“Can’t Tell If This Is Fantasy Or Culture Shock…”
Because I’ve declared it to be New Pornographers Week here at Wings For Wheels (look for my review of Challengers tomorrow), today’s Song I Never Get Tired Of is by…wait for it…The New Pornographers! I’ve chosen ”All For Swinging You Around” from The Electric Version.
Loading...The first thing that hits you is the modern take on a Merseyside rhythm – a little harder, not as R&B-influenced. You instantly start bobbing your head like Ringo. Then you notice how well the guitar crunch is balanced out by the cheesy one-note keyboard melody, and you know you’re in for something special.
Neko’s singing with the NPs is so different from her solo work. She’s playful and sexy, like the girls in the video, for example. She rides the melody so well, and when the harmonies come in after the second couplet, it’s impossible to not be smiling. But the coolest part is when everything drops out and she sings the title against some killer tom-tom work by drummer Kurt Dahle.
I still have no idea what the lyrics are about, but words aren’t the point with the New Pornographers. All the meaning you need to fall in love with them is captured in the exuberance of the music, and it’s one that will make you happy every time you come back to it.
Viva la dancing girls!!!
We should also point out that the video features the absolute whitest Double Dutch ever committed to video.
Think of all the lost productivity at the coffee shop for the double dutch filming.
It was certainly good enough to allow a crash of my Windows ME laptop. I’m still ambivalent about Neko, though…
Would your opinion change if she put dancing girls in her videos?
I’m not sure about that. We can talk about that in another forum, briskly. Every time I’ve seen her though, which has mostly been on Letterman, it just seems as though there’s something she’s not saying/singing. I’m very patient, but I also might be wrong.