“A few days late and a dollar short, I guess!” – me, posting this second ever Track of the Week a few days late and generally being short on dollars as I am still (and forever will be) unemployed. Since we last spoke (a week and a day ago), I can count the number of times I left my apartment on one hand. That’s not great. Should probably make more of an effort to get outside. Probably won’t though. Let’s get into it.
SECOND EVER TRACK OF THE WEEK: Young Love (feat. Laura Marling) – Mystery Jets (2008)
I’m not gonna lie, I struggled to pick a track this week. I was waiting for something to hit me like Shy did… I guess it’s true what they say: lightning never strikes the same place twice. (Do they say that? Is that how they say it? Don’t answer that.) I’m also really worried about looking like a try-hard. If Future Me is anything like Present Me, she’s kind of a judgmental bitch and I don’t want her to think l’m putting on airs to seem ~cool~ on the internet. Okay I stepped back for a moment and reflected on my social media presence and that sentence and have decided I am at no risk of anyone thinking I’m putting on airs. If anything, I should probably try to put on some airs.
Anyway, back to the track. I love reading about modern music history. I read and loved Please Kill Me: The Uncensored Oral History of Punk and Meet Me in the Bathroom: Rebirth and Rock and Roll in New York City 2001-2011. (Cannot recommend these books enough.) I spend hours going down Wikipedia rabbit holes about different movements, artists, bands, songs, cities, bars, cultural moments. It’s been one of my most destructive procrastination hobbies for years. I think it’s the perfect outlet for my love of pop culture and my history major tendencies. Most recently, I’ve been loving the discourse about “landfill indie.” What is landfill indie? Who’s having discourse? This Vice article and this NME response are a good place to start.
Wherever you fall on the discourse, whatever you want to call the indie pop/rock boom in the UK (and beyond) in the early/mid 2000s… I love it. Iconic. Good vibes. Iconic hooks. Riffs. Grooves. Music words, of which I know many. I mean, it’s predictable that I love it. My favorite band ever of all time for all of eternity is Arctic Monkeys, firmly rooted in landfill and yet fully transcending the genre. The point is: this week’s track of the week is a “landfill indie” song. I think? Mystery Jets were around before “landfill indie,” but this song was released in the middle of the “landfill” era and sonically feels like “landfill,” in the best way. (I’m very sorry to Mystery Jets if this is incorrect and I’m just talking shit. I love your song.)
Listen to this track once and you’ll be thinking, “This track is so catchy. Almost… too catchy?” Listen to this track twice and you’ll be thinking, “Definitely too catchy. Familiar? Definitely familiar. Why?” Listen to this track thrice and, if you’re me, you’ll be thinking, “MUSIC AND LYRICS OH MY GOD IT’S THE MELODY FROM MUSIC AND LYRICS??” My family was… obsessed with the 2007 film Music and Lyrics, starring Hugh Grant and Drew Barrymore. I don’t think that’s an overstatement. And this song, released in 2008, notably the year after 2007, has the same chorus melody as Way Back Into Love, the main song from the film. Look, I’m not here to point fingers. Or make accusations. Or stir the pot. Or start beef. Or get anyone slapped by legal. I’m just here to make an observation.
I don’t know what happened in that studio. All I know is that whatever happened… I love it. It’s a bop and a half. The feature from Laura Marling brings such a dynamic depth to the track. Dynamic depth. Who do I think I am tossing around phrases like that? What I’m trying to say is, it’s a fun song. I’ve had it on repeat for 4 days, and I don’t think I’ll be stopping any time soon. Good music doesn’t need to be made by great artists. No shade to Mystery Jets, they have some bops! But they won’t be remembered as the voice of a generation, y’know? I guess that is a little shade. No it’s not. Sometimes, the best music is fun music. This is a mess. There’s nothing wrong with music that’s just fun. I happen to love music that is just fun. Okay I’m gonna go before I talk myself in more circles. Stream Young Love for clear skin. Stream Way Back Into Love for health and wealth.
Also, sorry, one more thing – I will say… Mystery Jets are still together. Years active: 1992-present. That’s low-key impressive! High-key? Maybe. They released an album at the end of 2020. Go off, I guess!
Okay bye.
reina snophia 