I Shit Music

You may not think you’ve heard the band Fun. yet – yeah, that’s right, with a period like moe. But I assure you this song has leaked into your ears from somewhere. When it’s in the distance, it has the anonymity of any random pop-rock radio tune. Up close though – it’s fucking awesome.

Now this band’s been around for a few years – but they’re calling this latest album their actual debut some reason. Whatever.  Here’s the thing… I think this is positively the best thing they’ll ever do. That 6-note jump up in the melody is a rarity in pop, and the ability to have a groovy hook come from that is sometimes a once in a lifetime kind of thing. Not that the band isn’t good, but I just don’t think they got the lasting power. And that happens. But sometimes the one hit that comes from a one-hit wonder is a killer fucking tune, and think this has a good shot at being the real record of the year. Actual Grammy-style, Record of the Year. I wish they could keep it going. At their other best moments, they do sound rather Queen-esque, especially lead singer Nate Ruess, and that’s obviously meant as a huge compliment, but I’m not sure if it’s all there. But what the fuck do I know? We’ll see.

So forget about the original, the hot shit is this acoustic version that’s blown up  lately. I can’t believe it’s from November – I guess this tune being in some Super Bowl ad really launched it. Anyway, here’s why I love this shit: First off, getting Janelle Monae on your track is huge. If you don’t know who this girl is yet, then you’re out of the loop on modern female James Browns. Girl kills it. Total pro. Class act. Spot on shit.  She becomes whatever song she is singing, and on this video you can just see her digging into this cut – it’s radical – not something that you see in shit on the Top 40 these days. Let alone at fucking number one and on the cover of Billboard Magazine.

Anywho, what would have blown in this video is if they did the cheesy look at each other and smile thing that most duets do. They don’t because Janelle is so locked into the music. And it makes it even better when you see Ruess anticipating her vocals and getting that sly smile because he knows how amazing it’s about to sound. Great cut, killer version. I hope I don’t get sick of it once I’ve heard it 200 times in 2012. Again, we’ll see.

And here’s Janelle’s “Tightrope” from 2 years ago – just in case you let this one slip by.