The emotional peak of Arcade Fire’s The Suburbs, and its finest moment overall, comes with this two-part suite.
‘Sprawl I’ and ‘Sprawl II’ are very different musically — the former is a minimalist dirge while the latter is an expansive New Wave epic — but the overall tone is consistently melancholy.
Melancholy… that explains why I really dig this.
My final example from this year’s Pazz & Jop singles list comes from Arcade Fire. ‘Sprawl II (Mountains Beyond Mountains)’ clocks in at #10 (in a three-way tie).
In case you’re wondering, the Pazz & Jop poll got its name because its creators wanted to avoid arguments over whether a song really belonged in the “pop” or “jazz” genre. By making up nonsense words to describe the listed music, it allowed room for anything. I notice that in the past 10 years the list has been dominated by hip-hop, so it’s a good thing they didn’t go with the more restrictive label.
Meet Me In Montauk 