Pop Music Challenge- Feist

Im gonna kick off this Pop Music Challenge with an old favorite. Feist is just lovely; not only is she a hot lady who plays music, but she also writes some really catchy shit. Shes been a part of some really neat side projects, like her work in Broken Social Scene and her awesome rendition of 1234 for Sesame Street, and her solo works have been continuing into more interesting territory. From her debut forward (2004s Let It Die) she had my attention, kicking off her career with tracks like One Evening and Secret Heart, but really snaring me in with track 2, Mushaboom.

Again, this shit is just pop gold, and the video compliments the song greatly: from the start of the video, she gets out of bed singing along to her own song being played on the radio. The lyrics talk about optimism and being happy with what you have, with dreamy undertones of the possibilities of life and love with a properly stoked imagination. When she suddenly enters the dream world, where everyone on the streets turn into her backup dancers and things happen because she wills them into existence, it is just so damned fun and happy. I love the effect of having the song enter full range stereo as she transitions from her life in the apartment to her dream life in the streets.



let it die

This Music Moment-2005

This one might be short but sweet, cuz its late and i should go to bed.

I remember this one nice day a while back, talking to a lovely girl i kind of knew from highschool up on the facebook chat, reconnecting with her electronically and sharing some music. At the time, a bunch of the songs she showed me were unknown, but quickly went on to be huge. The best two examples of the stuff she was showing me was Sweet Disposition by the Temper Trap, that song heavily featured first in the 500 Days of Summer trailer, and then in commercials all over; and then 1901 by Phoenix. Although this came in a prior conversation, this girl was on the ball. So she also showed me my first Feist, who i was only vaguely familiar with her and her work in Broken Social Scene. Who knew this incredibly cute chick was writing incredibly cute pop music with soul, and working effortlessly; her first two albums have been released within years of each other, but she hasnt released anything recently. Hmm..

So on that lovely facebook-chat-filled night, she showed me Mushaboom, off Feists first solo album Let it Die. This is such a great pop song, and the video works so well with its theme. Its about making the best out of what you have, sung with such an uniquely optimistic voice. One of its deeper breezy lines, my favorite line in the song, goes "And we'll collect the moments one by one/ i guess thats how the futures done". The video is just great. I like how she is singing along to her own song as if its on the radio, and then getting lost in it and floating into fantasy as she levitates down to the ground to join the dance party in the streets.