Spoon performs at Governors Ball 2014 in New York. Photo by Joe McCabe, heyreverb.com.
On Aug. 5, Spoon released “They Want My Soul,” their first album in almost five years. For fans, this hiatus felt like a lifetime. So, with decided to use that lifetime constructively and create a ranking of the 10 best Spoon songs.
But, how exactly are you supposed to pick just 10 songs from a back catalog as prolific as a band like Spoon’s? It involved a lot of staring at our computers, hitting next on Spotify and frantically messaging friends on Facebook:
“Come on! You love this band! You have a musician’s insight! Help me out!”
“That’s very difficult,” said friend replied.
“I know! That’s why I need help!” the tired journalist cries.
We did, however, pull something together. With a little help from friends (thank you) and a much needed revisit to older albums, we bring you the 10 best Spoon songs (and we promise not to immediately change our minds after making the decision.)
10. Car Radio
This track off their 1998 debut “A Series of Sneaks” is proof that less is sometimes more, especially when it comes to song length. “Car Radio” clocks in under two minutes, but Britt Daniel says everything he needs to say in just 90 seconds. The song’s repetitive and infectiously catchy melody is what makes it a track worth going back to over a decade after its initial release.
9. Nobody Gets Me But You
This is a song that truly goes off. Despite Daniel being a fantastic lyricist, the lyrics take the passenger seat in this song. Not to say that they aren’t up to par, they are, but this song is all about the music. The last track of an album is so important, it is the last taste left in a listener’s mouth, the last thought they have before moving on to something else. “Nobody Gets Me But You” was the perfect way to end “Transference.” If their had to be a hiatus, we are glad that we were left on this note.
8.I Turn My Camera On
This song is so good that Kelly Clarkson stole the bass line. Well, maybe she didn’t steal it. But the bassline in her song “All I Ever Wanted” sounds very, very similar to “I Turn My Camera On.” Off 2005’s “Gimme Fiction” this is a track that prooves that not only does Spoon know how to rock, but they can seriously groove as well. Daniel adopts a casual falsetto for the vocals on this track and everything about it just exudes cool.
7. All The Pretty Girls Go to the City
Even though “The Way We Get By” got most of the love off 2002’s “Kill the Moonlight” (thanks, The O.C.) we think that the true star of the album is “All The Pretty Girls Go to the City.” Much like “Nobody Gets Me But You” would in a few years, this is a song that just musically goes off. It’s a track perfect for driving when the windows out. Do girls listen to this song when they get ready to go out and slay the town? Because they really should be.
6. Rainy Taxi
Coming in at number 6 is the first pick from their latest endeavor “They Want My Soul.” This track combines so much of what we loved from the other picks on this list. Daniel’s casual falsetto makes an appearance, the tired questioning of questionable lovers you can’t seem to let go, all layered on top of a melody ready to take you home for the night when no one else will.
More of the 10 best Spoon songs>>
