Tynan's Anger

SONGS OF THE DECADE #94

[For more info, read the Ground Rules of The Song of The Decade List]

Deerhunter - Nothing Ever Happens (2008)


Everytime I listen to Deerhunter, I am amazed at how much the band is able to do with so little. The turbulence that Bradford Cox has lived through would make a lesser artist produce a work too bleak to impress the non-suicidal. With "Nothing Ever Happens," Cox turns his inward suffering outward. Without losing his individuality or convention-defying style, he deviates just enough where he can provide a song that at least resembles pop, which may be just enough to bring someone down from the ledge. Other than Nick Drake, no one but Cox has turned deeply ingrained internal suffering into art in a without downplaying the bleakness. Some of the most gifted artists are brought down by the demands of a society that loves them. Some are brought down before they ever get that chance. For the latter group, "Nothing Ever Happens" is a signature song.

Labels: 2000s, deerhunter, lists, nothing ever happens, songs of the decade