CoolDad's Top 5 Favorite Choruses of 2013

All For "One"

The chorus is the most important part of any pop song. If it's a good one, then you remember the song and turn up the radio every time the song comes on, waiting for your chance to sing along when the chorus comes around. I'm not talking about silly earworm type things like, "I live for the applause, applause, applause. / I live for the applause -plause. / Live for the applause -plause." For me, a great chorus comes from either setting some clever wordplay to a memorable melody or from getting a big idea into, maybe, just a few words that stay with you.

I'm gonna come right out and confess something: This list is really just a vehicle designed to let me tell you how much I love my number 1 chorus of 2013. I think, though, that building a list just so that you can have something sit at number 1 is a useful exercise. It made me think about all of the other great choruses from this year and why number 1 stood out from the crowd.

Oh, and there won't be any Katy Perry or Maroon 5 on here. Nothing against them, but I really only hear those things in the minivan. I'm gonna stick to the stuff I really loved.

5. "Life" -- Modern Hut

"I'm not proud of the things that I've done in this life. / But that's alright / 'Cause I will die."

Joe Steinhardt and Screaming Females' Marissa Paternoster take turns on this line both to open the song and after each of the verses. I guess -- like most of the record -- it's kind of a downer.

This can be read as, "I'm worthless, but that's ok. Eventually the world will be rid of me." I prefer to take the slightly more upbeat angle of, "Life is short, so I'm gonna keep plugging away, doing the best I can, even though I kinda suck at it."



4. "I Need My Girl" -- The National

"I need my girl. / I need my girl."

It makes sense that one of Matt Berninger's simplest, most easily understood songs would contain this very simple statement about missing his wife. I know that when I'm separated from CoolMom for any length of time -- even though I keep myself busy with the kids and other things -- I find myself saying the same thing to myself in the quiet moments.



3. "Runner" -- Laura Stevenson

"The summer hurts! / The summer hurts! / The summer hurts! / The summer hurts! / The summer hurts! / The summer hurts!"

Stevenson's Wheel isn't about the cycle of life or the changing of seasons. Instead, it's often about futility, plodding, and dealing with life's relentless beat downs. When it first comes around, this chorus is preceded by the phrase, "Like a steady beating."

I think we can all remember periods characterized by personal lows from which we thought we'd never dig ourselves out, and this chorus captures that for me.



2. "Ohm" -- Yo La Tengo

"'Cause this is it for all we know / So say goodnight to me / And lose no more time / No time. / Resisting the flow."

This chorus is, basically, the mission statement for Fade. Indie rock veterans, Yo La Tengo, made an album about aging and the passage of time. To me, anyway, Fade tells us that life is really just a collection of moments. Some of the smallest can be the most special, and it's important to recognize and remember them.



1. "Step" -- Vampire Weekend

"The gloves are off. / The wisdom teeth are out. / What you on about? / I feel it in my bones. / I feel it in my bones. / I'm stronger now. / I'm ready for the house. / Such a modest mouse. / I can't do it alone. / I can't do it alone."

Maybe, for my money, the best song in the Vampire Weekend catalog. There's a lot going on here, but I love this chorus. When Ezra Koenig says that "What you on about?" I smirk every time. I'm not even sure why -- just the way he says it, maybe.

"Step" and its chorus contain all that people love and hate about Vampire Weekend: The precious chamber pop, the overly literate lyrics, and a density of references. I tend to like all those things.

Ezra and the band are older now. They're not kids anymore, and Modern Vampires of the City really has them exploring some of life's bigger issues. "Step" harkens back to some of the stuff on their first record, like "M79," and almost makes fun of that product of the younger Vampire Weekend while improving upon it by leaps and bounds.

Flying Solo Edition

CoolMom Left for a Business Trip Friday

So CoolMom is winging her way to Asia. That means I'll be flying solo with the lovely cooldaughters for the next week (with the exception of the Asbury Music Awards on December 12th for which my parents have graciously agreed to provide coverage). I'm not complaining. We've already got "breakfast for dinner" scheduled for tomorrow. There will be swim meets and school holiday shows to keep us busy.

I'm sure we'll have a great time together.

But...

...Well, this is one of my favorite songs of the year and, maybe, the most straightforward song that Matt Berninger has ever written.

Rock on.

Undead Edition

Zombie Walk Eve Friday

The Asbury Park Zombie Walk is back tomorrow, and the goal is to retake the Guinness World Record for largest gathering of zombies or something. If you're into that, then be aware that the counting for the record begins at 3:00pm.

Here's a song from The National about going through life feeling like a zombie. It's always sounded to me like Matt's singing about something that goes a little deeper than make-up here. I'm posting this Letterman video, since the excellent official video kind of takes away a little bit from the zombie-ness of it all.

Anyway, shamble, shuffle, and

Rock on.

'

Caitlin Rose Covers The National

"Pink Rabbits"

Covers. I love 'em. But you knew that.

Nashville's Caitlin Rose has just released an excellent cover of The National's "Pink Rabbits" off of that band's Trouble Will Find Me. The song contains, I think, some of Matt Berninger's best one-liners on the record like

"I was a television version of a person with a broken heart."

and the repeated "You said it would be painless. / It wasn't that at all."

Rose's version brings out the country feeling that, it turns out, has been there all along in all those depressing National songs.

MomVee, in CoolDad Music's first-ever guest post, did a review of the Caitlin Rose concert she attended a while back. This reminds me that I've got to get MomVee back here to do something else for us.

The National Released Their Album Today

Trouble Will Find Me

The National released Trouble Will Find Me today. When the band announced the album, they also announced a series of tour dates, including a night at Brooklyn's Barclays Center on June 5th. I'm kind of off going to arena shows, so I was hoping for something to pop up the way it did just before High Violet came out in 2010. That year, I was able to scoop up tickets for CoolMom and me to a pre-release show at the Bell House. To this day, that stands as one of the best concert experiences I've ever had.

I was excited today when the band announced, to celebrate release day, that they'd be playing a series of surprise shows around New York City -- a lunchtime set at Brooklyn's tiny Sycamore Bar & Flower Shop, a 5pm show at Public Assembly, and a 10pm show at Mercury Lounge. I readied myself to grab a Mercury Lounge ticket when they went on sale at noon. I think I made my ticket request at some time between 12:00:01 and 12:00:03. Alas, it was not to be. Whatever luck I had back in 2010 when I snagged those Bell House tickets just wasn't there today.

It looks like I won't be leaving my trivia team in the lurch again this week. I'll just have to settle for watching last night's Letterman performance and listening to Trouble Will Find Me, which I plan to review later this week.

The National's Latest Video

"Sea of Love"

Being a fan of both the mindie and dad rock genres, I'm pretty excited that the next couple of weeks will see new album releases from both Vampire Weekend and The National.

The National's Trouble Will Find Me comes out on May 21st. It seems almost impossible for the band to continue the great run that they've been on with Alligator, Boxer, and High Violet; but I've really enjoyed what I've heard so far.

Yesterday The National released the video for "Sea of Love" from their upcoming LP, which pays homage to a 1990's video by Russian punk band, Zvuki Mu. The song is a good one and viewing the videos side by side is pretty cool.

The National Announce Dates, New Record

Next Album Slated for May

The National took to social media today to announce some new tour dates in addition to their hometown performance at Brooklyn's Barclay's Center with Youth Lagoon in June.  They'll be joined by Dirty Projectors for several of the newly-announced shows.

In addition, the band announced that their next album is coming in May, though they haven't yet given a title or the exact date.

Alligator, Boxer, and High Violet would all get spots on my favorite albums list; and CoolMom and I had one of our most enjoyable concert experiences seeing The National at The Bell House just before High Violet's release.  It would be great if another tune-up show like that popped up as a local alternative to the Barclay's mega-show.

I'm pretty sure I've posted this before; but, for those of you that know her, see if you can't spy CoolMom in this video just as Matt comes down from the stage.

Down With Joffrey Edition

Friday Night Mobile Blogging

Rock on...