Tynan's Anger

SONGS OF THE DECADE #98

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

Times New Viking - (My Head)  (2008)

When the commercial foundations of recorded music shattered, it became increasingly difficult to distinguish actual musical innovation from face-value gimmickry. Times New Viking is the only band where the potential for dubious intentions did not matter. I could talk about the significance of the song's parenthetical title and it’s cranial assault, but the truth is as soon as you hear this song, within 10 seconds you have made up your mind whether it's for you. For those that like lo-fi as an aesthetic, Times New Viking is as perfect as Slayer was to death metal fans. For those who liked pop songs, the production values of this song were too much of a strain to overcome the pop melodies. For those that were told to like this band by a tastemaker of some kind, it was a perfect litmus test to distinguish personal, communal, and critical tastes. Times New Viking's intelligent songwriting, dabbling into the extremes of low-budget recording, and genial singing style made them a favorite of critics raised on Pavement. Personally, I liked the song a lot more when it first came out, when I open to any level of noise. Even now, as I've grown more protective of my eardrums "(My Head)" is still a rather useful barometer of my limits. I still can't help loving this song, and I’m not sure whether that's in spite of its loudness or because of it. Maybe that's why lo-fi was interesting in the first place?

Labels: 2000s, my head, pop music, songs of the decade, times new viking