty and cogent than the average Jim Morrison methadone metaphors, though. The songs on the L.A.-based pair’s first album, “Boomtown”--one of the year’s most widely acclaimed rock debuts--are ultimately engaging short stories about the down-and-out and burned-out.

Considering that Baerwald’s characters lean more toward the worst and the dimmest than the best and the brightest, there’s surprisingly little condescension in his tales of woe.

“I think basically that everybody I write about is me,” he says, “because if you’re not writing about you, you are gonna get smug and nasty and supercilious. That’s not what it’s about at all.”

Like satirist Randy Newman--who once wrote a raucous party-time anthem containing subtle intimations of rape--Baerwald isn’t afraid to write sympathetically from the point of view of a character who is contemptible, and who may not be recognized as such until a key line makes sense after repeated listenings. And, also like Newman, co-writer Ricketts isn’t afraid to put those dark sentiments to light, even cheery melodies.

That’s the case with “Ain’t So Easy,” a warm, gentle, loving plea for reconciliation--from a man who tells his wife “I’m sorry about your eye,” and who tries to talk her out of leaving by mixing sweet nothings with cruel reminders like “ . . . and where would you go, anyway?”

“It’s got a sadness to it even though it’s major-key all the way through,” says Ricketts. “And I think that makes it more sensitive; I think that makes you realize more how pitiful the character is, because instead of painting him as an out-and-out thug with giant fists, he comes off really weak. He’s a pathetic character, which guys like that usually are.”

“The woman almost comes off stronger,” agrees Baerwald. “There are those kind of women who’ll get hit and yet the guy will seem so pitiful that they’ll bring him to their breasts and they’ll end up consoling him--even though she’s got a black eye.”

“Boomtown” abounds with such everyday tricks of human nature: the bored lovers sharing their last disinterested sexual experience together (“Swimming in the Ocean”); the Hollywood Boulevard bartender who’s the one constant in the tragic lives of his customers (“A Rock for the Forgotten”); the friends with high ideals who never achieved their dreams and are now as low as “the rest of those clowns begging busfare back” (“Swallowed by the Cracks”).

It’s almost all pretty depressing--which has gotten David & David tagged as “the Brecht and Weill of the ‘80s.” (They don’t mind that.) And it’s almost all pretty L.A. --which has gotten them tagged as “the Eagles of the ‘80s.” (They aren’t quite as wild about that one.)

“On ‘Hotel California,’ the Eagles’ viewpoint was from the fast lane,” says Ricketts. “The viewpoint on our record is very decidedly someone who is not exactly living in the high life. It might be people who come here that want to get in the fast lane but didn’t make it.”

Baerwald, 26, has lived in the L.A. area since he was 12, while Ricketts, 32, was an immigrant of seven years back. If a few East Coasters can’t help but sneer, the two still don’t mind admitting that the music they’ve created since getting together two years ago (and signing with A&M; on the basis of a home demo tape) has a uniquely Californian viewpoint--though they concede that might change as they tour and see the world more extensively.

The Davids admit that getting their act together and taking it out on the road wasn’t the closest thing to their hearts when they finished the album. And their music, after all, isn’t the type particularly conducive to great displays of enthusiasm on stage or cries of “How ya doin’, Los Angeles?”

“Obviously we’re not going to be jumping around on stage,” confirms Ricketts.

“I was not exactly Mr. Let’s-Tour-the-Second-We-Get-the-Album-Done. But it seems like a relief now that we’re out playing live. Because we’re not exactly the most happy-go-lucky duo in the world; there was a lot of anxiety on both sides of the fence in us putting together this record, in our lives and in the music. So (going on the road) is kind of like getting out of school right now.”

Though the debut has been successful beyond anyone’s expectations--finding success with both critics and album-rock radio, two pockets of opinion that rarely overlap--neither David is taking for granted that the acclaim, air play and sales will always be this good.

Confides Baerwald, “We’re calling our next album ‘Sophomore Jinx.’ ”