![]() Over rolling guitars and heavenly synths, Jarvis Cocker sings about the precious, random decisions that we make every day, having no idea of what’s at stake. “Something Changed” is a prayer for those of us whose love language is canceling plans. Still, it’s hard not to get caught up in the adrenaline rush of one of the fastest, most drum’n’bass-influenced songs in the Nine Inch Nails catalog. Reznor has performed the song live sparingly and reportedly admitted in 2005 that it “probably wouldn’t be in the top hundred” of the tracks he’s written. “The Perfect Drug,” written for David Lynch’s 1997 film, Lost Highway, muddies the waters even more than usual, particularly with Mark Romanek’s absinthe-themed video. The doomed romance of Trent Reznor’s lyrics can often make love sound like a desperate chemical dependency - or make actual drug addiction sound like an irresistible seduction. Such a gorgeous song from a band with such a contrary name. It’s a ballad to his beatific (and lyrically ambiguous) “golden brown,” a finer temptress arranged in a seamless weaving of verse into bridge into the chorus - all executed in a timbre echoing John Lennon. A harpsichord plays the central melody as a luminous phased synth corresponds: dropping and rising in octaves, overall creating an enthralling quasi-waltz (with periodic bars in 7/8 time). The Stranglers slowly matured into the New Wave outfit of their pinnacle - but, in this case, take a deviant direction. The stately, baroque-pop jangle of “Golden Brown” diverged from the English band’s core sound: prototypical pub-punkers stumbling into the electronics section of the local music store. With its trampolining guitars and Phair’s heart wide open, it signaled a whole new Liz dimension - her romantic period - where we could pour out our hearts with fists held high, shouting “and you fuck like a volcano, and you’re everything to me.” A declaration that would only occur to an ineffably cool 27-year-old in 1994. “Supernova” was Phair’s rollicking first single from Whip-Smart, the follow-up to her murky masterpiece Exile in Guyville. “Your eyelashes sparkle like gilded grass,” she sings, “and your lips are sweet and slippery like a cherub’s bare, wet ass.” That’s just the first verse. ![]() Liz Phair is in devotion mode, packing more similes into one rock love song than an entire book of Shakespeare sonnets. “Walking Through That Door” has a mystical vibe that takes whatever’s in your heart and makes you believe in it harder. ![]() Herring absolves us of the shadows we cling to all the lonely nights that “fall oh-so-slow.” “I want to be the one to help you find those dreams,” Herring sings, eerily calm, like a mountaintop shaman who’s become enlightened in the rugged terrain. They spiral higher and faster, as singer Samuel T. The beauty lies in Gerrit Welmers’ quivering keys, which sound like they landed on Earth from a ’50s sci-fi flick. This is Future Islands in the key of “I Want to Break Free.” Of all the underdog anthems the synth-pop trio churn out, this gem - from 2010’s overlooked In Evening Air - is their most pure. – Danielle CheloskyĤ7. Future Islands – “Walking Through That Door” The highlight is, of course, the sentiment that’s as predictable as everything else: “ If I could find you now things would get better / We could leave this town and run forever.” Just like Boys Like Girls’ later pop-punk gem “The Great Escape,” “Ocean Avenue” is built on one of rock’s most reliably romantic images: running away with a vague lover from a dreary hometown into life’s endless possibilities. ![]() Something about the chugging riffs, infectious chorus and cliche lyrics made it an instant classic destined to soundtrack every Emo Nite. There’s love, sure, but “Ocean Avenue” is also an anthem of youth, recklessness and pop-punk.
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