So, it’s the end of 30 days of music. I’m not entirely sure what to make of “my favourite song this time last year”, since if you mean “all-time favourite” then it was still the same as my choice for day 1. So I presume I’m supposed to pick the song that was my then-current favourite a year ago, if that makes sense.
So, what was I listening to this time last year? Being back in an office where we listen to music communally, on the radio, rather than sitting is silence or with headphones on, meant that this time last year I was hearing plenty of new stuff. Some I liked, some I didn’t, and some I really loved. This song fell into the final category.
I could leave it there and just play the song, but as it happens I’d never seen the video to it until I looked it up for the sake of this article. And, oh gosh, what a load of pretentious nonsense! OK, so the song itself is a bit pretentious as far as the words are concerned – I presume the main lyrical question is supposed to be rhetorical, but I still have no idea what it means. But the video takes pretentious guff to an entirely new level – it’s almost as if it’s a deliberate parody of the kind of “meaningful” videos that were popular in the 80s. Then again, maybe that really is the intention. Who knows? And what is Brandon Flowers wearing on his shoulders? Are we human, or are we dancer?
Incidentally, for a wonderfully subversive version of this song, Robbie Williams’ Live Lounge cover is worth a look!