Also amused by the Nana LP. My English mother’s (b. 1934) only music was Nana, she had tens of her albums and would play them regularly when I was a little kid (long time ago…speaking of which, I’ll have to go wikipedia if Mouskouri is still alive, me mum is not).

Second of all, this: “It’s okay! You don’t have to play my song so much! Play some other songs! We can listen to different music!” made me laugh very hard.

They somehow got Prince at the ceremony to present the award–and bear in mind this was when a voluntary Prince sighting was rare, before his late-career re-entry into the culture and the subsequent full-court media press. His being there was, as they used to say, kinda like a big deal. He came out resplendent in a Princeified yellow hoodie ensemble, and dutifully read the nominees in that textbook Prince Voice, just fathomlessly blase. After he opened the envelope and read the winner to himself, but just before he announced it to the rest of us, he paused and said, sounding–as he could in his best moments–like no one else but at the same time like anybody else, “Oh, I *love* this song.”

Coming from a dude who 1) was known to be tight with his compliments to other artists, especially contemporary artists, and especially especially younger contemporary artists, and 2) was motherfucking *Prince*, that little gush must have split Wally’s wig.

it’s nice enough but nothing i would ever think to revisit, tbh.

Well….now’s your chance!

Over the course of the next couple YEARS, where it seemed like it just never went away, it slowly, slowly, slowly won me over completely. It’s a remarkable song. SO MANY hooks in it, like every two bars there’s a new melody that’s just as catchy as the previous one, tying in to the main melody, but somehow different. The buildup (honest to god patience in a 21st century pop single!), the layering (I imagine an alternate reality where Fiona Apple’s “Hot Knife” became a #1 hit), two powerful vocal performances, lyrics that hit you in the gut once you start paying attention to them. Super, super cool song. One of the best (maybe THE best) radio hits of the decade and century as far as I’m concerned.

I’m with you in the minority.

I still go hard for the Supermayer remix of Heart’s a Mess:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TDSvqq9tXQ4&ab_channel=KOMPAKT

Looking back, it’s amazing how singular this song is. It doesn’t sound like any contemporaneous indie crossovers; it’s not heady enough to fit in the electro/psych mold of MGMT or Empire of the Sun, folksy enough to be like Mumford & Sons, or have the barroom singalong energy of fun.’s “We Are Young.” It sounds like bedroom pop writ large, simple and heartfelt but somehow both small and massive. I can’t even think of a song that tried to capitalize on its success, either. It’s just a beautiful moment in time like nothing before or since.

Love this write-up and adore this song. Also, I did not realize Wally was such a fox. *whew*

Well, he calls it a “banger” (and compares it to “Dreams”[???]). Which raises the age-old question: do all bangers slap…? And do all slappers bang…? Science hopes to find the answer some day.

*screen shot of this – Scott’s – comment.* Sorry, I’ll go back to lurking.

Cut to the year 20whatever-it-is and Tom’s column is just a link to this piece with a screen shot of this column and a rating. (Hoping for a 9, will settle for an 8)

Also, God Bless Lary Fitzmaurice

2) I will ALWAYS have the warmest spot in my heart for Making Mirrors. Back in 2012, I had it set as the alarm music on my iHome/iPod alarm clock thingy the first morning I woke up with my wife. That first little intro track is more or less a pavlovian sob button for me, and hearing any track off of the album transports me back there immediately. Barbecue sauce, as Ted Lasso would say.