Songs I Missed: Mystery Jets/Wild Beasts

So, every year around Christmastime, I go on a binge and read as many "best songs of the year" lists as I can. Honestly, this is where the majority of my musical discoveries come from in a given year. It's like waiting for Oscar season, right? Because of this, I find a lot of songs that I would've included in my own list, had I heard them a long time ago. Here are some of those songs.

Also, yes, we will spend the rest of 2k9 discussing the best songs of 2k8. 2k9 songs will come in 2k10.



Mystery Jets – Two Doors Down
Mystery Jets – Two Doors Down

I'll never get your name wrong again, Mystery Jets. Granted, it's a horrible name and "Flaming Jets" sounds much better… and while their cover of "Bleeding Love" got the 60-spot on my favorite songs list only because I was so sick of the original… this is the song that earns them my respect. Which I'm sure they've been aching for.

So the 80s were pretty big in 2008. And by that, I mostly mean "M83 released an album that sounds like the 80s this year." The thing is, I didn't really like the M83 album too much. It took me until I listened to "Two Doors Down" to figure out just why: the album was kind of condescending. It's like M83 looked at John Hughes soundtracks for inspiration and filtered it all through the past twenty years of development, as if to say "the 80s had some great music, but I can do better!" That's a bit jerkish, I think. The 80s, thanks to Rubik's Cubes and stuff like that, will always be the comedy decade that people recall for irony's sake or party themes. The fact that there really was some unironically fantastic music from the 80s is hidden underneath Michael Ian Black.

And that's kind of why I'm so against Saturdays=Youth. M83 could fight the VH1ism, but not all the way. He would be… only post-post-post-80s, in which post-80s is the 90s (of course), post-post-80s is Michael Ian Black's commentary on snap bracelets, and post-post-post-80s is M83 going "hey guys, maybe it wasn't that bad."

Which makes "Two Doors Down" post-post-post-post-80s, or the Mystery Jets saying "M83 doesn't have any balls, the 80s were awesome." They literally went back in time, forgot everything they've listened to over the past twenty years, and wrote a song that would've been a huge hit in 1985, without a hint of irony. And it's amazing.

(Maybe there's a little bit of irony, but only in the lyrics, which would've also been ironic enough in 1985.)

That chorus. Holy shit, that chorus. I can't even describe it. If I had listened to it in time, that chorus would've gotten this song into my top ten, Q-Tip be damned. I don't even wanna talk about it anymore, it's something so pure and holy I shouldn't be allowed to even think about it.

And that sax solo sounds enough like Clarence Clemons for me to already love it unconditionally. God damn.

I think this post is technically post-post-post-post-post-80s, right?



Wild Beasts – Brave Bulging Buoyant Clairvoyants
Wild Beasts – Brave Bulging Buoyant Clairvoyants

I came for the video:


I stayed for Hayden Thorpe's voice. From what I've heard on their myspace, he tends to spend a lot more of his time in falsetto, which is a real shame. The best part about "Brave Bulging Buoyant Clairvoyants" is the moments in which he digs below the clouds and goes into that growl. It exists somewhere between Isaac Brock and Antony. did I just say that

Unfortunately the song is about a minute too long.

Welp!