Heavy Rotation: Week Ending July 3, 2009

01. Viva Voce – Rose City, (Barsuk.2009)
02. “It Ain't Gonna Save Me” by Jay Reatard, (Matador.2009)
03. Green Day – 21st Century Breakdown, (Reprise.2009)
04. Serge Gainsbourg – Histoire de Melody Nelson, (Polydor.1971)
05. The Hush Now – The Hush Now, (unsigned.2009)
06. Tranzmitors – Busy Singles, (Deranged.2009)
07. “Zero” by Yeah Yeah Yeahs, (Interscope/DGC/Dress Up.2009)
08. I Was A King – I Was A King, (Control Group.2009)
09. Dillinger Four – C I V I L W A R, (Fat Wreck Chords.2008)
10. Cymbals Eat Guitars – Why There Are Mountains, (Cymbals Eat Guitars.2009)

In late May 2009, Jay Reatard released a new song (from his forthcoming Matador Records album, Watch Me Fall, called “It Ain't Gonna Save Me”, as a free MP3 download. I finally downloaded it this week and, as you can see, I've been jamming it quite a bit. Early buzz from Reatard is that this record is heavily influenced by uber-cool 1980s-era Flying Nun New Zealand indie pop. “It Ain't Gonna Save Me” is high-energy, punk-power-indie-pop glory that we have come to love from Reatard that does contain elements of the more energetic side of those Flying Nun bands. The guitar punk abrasiveness have given way to a friendlier ring/jangle with tight changes.

He laments the loss of redemption (“It” could be religion, drugs, ideology, love, etc.) and flips naughty figure at all of “it” by not “giving a shit”. You gotta love the self-depracating humor, check this line: “I took a walk/the other day/And thought about how things used to be/And then a cloud/came in the sky/It shit on me and I don't know why”.
The two-minutes-twenty-one seconds of the track is packed with sharp hooks, great dynamics ... ARGH! I'm getting hack-ish. I don't give it shit. Anyways, Stereogum says it better, “... a typically quick-hitting Reatard jam cutting equal parts melody, bop, pop, and snot into 2:21.”

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