The Indie Anthology 61: essential songs

The next song in our anthology is another slice of glorious dreampop, but it also serves as a celebration. Seeing them live in less than a month. What a great, unexpected but long awaited surprise!

Song: Superfreaky Memories
Artist: Luna
Year: 1999

Unfortunately, I was never able to catch Luna live. I introduced myself into Dean Wareham's music through his latter incarnations, after getting hypnotised by 'L'Avventura'. Immediately looked for more. The now reactivated combo's greatest hits was like mana from heaven: 'Moon Palace', 'Chinatown', 'Lost in Space', 'Lovedust'... and 'Superfreaky Memories'. Oh what a song! Cathartic, carefully embellished with layers guitars, subtle orchestration, with Wareham's trademark nasal voice telling us glimpses of personal stories (he's a real storyteller) and then... the power surge of the chorus and the incredibly beautiful melody trespassing the blur after the 3.10 minute mark.
But if you allow me, I'm going personal this time (nothing related with drugs, luckily). Luna has always had a cinematic quality. Their tunes have some sort of coolness, a groove, an inner narrative, and incredible power to be associated with snapshots of life. Times, places, faces...memories. My 'Superfreaky' ones are related with two different times. Kind of a sad memory now, it was my most recurrent soundtrack after returning from Seville, a place I used to visit quite frequently during two years some time ago. But at the same time, a very happy one, it's also one of the songs I associate with Idaho and my dear friend & music genius Jeremy Jensen driving us to McCall. I really like the idea of that duality, of how a song shares a lifetime, including bad & good times, with you. Memories you know... Now will have another chapter this April, after (hopefully) hearing the tune live...

The Indie Anthology 30: essential songs

I've been meaning to go back posting on the Indie Anthology series for ages, but September and October are being very stressful and frustrating months. Anyway, I guess I needed a reason to be cheerful & a little push to recover the "section", and today I found one, in the form of a gentle gesture from a wonderful friend.... who happens to be and indiepop wizard (yeah, this is going to get a bit emotional, too). Ladies and gentlemen, there's an indiepop classic below, so prepare you ears...

Song: Good Fight Fighting
Artist: The Very Most
Year: 2008

Is this my favourite tune from The Very Most? The most representative from their best release imo? The first one I heard perhaps? Or the most cheerful song of their immaculate career? The answer to all these questions is no. But "Good Fight Fighting" has a special meaning for me since summer. Hear how the mind blowing chorus flows into the second verse as if they were born together. How a toy piano can make your hair bristle. Or how voices can intertwine and become a shining harmony. Hear. Listen. Enjoy. The music of The Very Most stops time. But aside from being another perfect pop tune coming from Jeremy Jensen's mastermind, "Good Fight Fighting" to me also means a privileged moment. An instant of unexpected intimacy shared only with me and my girlfriend while TVM was rehearsing at Jeremy's home, and they came with a stunning rendition of this tune. One that made everyone on the room say: that was a good one, wasn't it? But it wasn't just that. It was a incredibly brilliant interpretation of a fantastic song from someone I'm so honoured, proud and lucky to call my friend. What an special moment.

Plus, the video is as charming as the song.