"Counting Backwards" by The Velvet Teen from the album The Great Beast February E.P. and Comasynthesis E.P. (Plus Minus Equals). 2000.
The final sprint to the end of 2011's playlist begins here. This "backwards"-in-title song leads the last third of the end-of-the-year mix, so feel free to look back over the.. what, five posts (hah?) for the previous 35 songs building the completed two-thirds thus far. I only wish each of those 35 had their own feature post, but hey! New third, new start.. perhaps a new determination to round out the year properly ::coughcough:: well.. err, we'll see.
Here, lemme admit it. When I picked the theme back in January for the trio of mini-starters (i.e. the "backwards" in title thing), I only had those last two in my music bank. Why, anticipated the Zee? For one, I wanted to continue picking oddball restrictions, like year one's 80s novelty songs or year two's lesser known Seattle-area bands (the first year of Song of the Week wasn't on a blog, but I do have record of it!). Mainly, though, I always enjoy expanding musical boundaries, especially my own. And what better excuse to do so than a semi-obligatory half-commitment after flying an eight month red-eye on volatile Future Airways? I suppose turbulence disrupted scheduled maintenance, but out of the botched landing limps "Counting Backwards" with nary a blemish. I'll give a shout out to the runner-up, though perhaps with the "Backwards" theme I could make a next-to-last joke. ...Nah, here's second place, for curiosity's sake: "Wave Backwards to Massachusetts" by Hallelujah the Hills.
Now, you might find it a bit risky-odd for me to guarantee such a ..err.. let's go with 'prestigious' placement for some future song I've yet to hear. I know, for example, some folks who only hunt down a new track if it becomes an earworm over several weeks, not bothering to dig for related albums or artists or garnish their library in any other way but extended chance. Everyone works different. I might hear a ten-second snippet from some commercial that funks a suave groove and I rush to google the ad before I forget its bodacious sound. I suppose then luck played a role in revealing at least two nice songs that buff the shoulders for the concluding roster. Or perhaps its just the girth of my symphonic palette. I shan't hear it called settling though!
It seems that the Velvet Teen are much more indie-credible than this featured song may have scribbled on the resume. The almost sporadic rhythms in "Tokyoto" sound, in comparison, as if each band member had their warm-up and practice of "Counting Backwards" recorded preemptively... while playing in different buildings. Not calling the latter a slosh, though. I quite like its unconventional existence. It's just "Counting Backwards" sounds like the New Radicals while "Tokyoto", and most others, almost get halfway to Deerhoof's level of Indie-ustrialization. Maybe.
What can I say about this song with just a handful more listens then your probable first? The overall harmonics mellow a set of lyrics detailing the second efforts put forth in a relationship. If you wanna get a bit personal, I relate to the lines "I don't give up without a fight! Here I come; I'll find you" and "It's a simple thing: you and me, you and me." The vocalist never gets too over-the-top nor preachy with his words, and always fits in smoothly with the instruments. Plus, that little low-fi drum fill at the start is slick.
Perhaps this tune inspires you to discover new beats as well. There's a song lined up later that really digs into the "pick-a-random-word-and-find-some-tracks-with-it-in-the-title" thing that I occasionally do, but until we get there, you might want to experiment with the idea yourself! Hey, it'd be a nifty little discussion when that post comes: readers commenting with their findings in response to mine, and so forth. Certainly would be the first real back-'n'-forth interactive on the music side of this blog. Errr... happy hearing hunting? I think it's time for a hearing raid! Heh! ... ... .........
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