We're at big number 90. Only 10 more editions left after this one. It's been a wild ride, but it's not over yet. Last week I finally included some jam-band songs, despite having next to no fluency in that genre (as you all no doubt noticed). This week we're having a bit of a return to form, because this week we're having another themed edition: Indie Rock.
We're starting off with the most recent song of the bunch, one of the singles from New York-based Interpol's newest album, Marauder. This song, "If You Really Love Nothing," mashes a traditional Interpol riff with a new style of washed out vocals (Interpol recently hired a new producer) from vocalist Paul Banks. The effect is perhaps not to create one of the greatest Interpol songs ever, but enough to create a very good song, one I can listen to on repeat. The music starts 0:33 in.
There are few names in the world of music that evoke as much mystery, nostalgia, and wistfulness as that of Jeff Mangum, lead singer, songwriter, and guitarist of the landmark Indie band Neutral Milk Hotel. There's a reason for that: Mangum never wore out his welcome. Much in the same way that Kurt Cobain dying young has lionized and immortalized the music of Nirvana, Mangum's disappearance from the music scene following a tour for his watershed album, "In the Aeroplane Over the Sea" turned him into a cult-figure in the scene. To this day, one of the ultimate means of establishing "hipster cred" is having been to one of the shows of the one and only original tour of "In the Aeroplane Over the Sea." There's a certain undeniable appeal to Mangum's raw, emotive vocals, one that's on full display on the eponymous song from said album.
Next is a song from Glasgow-based rock group The Fratellis. The song maybe feels out of place amid the giants of the genre I'm curating here, but I think it's useful to remember that not all Indie rock is slow, brooding, and full of existential angst (just a lot of it). This is a song with undeniable commercial appeal, with a catchy riff and ear-wormy vocals. This is "Henrietta."
The last song in our esteemed list is from one of the true giants of Indie rock, and--I'd argue--one of the last real vestiges of true American folk: Modest Mouse. Modest Mouse have always separated themselves from their peers by their fundamentally folk-roots, and their dedication to celebrating and mourning the quintessential American struggle for success and wealth. "World at Large" is a companion piece to MM's most famous track, "Float On." Whereas "Float On" attempts to establish a space of mental calm and optimism, pushing away the troubles of life, "World at Large" accepts the melancholy and desperation.
