“Too Young,” Phoenix
Featured on Phoenix’s 2000 album, United, “Too Young” reveals the group’s Parisian roots through vocalist Thomas Mars’ occasional, charmingly Francophonic inflections. Although these errors in pronunciation seem unintentional, they may well be affect, for they shrewdly contribute to the atmosphere of unstudied disquiet to which the song alludes. The chorus is an elegant frenzy of Mars beseeching “Can’t you hear it calling | Everybody’s dancing | Tonight everything is over | I feel too young.” The close of this lyric summons a sadness in recalling a moment lost to being overwhelmed. Failure is implicit here, but not in a judgmentally removed way; the song is understanding and engaged in its reflections. Even the title, “Too Young,” is a softened rather than impatient stance.
The power of this song is greater than the sum of its parts. Its true impact is found in its capacity to conjure the tangibility of fleeting angst. The message is a tangle of ephemera, but the mode is strikingly simple. Like last week’s Stone Roses track, “This Is The One,” “Too Young” is almost all chorus. This repetition has an hypnotic effect, opening the emotional potency of the repeated words to wash over the listener. The chorus’ lyrical hook could almost be cloying, were it not tempered by the accompanying mid-tempo instrumentals. The complex sentiment is uncomplicated by a stark guitar motif that serves as a kind of respite from the song’s emotional weight each time it is featured.
This song is so evocative of that uncomfortable time in one’s life when everything seems to be in limbo—even socializing is unsettled. The track is transportive and tenderly takes one back to those bright, young, bewildering days. Through the metaphor of being unready for the complications of a specific romantic relationship, the narrative expands this device to encompass the larger uncertainty and confusion of approaching adulthood. The dizzying beginnings of coming into one’s own are the focal point, and the poignant recollections of that time manifest a fond wistfulness—yearning, even—to once again be on that chrysalid brink of maturity.
Hmmmmm, that's a tough question. Probably "This Heart's on Fire" by Wolf Parade. The guitar line is exhilarating!!
ReplyDeleteBy the by, I, too, like Phoenix's syntactical errors. They're endearing.
I have two songs in response to your question. They're playing in the background as I write an essay, so my response was purely emotional. The National's "Terrible Love" and The Magnetic Fields' "Born on a Train"
ReplyDeleteLyrics aside, the musical dissonant undercurrent - punctuated with "punchy" bass - represents the journey of youth's trials and tribulations which are present throughout one's life. As the song progresses, the "punch" becomes somewhat muted representing one's matured ability to deal with life's challenges.
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