My iPod #209: They Might Be Giants - Contrecoup

Today's track is brought to you by They Might Be Giants, a band I have written about many times in the past. This time, it is "Contrecoup" from their 2007 album "The Else" that I will be typing about for today's entry.

They Might Be Giants seem to be able to come up with songs about just about anything. Shoehorns with teeth, spiraling shapes, stomp boxes, you name it. Even though those things all sound silly to the ear, those are tunes that you better believe have a lot of thought put into them. You wouldn't be able to create with a song that is from the perspective of a nightlight in a child's bedroom. That idea would never occur.

This song however was made really easily, and was created way before its proper release in 2007. Two years prior, John Linnell was on a radio show. The show said, make a song using the words 'contrecoup', 'craniosophic' and 'limerent'. The track was made then and there. It was changed up a bit for "The Else", but that is the story of how "Contrecoup" was born.

Musically, the song is quite calm. It chugs along at a sturdy pace driven by an acoustic riff with light guitar and keyboard vamps. The song does troll you nearing the end when it suddenly starts to build pace.... it fades out to silence, but I'm still left satisfied.