Gold Soundz: "Nite Club"

Of the albums I love to play loud and shout along with, I can’t think of any I like better than Too Far To Care. The Old 97’s alt-country classic is stuffed full of songs that practically beg to make your throat sore. On it an impossibly charismatic Rhett Miller wrote a series of youthful anthems documenting heartbreak, drunkenness, and a handful of (very) short love affairs which together still stand as the finest set he’s penned. Musically, the band’s rousing shuffle beats and memorable riffs come on like a runaway train. Too Far To Care is the apex of their career, a perfect synthesis of the barreling speed-country of Wreck Your Life with the more traditionally pop-inspired songcraft of Fight Songs and Satellite Rides.

So, picking one song to feature is quite the daunting challenge. Opener “Timebomb” may be the sentimental favorite and somewhat obvious choice. “Barrier Reef”, “Salome”, “Melt Show”, and a handful of others are no different. But tonight I’m in the mood for “Nite Club” - a true barn-burner (in every sense) and perhaps an under appreciated gem from deep on the record’s back half. For all the wild nights and questionable decisions brimming out of Too Far To Care, it’s the struggling musician‘s frustration heard in “Nite Club” that might be the most volatile. "Well I just might get drunk tonight and burn the nite club down" comes off as the most fun sounding borderline-psychotic song lyric since "I shot a man in Reno just to watch him die". And just like that classic line, you’ll find yourself feeling good about singing right along.

MP3 :: Nite Club
(from Too Far To Care. Buy here)
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Gold Soundz columns highlight some of my favorite songs of all time. It‘s called “Gold Soundz” because I thought this blog would be cooler if I ripped off a title for a “column” from a not-at-all obscure Pavement song. Previously featured:

Slobberbone :: “Gimme Back My Dog”
The Jam :: “In The City”
World Party :: “Way Down Now”
Elmore James :: “The Sky Is Crying”
John Prine :: “Lake Marie”
The Band :: “Jawbone”
Neutral Milk Hotel :: “Holland, 1945”
The Velvet Underground :: “I Heard Her Call My Name”
Hank Williams :: “I Saw The Light”
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