The moment a song is born, the world is different. It’s now a part of our lives. We sing it in the shower. We dance to it at our wedding. We get pumped with it. We break up to it. We memorize it. We try to forget it. We rediscover it. This month, I’m joining Arron Wright’s Twitter music challenge: ##Popiversary2. Because why the hell not. Songs deserve their own anniversaries, too.
Year: 2008
By no means is Fleet Foxes on the same level as CSN&Y. CSN&Y are music legends, the kind that maybe come around once every 20 years or so if we’re lucky. But Fleet Foxes isn’t that far behind. What Fleet Foxes pulled off in the 21st century is impressive. They put power harmonies center stage once again. And they did it with a folk-inspired sound that’s earthy and natural, a far cry from post-punk, dream pop or any of the key genres of their contemporaries. “White Winter Hymnal” remains one of my go-to Fleet Foxes tracks.
Like many Fleet Foxes songs, “White Winter Hymnal” shimmers with a cascade of echoing melodies from the mountains. The song is sung in rounds, a traditional form of singing that seemed to be given a new lease on life through the ban'd’s trademark harmonies where each vocal part comes in round after round. This approach has a way of sweeping me up and away, regardless of circumstance. And the words overdelivered. They felt more like classic literature than song lyrics, leading me to believe the character Michael was an allegory for something far greater.
“I WAS FOLLOWING THE PACK. ALL SWALLOWED IN THEIR COATS WITH SCARVES OF RED TIED 'ROUND THEIR THROATS.”