I Most Certainly Approve: Passion Pit

Allow me to introduce you to Passion Pit and their song "The Reeling" (video at bottom of post).

At first I thought my computer was having trouble loading the video and the song was skipping (as, unfortunately, happens often on my poor, aging iBook). However, it repeats, and repeats, and repeats, and becomes familiar, normal, and rhythmic. It's like taking an error and turning it into the status quo.

Clever, peppy and flavorful it's like creme brulee for the ears - crack, swirl, crunch! Abandoning the video, closing my eyes and listening to the song as a whole, I suddenly am flying through space on a unicorn dodging shooting stars and rainbows. I know it sounds strange, but I like this image - it's so out of the ordinary and out of character for me, which is refreshing. This is music that is a form of escapism, that allows your brain and your soul to transform convention, refuse genre classification and shun pigeonholing. Everything works together and yet is so incredibly fascinating apart - from the cathartic chants of the backing school children ("Oh no-o-o-o-o") to the synthesized no-holds-barred beats.

And as for that video, it only adds to the fascinating aura the music creates. An abnormally jumpy woman begins tearing (quite literally) through life on the streets to reveal the layers of the past that lie underneath the present moment. The images then start to hyperventilate and every second that follows is like a breath with purpose, clinging to the now. The bottom line for me here with this video is the fun factor - the characters featured are engaging in a joy riot, dashing through life with smiles, screams and tight pants. The night is lived with success, before the slow fade back into morning and the eventual continuation of running the mill.

For more information and other audio files, check out www.passionpitmusic.com. I also recommend "Sleepyhead" - a Fatboy Slim meets Alvin and the Chipmunks rush of repetition, bordering on the edge of discordance whose beats develop into a full-out energetic anthem.