"Somehow It Got Easy To Laugh Out Loud"

December 31, 2011 10:26 PM

The AV Club has started a really cool feature called "One Track Mind." It takes one artist/group and one song, and asks them to talk about the inspiration or circumstances behind it. Then they perform it (warning: advertising, but worth it).

I think all the videos are great, but some personal favorites are:

The Walkmen's "We've Been Had"

Bob Mould's (Sugar) "Hoover Dam"

St. Vincent's "Surgeon"

Have a fucking awesome 2012, fellow mefites!

posted by bardic (14 comments total)

I found the Mathew Sweet one a little disturbing. YMMV.
posted by stinkycheese at 10:37 PM on December 31, 2011

I don't know about disturbing, but his clothes and the decor of his house make it look like he relaxes professionally.
posted by Roman Graves at 11:13 PM on December 31, 2011

The St. Vincent link should be this I think.

Can't get over how wonderful she is.
posted by lookoutbelow at 12:20 AM on January 1, 2012

There was an online zine that used to do articles like this. This piece on Sarge's "Homewrecker" is the only one I remember, but I think it stuck because teenager me didn't catch on to the whole divorce angle, and suddenly the song seemed way cooler as a result. Made me wish they had writeups about more songs I knew at the time.
posted by chrominance at 1:11 AM on January 1, 2012 [3 favorites]

St. Vincent's "Surgeon"

Holy crap. I'm not particularly inclined to like the album cut of this song, but I might be in love after having heard that live version.
posted by weston at 1:54 AM on January 1, 2012

Ben Folds is one thoughtful dude. Worth the FPP for his interview/performance.
posted by kuanes at 4:45 AM on January 1, 2012

That made me dig "Copper Blue" out and start fiddling with turntable cables. Thanks, bardic - this is going to keep me occupied.
posted by running order squabble fest at 5:50 AM on January 1, 2012 [1 favorite]

The AV Club has really been stepping it up with their video work. This awesome documenting of the process and craft of songwriting totally balances out the folks-in-an-office-talking-to-each-other elsewhere on the site.
posted by Maaik at 6:53 AM on January 1, 2012

Love this series. The Archers of Loaf one is pretty solid.
posted by Vhanudux at 7:28 AM on January 1, 2012 [1 favorite]

Mould doesn't really say too much about the song, but boy, I just plain like Bob Mould, and I think I know what I want my next pair of glasses to look like.
posted by benito.strauss at 7:31 AM on January 1, 2012 [2 favorites]

Thanks for this great link. The Matthew Sweet and Bob Mould interviews brought me back to my first year of college. Ah, we were all so much younger then, and thinner. Except Bob Mould, who appears to be in stupendous shape.
posted by rednikki at 11:06 AM on January 1, 2012

Nothing to add save that Annie Clark is, alternately, the bee's knees and the cat's meow.
posted by the sobsister at 11:13 AM on January 1, 2012 [2 favorites]

I <3 Dessa.

(also, if you haven't seen the 4AD Sessions video for St. Vincent's "Surgeon"... you must)
posted by eyeballkid at 8:35 PM on January 1, 2012 [1 favorite]

Damn, that 4AD session version of Surgeon is awesome.

Also my favorite part of the Pirate Archer excursion was naming his club lacrosse team the "Archers of Loaf-Crosse"
posted by stratastar at 9:48 PM on January 1, 2012