I’ve had it in my head for two days now, and so I’ve thought a little about what the words mean. Like with almost every song of theirs, there’s a lot of ways to think about it. I can’t prove any connection to Nietzsche or Alice in Wonderland (or even really understand them), and so, like with so many other songs, I instead attach meaning to a few lines, building a sort of emotional atmosphere to define the album. It’s easier, and probably more accurate in most cases. Even if I get some words wrong. With this song, it’s the “jump from the hook” and “they got no right” and the “whoaa-ooa-ooaa!” that, draped over that incredible crescendo of arpeggios and the drums that blow up at 2:24, make this song so invigorating and optimistic. The whole thing is just completely perfect.
The Shins — Sleeping Lessons (The Rac Mix)
You’ve probably heard the original, so: remix! Who ‘The Rac’ is remains a mystery, and while the drums just aren’t the same here, the fist-pumping bass more than makes up for it. Some nice female back-up vocals too. One for the collection, anyway.
Once, I got up from studying on some upper floor, took the elevator down, and just as I walked through the library doors and out into the sun the drums of the original kicked in and suddenly everything I had ever wanted to do was bright and possible. It’s the kind of thing that makes you feel that way.
Blackalicious — Make You Feel That Way
I somehow missed “Make You Feel That Way” in high school. Well, not somehow. Complete radio avoidance, the shunning of hip-hop, and an IDM obsession. That’s how. How I discovered it, several years late, was something that happens a lot with me — in a mashup.
The Kleptones — My People Feel Like That In The Morning
Interestingly, the music behind the words was “In the Morning of the Magicians,” the first Flaming Lips song I ever heard and probably my favorite from “Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots” (because of the drums, what else?). Plus Missy Elliott, so, come on, this thing is positively bulletproof. Download the whole album, you won’t be sorry.


