We Talk Music

2010’s best songs - #7: “Rabbit Feet” by Wild Nothing

Everytime this Evertide EP song comes on, I think: ‘that bassline is sick’; followed closely by: ‘woah this song is really really good’.

But those two statements could apply to any Wild Nothing song. Easily, easily, easily my best new band of the year, Jack Tatum and friends have taken 80’s throwback to a whole new level with their brand of lo-fi shoegaze mastery.

This song is so good.

Wild Nothing’s debut Gemini made it to #3 on my top 10 albums list. Watch them play an acoustic version of “Rabbit Feet” here.

www.myspace.com/wildnothing

(image via playgroundsongs.blogspot)

“Radiation Vibe” by Fountains of Wayne

Okay, so this is a Fountains of Wayne song. Not at all current and possibly terribly uncool (however cool is defined by them cool kids these days). But this is such a good song and a fun blast from the past.

Apart from the fact that a ‘radiation vibe’ sounds pretty dangerous and grooving on it might constitute some kind of a Shaun White-worthy extreme sport, this is actually just a super catchy harmless pop song about… er… (extreme) tanning? These guys, forever living on the edge - defying skin cancer and crushing on MILFs.

Just for the sake of relevance, I can tell you that most recently, Fountains of Wayne’s bassist joined Taylor Hanson (he’s the cute one) and James Iha (SP needs you!) to form their own supergroup Tinted Windows.

Remember kids, it’s a radiation vibe you’re grooving on. True story.

www.fountainsofwayne.com
www.tintedwindowsmusic.com

“Everybody’s Hurting” by Jakob Dylan

2010’s biggest disappointments: Jakob Dylan - Women and Country

Even with Neko Case singing back up, Jakob Dylan still couldn’t deliver an album quite as exquisite as his debut solo album Seeing Things. With Women and Country, he tried to reinvent his brand of folk. But instead of achieving a grander, more complex sound, the horns and strings feel out of place and his voice begs for attention amongst the incredibly distracting galloping country twang.

Seeing Things was a folk album for a chillaxed afternoon of homemade iced lemon tea and pie scent. It was simple and easy-listening, sort of like old man Bobby’s body of work. The media started drawing comparisons between father and son. But the younger Dylan deserves more credit than he’s been given. Sure, the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree, but good music is good music, whatever the upbringing.

This album sort of seems like an awkward in-between of his solo effort and The Wallflowers. There is a distinct ‘Come Around Sundown’ effect here, when the album doesn’t fit anywhere in the artist’s repertoire.

Women and Country is a decent effort, but boring when compared with its predecessor. The sophomore slump claims another.

www.jakobdylan.com

“Gone With The Sin” by H.I.M.

This year, I threw myself off a plane with a man and a parachute attached to my back. Before that, I was listening to HIM. It didn’t occur to me, but in the car my friend said something to this extent: “you might die today and the last song you listen to would be by HIM”. I thought about it and figured that I’d be okay with that.

There’s just something incredibly comforting about Ville Valo’s voice, especially when he digs down into the depths of his vocal range. And although HIM have got the whole gothic love thing going on, their music is actually pretty accessible. They’ve got great hooks and the easy to follow verse-chorus-verse format; like any good pop song. The music’s pretty loud, but it’s all essentially about love and the intense sort of love, albeit with a bunch of death and undead imagery.

I went to a HIM show alone this year. There were lots of high school kids dressed in black, with long hair, dark nails and metal stuck to their bodies. And I was standing there with my floral shirt under my wool blazer, assuring the semi-drunk lady next to me that I’d have her back if some tall guy tried to stand in front of us. I didn’t really mean it. I’m kinda weak, I would’ve probably just pretended to go to the toilet if the situation arose.

Back on point; Ville looked too skinny and he seemed unfocused. There was awkward banter amongst the band. He still sounded amazing, but there was something wrong; you could sense it. The lady behind me said that she’d seen them three times before and he’d been worse, and that his current state of emaciation was actually a sign of recovery.

Although that was many months ago, I’m writing this really long post to express how I hope Ville gets healthy. I don’t know what his circumstances are, but I’d be pretty sad if something bad happens to him.

www.heartagram.com

“Sleeping Lessons (RAC mix)” by The Shins

“Sleeping Lessons” is my favourite Shins song. Somehow, I think of it as their version of Radiohead’s “Street Spirit”, but there’s zero to no logic in that chain of thought, so let’s just leave it as that.

The version off Wincing The Night Away is amazing; I daresay perfect. The transition to the ending of the song is fantastic, and it’s almost as if everything before that was just building up to that moment.

The RAC mix of the song has less of an impact, but it makes up for the change with a more ‘summer day’ feel to the song, with the tender strums layered over one another to sound like tiny bubbles of sound bursting.

This is great. Not overly, offensively electronic like most other remixes.

New Shins LP is rumoured for a 2011 release. But meanwhile, there’s still Broken Bells or the older Shins stuff to tide us over. Or, just spend the next ten minutes staring at that awesome photo of them on Yo Gabba Gabba.

www.theshins.com

“Wild Thing” by Noah and the Whale

I’m a big big NATW fan, but more so of The First Days of Spring than Peaceful, The World Lays Me Down.

The band released a catchy new single titled “L.I.F.E.G.O.E.S.O.N.” (hear it here), which is reminiscent of early happy/cheerful NATW songs. But “Wild Thing”, also off their upcoming third LP Last Night on Earth, is closer to the more somber NATW that I very much prefer.

But I have to admit, I fell in love with the orchestra arrangements on their sophomore. Definitely hoping for some of that to be thrown in, maybe mixed up with some of the catchier little numbers.

www.noahandthewhale.com

(Note: I’m not sure if this was leaked and I will gladly take it down if it was.)