The Range “Superimpose”

James Hinton pulled all the vocals on The Range’s new album Potential from videos of amateur performers on YouTube. It’s a great conceptual hook, and certainly gives a writer plenty of room to riff on, like, technology maaaan and we’re all connected all the time now and social mediiiiiiaaaa and what it’s DOING TO US ALLLLLLLLL. But I do not care about any of that. The most interesting thing about Potential is Hinton’s craft in building these scraps of audio into fully realized pop songs. “Superimpose” is particularly beautiful, with this earnest R&B vocal echoing in the space between clicking beats and looping piano notes. It doesn’t feel like the result of a high concept art project. The vocal is all raw emotion and Hinton just frames it.

In a way, this is like the reverse of Disclosure’s second album, in which all the collaborations seem mandated by corporate synergy. It’s also a record that feels very sociable, like two young guys eager to interact with all these singers. On the other hand, Potential sounds very much like something made in solitude, and the vocal parts always retain a lo-fi quality that reminds us that it’s all just pulled from a video. He’s using these strangers as emotional proxies in the songs, but that’s what we’re always doing as listeners, right?

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Jessy Lanza “It Means I Love You”

There’s only three major elements to this arrangement – drum machine, keyboard, vocal – and while they’re all in sync, they vary quite a bit in urgency. Jessy Lanza’s vocal part is the most relaxed thing in the mix, with her sounding light and conversational, and only partly tethered to the tempo. The beat is considerably more busy and intense, and it’s the main structural element of the song in the way the guitar would provide the primary structure in a standard rock song. The keyboard parts bridge the gap between the two, roughly keeping with the tempo while complementing the loose, slightly detached vibe of the vocal. I like the way this all comes together in the context of Lanza’s lyrics – she’s singing about the earliest stages falling in love and while her tone is casual and playful, the percussion implies a nervous energy that’s driving the feeling but is tactfully being kept under the surface.

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Basia Bulat “Long Goodbye”

“Long Goodbye” is a song about coming out of a relationship that you know wasn’t very good and still being angry about how it ended. How could they be so careless with your heart? How could they string you along for so long? How did you fall for any of it? You blame yourself for being blinded by love, and maybe that’s it. Basia Bulat sings this song with a steely, bitter tone, and the words are rather cutting. But as much as the lyrics are a string of recriminations ostensibly directed towards the ex, it’s clear that this isn’t for them at all. This isn’t for their ears; it’s all directed inward. It’s the story you need to tell yourself over and over so a narrative sticks, and you can write off a bit of the past and move on.

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A Giant Dog “Sex & Drugs”

I wonder if the hook to this song, in which the singer shouts “I can’t even remember being young!,” would’ve seemed defiant to me if I’d heard it a decade or so ago. Maybe it would’ve hit me as a cool line, but I don’t think it would’ve resonated as much. It feels genuinely rebellious to hear a rock band play a very fast and loud song about how conflating rock music with youth is total bullshit, and the mythology built around living fast and dying young is empty and dumb. “Sex & Drugs,” which is followed by an equally great up-tempo number called “& Rock & Roll,” is an earnest celebration of the fun side of rock, and I think for this band, a way of reclaiming it from everything in culture that’s made it seem tired and clichéd.

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Kendrick Lamar “Untitled 06 (06.30.2014)”

I love the way Kendrick writes about being infatuated with women. He always seems so consumed by his fascination, like he wants to learn everything about them and take in every last detail, as if there was a way for him to crack the code of what makes them so beautiful and compelling. As smooth, clever, and laid back as Kendrick gets, he still sounds a bit flustered thinking of this woman, and he seems so eager to impress her. He’s putting her on a pedestal in some ways, but at the same time, this song is mainly a meditation on imperfection, and how closely someone’s strengths are connected to their flaws. The really sweet sentiment here isn’t so much the “you’re beautiful exactly as you are” thing, but more that he sees this woman as an equal, and is drawn to her because they both are a bit out of step with the rest of the world. It makes some sense of the intensity of his crush – he’s a guy who can have his pick of available women, but he’s only fixating on the one who’s attuned to the same odd frequency he’s on.

Ali Shaheed Muhammad and Adrian Younge’s track is gorgeous, and could stand on its own quite well as an instrumental with that lovely, lyrical flute part becoming the most expressive element of the arrangement. There’s a light, slick feeling to the track, and it suits the infatuated tone – in this context, Kendrick sounds flirty and cool, and the words flow like they’re carried on a cool breeze. Cee-Lo’s vocal is great too, rooting the track firmly in mid 20th century R&B without making it feel overly retro.

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Beach House @ Webster Hall 3/15/2016
Beyond Love / Walk in the Park / PPP / The Hours / Silver Soul / Space Song / 10 Mile Stereo / One Thing / Wishes / Rough Song / Master of None / Bluebird / Take Care / Elegy to the Void / Myth // Sparks

Beach House “Space Song”

I spent a lot of this show focused on Alex Scally’s guitar playing and wishing I could get a better view of what exactly he’s doing with the instrument. His style is so distinct but also oddly understated – for one thing, I think most people think of the keyboard drones as the most notable thing about Beach House’s sound, despite his guitar being the actual focus of their compositions. But then, a lot of what makes their songs work is this sort of emotional equilibrium between Scally’s parts and Victoria Legrand’s vocals. They usually take turns playing the emotive or meditative parts, so there’s this sustained soul-searching quality to their music. Legrand’s voice grounds the music, but it’s Scally’s guitar that gives the tunes drama and grace, and a low key romanticism that few of their immediate peers can match.

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TV Girl “(Do The) Act Like You Never Met Me”

I guess it was about time that sad boy indie dance music came back into style, right? TV Girl is a guy named Brad Petering who making tracks that would’ve sounded very suave and urbane back in the late ‘90s, and singing like Ben Gibbard’s lovelorn little brother about the sort of hopeless, haphazard relationships people typically have in their early 20s. “(Do the) Act Like You’ve Never Met Me” is a sad sack tune about the frustration of having to pretend like you’ve never been intimate with someone and acting like total strangers, even though part of your brain is screaming “THIS IS ALL A LIE! DON’T YOU REMEMBER???” This could easily be awful “nice guy” stuff, but Petering has a sense of humor about it – he doesn’t undermine his own emotions, but does put them in proper perspective with a nod and a wink.

Buy it from Bandcamp.

Salami Rose Joe Louis “I Miss You So”

Everything about this is strange in the best way. The band name is totally confounding – like, are those the names of the members? Is one of them called “Salami”? Is Salami Rose Joe Louis actually one woman? Why would a woman call herself that, if she’s indeed a solo artist? Who can say!

“I Miss You So,” like the other tracks available in advance of the full record coming out in a couple weeks, is zonked-out low-key funk, and at times sounds like a record that’s been slightly warped by the sunlight. The singer shifts between breathy girlish whispers and restrained soul vocals, like some kind of severely stoned jazz singer child. The music reminds me a bit of the sort of stylish vaguely R&B-ish, trip-hop-ish stuff that was big in upscale bars and shops circa the late ‘90s and early ‘00s, but a lot more psychedelic and hazy. A lot of the time it sounds like an extremely drowsy funk/R&B band, and it totally works. This song sounds very romantic and intimate, like something being whispered in bed in the middle of the night.

Buy it from Bandcamp.

The Orielles “Jobin”

This is a pretty simple garage rock song, but it has the presence of something a lot more grand and ornate. A lot of that is in the main lead guitar part, which cuts through the song with the grace of a gentle folk tune while the drums bash out a simple beat that echoes like something a lot more epic. “Jobin” is just over two minutes long, but The Orielles do a lot with very little in that time, all at the service of a lead vocal that gets across some very critical words with just the right balance of seriousness and sass.

Buy it from Bandcamp.

Quilt “Hissing My Plea”

I wasn’t surprised when I read a thing in which the singer of this band explained that “Hissing My Plea” was built out of bits of other abandoned songs. Not in the sense that the song is fragmented or doesn’t hang together well, but in that there’s several strong melodies and grooves in this, and it sounds very carefully crafted. I love the way they contrast this casual, stoner-ish bass groove with a very regal string arrangement, and the way Anna Fox Rochinski sounds so poised as she sings. There’s a delicate quality to her voice, but also this very grounded confidence in her phrasing, particularly as she expresses frustration and desperation. She makes the darkest feelings seem sorta serene.

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Animal Collective “Vertical”

There’s very little ego in Animal Collective. When they sing about personal relationships, it’s always in this gentle, supportive way, and appreciative of small moments with people they care about. When they sing about the world around them, it’s with a bit of awe or bemusement. That comes through in the sound of the music too, as they favor these sort of upbeat melodies that signal amiable generosity, or stoned introversion. “Vertical” is a great example of this, as the harmonies and syncopation are just odd enough that a rather straightforward melodic theme feels scattered and swirled. I love the effect this has on the way you hear the lyrics – these snippets of images and stray thoughts are evocative, but are scrambled enough that it’s less about a statement, and more about a sensation of feeling like everything’s spinning around you.

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Lucy Dacus “Direct Address”

Lucy Dacus keeps singing “I don’t believe in love at first sight” in this song, but every other line suggests otherwise, as she describes feeling totally paralyzed with lust for these men she sees in passing. Now, of course, that’s not real love, per se. But it is exactly what “love at first sight is;” the feeling of sudden intense infatuation with someone you see and feel very strongly that you need. “Direct Address” describes this feeling so well, examining the odd dynamic of filling in as many details about a person as you can from inference, and never acting on the attraction but holding on to the memory for years because the feeling was more eventful than most actual events. Dacus’ performance is lodged somewhere between frustrated irritation and coy flirtation, and the pace of the song feels impatient and restless. She sounds like she’s trying to shake herself out of a bad habit, but in the end when she recalls a man she saw in an audience years ago, the details are rendered with so much affection that she makes a good case for these moments being actually quite meaningful and beautiful.

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Esperanza Spalding “Unconditional Love”

The main melody of “Unconditional Love” is so gorgeous and graceful that it’s hard to imagine that it was actually written, and didn’t just always exist somehow. Esperanza Spalding’s vocal is like this very elegant curved line that gently curls up to lovely high notes at the top of her range. She leaves a lot of negative space in the arrangement to keep that sound from getting too heavy and rich – the main chord progression is offset slightly, and the percussion seems to trace around the bass notes rather than click into a steady groove. The song sounds beautiful and confident but slightly off-balance. This fits the tone of the lyrics rather well, as Spalding is singing about redefining the traditional narrative of love to be more progressive and less restrictive. She’s absolutely certain about what she wants and has a very clear vision of an ideal situation, but it’s all sort of theoretical. Any bit of distance and doubt in the sound of this song is just the gap between the idea and reality, and the rest is a dare: Let’s do this, what do we have to be afraid of?

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Belinda Carlisle “Circle in the Sand”

Did you know that the same guy who co-wrote this song and other Belinda Carlisle hits like “Heaven Is A Place On Earth” is also responsible for co-authoring the majority of the Lana Del Rey catalog (including “Shades of Cool,” “Summertime Sadness,” “West Coast,” “Young & Beautiful,” and all of Honeymoon), plus “You Get What You Give” by New Radicals, “Falling Into You” by Celine Dion, “I Follow Rivers” by Lykke Li, “White Flag” by Dido, “Loud Places” by Jamie xx, and “Good to Love” by FKA Twigs? His name is Rick Nowels, and it’s shocking that he’s not more well known, particularly as he’s become this go-to collaborator for indie-identified artists who want to have crossover hits.

“Circle in the Sand,” co-written by Nowels with Ellen Shipley, was one of his earliest hits, and song that cast Carlisle in a new light. Carlisle’s work in the Go-Go’s traded on youthful exuberance and a punk/new wave approach to bubblegum pop, but her solo work – and this song in particular – took the sort of broad, romantic yearning she did so well and nudged it in a darker, witchier direction. There’s a massive Stevie Nicks influence on this song, from the melody and arrangement on down to Carlisle’s voice, which gets a bit raspier than usual. Nowels had actually worked with Nicks prior to writing for Carlisle, so it makes sense that this influence would carry over, and this music came out around the same time as Fleetwood Mac’s Tango in the Night, which has a very similar aesthetic mixing rock mysticism with high-gloss late ‘80s production.

I love the way the melodies in “Circle in the Sand” seem to move in circles, so much that if the song gets stuck in my head – which it does very often – it sorta loops around without moving into a bridge. This motif works really well in songs about romantic love, gently suggesting a one-track mind, or endless devotion. Carlisle’s vocal performance is so earnest that it’d be hard to read this as any kind of dark obsession. The longing in this song is so pure; the only negative feeling is the drag of being separated for any length of time.

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Pavement “Old to Begin”

I took art classes at Pratt on weekends in my senior year of high school, and took the train down to Manhattan from where I grew up in the suburbs. Not long after Brighten the Corners came out, I developed a routine upon arriving at Grand Central. As soon as the door of the Metro North train opened, I’d start the album on “Stereo,” with its wobbling intro shifting into a mellow strut. I’d play the album through on my way to Bleecker Street, and like clockwork, “Old to Begin” would start up as I got out of the subway train and walked up to the street. I heavily associate “Old to Begin” with that visual, and the feeling of being a teenager so hyped up about New York City and art and music. (Still my three favorite things!) I don’t think I felt ~cool~, but I definitely felt cooler than I’d ever been, and just wanted to soak up as much of Stephen Malkmus’ casual genius and effortlessly chill in the hope that I could be even a little more like that. (Still a thing I’m trying to do!)

Malkmus was 30 when Brighten the Corners was recorded, and it’s pretty clear from the lyrics that he was thinking a lot about aging, and what aspects of adulthood and domesticity were appealing to him, and what just seemed like an empty ritual. He’s thinking about a lot of things that inspire a lot of anxiety and tension in other people, but at most, there’s only traces of those feelings on Brighten. It’s not about the fear of growing older, but rather what happens when you’re old enough to feel comfortable being yourself, and relax and go with the flow a bit. Everything on the record sounds sunny and nonchalant, even when he drifts into moments of doubt or regret. Music is rarely so well-adjusted, with every note, thought, image, and feeling given weight, but also a sense of appropriate perspective.

“Old to Begin” is loosely about a young person’s idea of feeling old, which is usually melodramatic self-deprecation, or reaching for a status that hasn’t been attained just yet. There’s a nice sturdy sway to the rhythm of this song – it doesn’t quite convey swagger, but it does get across a playful confidence. There’s a litany of minor complaints in the lyrics, but the sound shrugs it all off, and nudges in the direction of some bolder, brighter feeling.

And underneath all that, “Old to Begin” is a very low-key breakup song. He’s telling you that he’ll “set you back” in the chorus, and proposes a mutually beneficial end to a relationship: “Time came that we drifted apart and found an unidentical twin.” I’ve always liked that line because there’s no ill will in it at all, just this acknowledgment that a relationship has run its course, and that it doesn’t have to be a sad thing. From his perspective, they both need something challenging and new, and he doesn’t want to get in the way. I can see how being told this could be infuriating, but I think it’s ultimately very thoughtful and kind.

Buy it from Amazon.

Belly “Puberty”

I have long associated the sound of this sound with the beginning of spring, and the first warmish, sunny days after weeks of winter greyness. The days when you see a lot of people willing the day into actual summer, and running around dressed like it’s the middle of July. There’s a sunny sound to “Puberty,” particularly in the chords and wordless vocal melodies, but there’s a slight chill to it too, and the rhythm at the start sounds slightly tentative, like the song is peeking out and looking for permission to gallop and strut.

Tanya Donnelly’s voice is what really makes this song, though. I love the way she sounds hopeful and a little coy on the verses, like she’s heading into some unknown situation with cautious optimism. I suppose that’s why it’s called “Puberty” – it’s the cusp of adulthood, and that all seems great except for everything that’s awkward and weird, which is a majority of it. The lyrics on the chorus and bridge are cryptic but lovely, with Donnelly imagines having deliberate control over some magical light. The contrast is clever – the rest of the song is about feeling uncertain, and the part that’s most emphatic is about imagining agency, power, and meaning.

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Enon “Conjugate the Verbs”

The structure of “Conjugate the Verbs” is so dynamic that it feels volatile, as though the song is a building that’s collapsing one floor at a time. Every time the chorus kicks in it seems like the bottom drops out of the song, and the plunging sensation is both thrilling and terrifying. The song is all about that moment, and as cryptic as the lyrics get, the feeling of them is keyed into a sense of relief that something is being – or has been – destroyed.

It’s probably the latter, since most of these lyrics are written in the past tense. (The provocative opening line – “she’s on an unconscious mission to destroy you” – could be an ongoing concern.) The line that always lingers in my head is the chorus, “when we were 12 or 22,” partly because I like the way that disparity in age undermines its nostalgia. It’s so specific yet entirely vague, just random times in a past that’s not worth holding on to.

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This is the fifth in my series of 1980s survey mixes, which are moving backwards in time from 1989 to the start of the decade. These compilations are designed to give more context to the music of the ‘80s, and give a sense of how various niches and trends overlapped in this cultural moment.

We are now in the weird, dark, ultra-Reagan/Thatcher center of the 1980s. This year lends itself to the survey concept pretty well, because if you only focused on representing 1985 in hits, you’d get this rather stifling and cheesy mix of pop and rock songs, and if you only focused on the cool music – the punk, the rap, the indie, the early techno – you wouldn’t get a crucial sense of opposition. People talk about the ‘80s in terms of “monoculture,” and lament that we can’t have that anymore, but I don’t think that’s true right now. We absolutely have monocultural things now; it’s the thriving oppositional subcultures that have faded away.

Please note that the majority of disc 5 in this set covers the “Roxanne Wars,” a key moment in early rap history. It was basically a meme.

Thanks to Rob Sheffield and Paul Cox for their help in compiling this survey. All of the previous surveys are still available – 1989, 1988, 1987, 1986. The 1984 survey should be ready at the end of March.

DOWNLOAD DISC 1

R.E.M. “Feeling Gravity’s Pull” / The Smiths “How Soon Is Now?” / Tears for Fears “Head Over Heels” / Level 42 “Something About You” / Til Tuesday “Voices Carry” / Prince “Pop Life” / Madonna “Crazy for You” / The Cure “Close to Me” / Whitney Houston “How Will I Know” / Scritti Politti “Wood Beez (Pray Like Aretha Franklin)” / Aretha Franklin “Freeway of Love” / DeBarge “Rhythm of the Night” / Sade “Smooth Operator” / Sheila E “A Love Bizarre” / Phil Collins “Sussudio” / Wham! “I’m Your Man” / U2 “Bad” (Live)

DOWNLOAD DISC 2

Simple Minds “Don’t You (Forget About Me)” / A-Ha “Take On Me” / Huey Lewis and the News “The Power of Love” / Hüsker Dü “Celebrated Summer” / Minor Threat “Good Guys (Don’t Wear White)” / David Lee Roth “Just A Gigolo/I Ain’t Got Nobody” / Run-D.M.C. “King of Rock” / Schoolly D “P.S.K. What Does It Mean?” / Tina Turner “We Don’t Need Another Hero (Thunderdome)” / Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers “Don’t Come Around Here No More” / Paul Young “Every Time You Go Away” / The Commodores “Nightshift” / Village People “Sex Over the Phone” / Klymaxx “I Miss You” / Wayne Smith “Under Me Sleng Teng” / Don Cherry “I Walk” / Yello “Oh Yeah” / Jellybean featuring Madonna “Sidewalk Talk” / Grace Jones “Slave to the Rhythm” / Siouxsie and the Banshees “Overground”

DOWNLOAD DISC 3

INXS “What You Need” / Talking Heads “And She Was” / New Order “Love Vigilantes” / Prefab Sprout “Faron Young” / Camper Van Beethoven “Take the Skinheads Bowling” / Volcano Suns “Jak” / Game Theory “Curse of the Frontier Land” / The Mary Jane Girls “In My House” / Sheena Easton “Sugar Walls” / Book of Love “Boy” / Dead or Alive “You Spin Me Round (Like a Record)” / World Class Wreckin’ Cru “World class” / Chicago Bears “Super Bowl Shuffle” / Marshall Jefferson “Move Your Body” / Ready for the World “Oh Sheila” / Tenor Saw “Ring the Alarm” / Kurtis Blow “If I Ruled the World” / Morris Day and the Time “Jungle Love” / Faith No More “We Care A Lot” / The Hooters “And We Danced” / The Verlaines “Lying In State” / Lone Justice “Sweet Sweet Baby (I’m Falling)” / Mötley Crüe “Home Sweet Home”

DOWNLOAD DISC 4

The Jesus and Mary Chain “Just Like Honey” / The Fall “Cruiser’s Creek” / The Minutemen “Tour-Spiel” / Black Flag “Annihilate This Week” / Megadeth “Killing Is My Business…and Business is Good” / Big Black “Racer X” / 10,000 Maniacs “Scorpio Rising” / The Replacements “Swingin’ Party” / Phranc “Amazons” / Ronnie Milsap “She Keeps the Home Fires Burning” / Professor Longhair “Mardi Gras in New Orleans” / John Cougar Mellencamp “Small Town” / Reba McEntire “How Blue” / Suzanne Vega “Marlene on the Wall” / Dolly Parton featuring Kenny Rogers “Real Love” / The Blasters “Dark Night” / Artists United Against Apartheid “Sun City” / Duran Duran “A View to A Kill” / Big Audio Dynamite “The Bottom Line” / Felt “Primitive Painters” / Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds “Tupelo” / Simply Red “Holding Back the Years”

DOWNLOAD DISC 5

U.T.F.O. “Roxanne, Roxanne” / Roxanne Shanté “Roxanne’s Revenge” / The Real Roxanne “The Real Roxanne” / Sparky D “Sparky’s Turn (Roxanne You’re Through)” / Dr. Freshh “Roxanne’s Doctor – The Real Man” / Doctor Rocx and Co. “Do the Roxanne (Dance)” / Gigolo Tony and Lacey Lace “The Parents of Roxanne” / Crush Groove “Yo My Little Sister (Roxanne’s Brothers” / Ralph Rolle “Roxanne’s A Man” / The East Coast Crew “The Final Word No More Roxanne (Please)” / Mantronix “Needle to the Groove” / Marley Marl featuring MC Shan “Marley Marl Scratch” / Word of Mouth featuring DJ Cheese “King Kut” / Too Short “Girl” / Strafe “Set It Off” / Miles Davis “Human Nature”

DOWNLOAD DISC 6

Kate Bush “Running Up That Hill” / Eurythmics “Would I Lie to You?” / Cameo “Attack Me With Your Love” / Stevie Wonder “Part Time Lover” / LL Cool J “I Can’t Live Without My Radio” / Alexander Robotnik “Problems D’Amour” / Talk Talk “Life’s What You Make It” / Depeche Mode “Shake the Disease” / Sonic Youth “Death Valley ’69” / Shriekback “Nemesis” / Circle Jerks “American Heavy Metal Weekend” / Bruce Springsteen “Glory Days” / Jimmy Barnes “Working Class Man” / The Judds “Girls Night Out” / Meat Puppets “Away” / Dead Milkmen “Bitchin’ Camaro” / Rosanne Cash “I Don’t Know Why You Don’t Want Me” / Tom Waits “Jockey Full of Bourbon” / Jason and the Scorchers “Last Time Around” / The Cult “She Sells Sanctuary” / Godley & Creme “Cry”

DOWNLOAD DISC 7

USA for Africa “We Are the World” / Starship “We Built This City” / Katrina and the Waves “I’m Walking On Sunshine” / Mick Jagger & David Bowie “Dancing in the Streets” / Eddie Murphy “Party All the Time” / John Parr “St. Elmo’s Fire (Man in Motion)” / Bryan Adams “Summer of ’69” / John Fogerty “Centerfield” / Fetchin’ Bones “A Fable” / Robyn Hitchcock “The Man with the Lightbulb Head” / Einsturzende Neubauten “Yu-Gung” / Model 500 “No UFO’s” / Lola “Wax the Van” / Nile Rodgers “State Your Mind” / Lisa Lisa and Cult Jam & Full Force “I Wonder If I Take You Home” / JM Silk “Music is the Key” / ABC “Be Near Me” / Teena Marie “Lovergirl” / Double “The Captain of Her Heart”

DOWNLOAD DISC 8

Dire Straits “Money for Nothing” / Mr. Mister “Broken Wings” / Boogie Boys “A Fly Girl” / Newcleus “I Wanna Be A B-Boy” / Jan Hammer “Crockett’s Theme” / Tangerine Dream “Love On A Real Train (Risky Business)” / Allison Moyet “Lover Resurrection” / The Fat Boys “Fat Boys Are Back” / Barrington Levy “Here I Come” / Alabama “Can’t Keep A Good Man Down” / The Chills “Kaleidoscope World” / Fishbone “Party at Ground Zero” / Foetus “Pigswill” / Shannon “Don’t You Wanna Get Away” / The Style Council “Walls Come Tumbling Down” / Marillion “Kayleigh” / Bryan Ferry “Slave to Love” / Corey Hart “Never Surrender” / Kenny Rogers “Crazy”

Helium “What Institution Are You From?”

If you pressed me at any point in the past 20 years or so to name the sexiest songs I know, this Helium track is one of the first things that would come to mind. A lot of it is in the bass groove and the thick, strange atmosphere of the recording. Some of it is in Mary Timony’s voice, which switches between this disaffected “cool girl” tone and a breathy, angelic tone. And I’d be lying to you if I didn’t admit that a bit of it had to do with the weird mix of anxiety and desperation in it, and the implication that this song could be coming from someone in a literal mental institution. There’s something very damaged and sordid and intense about this song, and that bleakness is kinda sexy to me.

The way Timony says the title phrase sounds very glib, very “whatever.” It could just be mean-spirited flirtation, a cruel parody of pick-up line. I love the way the verses are kinda aimless and dead-eyed, but the emotions become more urgent when the chorus clicks in. She’s basically singing about having a crush on someone you don’t really like and makes you feel bad, but you feel powerless around them and that is calming in some way. She’s indecisive, and unsure about how much agency she has in anything. “Everything that I do makes me want you,” she sings. “Aren’t I supposed to?” It’s not surprising to me now that I connected with this song so much as a teenager – it’s such a great evocation of having no idea what to make of your attraction to other people, and just figuring that all sorts of shitty feelings are just how it’s meant to be.

Attempt to buy it from Amazon.

10,000 Maniacs “Candy Everybody Wants”

“Candy Everybody Wants” is an essentially condescending song, but when I was a teenager, I slightly misheard some key lyrics in a way that made it much more so. Each time Natalie Merchant sang “so their minds” I heard “southern minds,” so it turned into this song about how everyone in the south is a hateful rube, and being a New Yorker listening to a band of New Yorkers, I just rolled with that. Thankfully, I was wrong about that.

The song is, in fact, a cheerful parody of cynicism, in which Natalie Merchant sings about a culture that thrives on indulging vice. The main hook is a shrug: “Hey! Give ‘em what they want.” The quasi-Motown arrangement makes it all sound fun and breezy, like the song could literally just be about candy. To further hammer it home, “Candy Everybody Wants” is structured so that it’s basically three different chorus hooks in rotation, because people like hooks, and hey, give ‘em what they want, right?

It’s hard to imagine a song like this being a hit now, or anyone even a little bit like Natalie Merchant being a pop star in this era. Even in a period when the internet media is full of think pieces informed by social justice rhetoric, anyone as Pollyanna-ish, prim, and politically didactic as 10,000 Maniacs-era Merchant would have trouble catching on in the indie world, much less crossing over to the mainstream. (The intro to the video of this song actually includes the phrases “marginalized member of a spectator democracy” and “manufactured consent.”) But I think this song is very relevant right now, as this “hey, let’s shamelessly indulge the worst in people” has become the guiding principle of Donald Trump’s presidential candidacy, and if we’re being honest, most of the internet economy. Merchant is asking the listener to consider who benefits from vice, and everyone being distracted from the incredibly boring important things in society. But asking is all she’s doing. Everything else is just giving you what you want.

Buy it from Amazon.