THE NEW PORNOGRAPHERS RANK THEIR FIVE BEST SONGS
A.C. Newman’s Picks Span Styles, Singers and Eras
THE NEW PORNOGRAPHERS HAVE SPENT 25 YEARS REFINING their songcraft, with project leader A.C. Newman constantly exploring new nooks and crannies of their energetic, opulent power pop. Ninth album Continue as a Guest marks the latest instalment in their remarkably consistent career, and to celebrate its release, Exclaim! asked Newman to rank the five best songs from the band’s catalogue.
He explains, “My criteria for picking songs? It’s a combination of judging the song by its own merits and also my personal attachment to it. Some songs just make me nostalgic, remind me of what I like about being in the band.”
5. “MASS ROMANTIC” MASS ROMANTIC ( 2000)
It’s got that shuffle beat, that ka-chunka-ka-chunka guitar, the weird little synth lines, the run-on sentence melody. Coming out of the gate, first song, first album, it felt like a declaration of intent, and it was exactly that. Only now, over 20 years later, do I realize that we had something kind of special there.
4. “BRILL BRUISERS” BRILL BRUISERS ( 2014)
This one feels like the platonic ideal of a New Pornographers track. Simple, hard-hitting; big, big vocals. A good example of “The medium is the message,” it’s about both the joy of song and the joy of searching for it.
3. “THIS IS THE WORLD OF THE THEATER”
WHITEOUT CONDITIONS ( 2017)
This is a song of ours that I don’t think gets enough love. A great Neko lead vocal, and I just love the way it moves. I was going for a kind of Squeeze “Annie Get Your Gun” vibe, with the combination of synth and acoustic.
2. “MYRIAD HARBOUR” CHALLENGERS ( 2007)
I could easily pick five Bejar songs for this list, but I’ll try not to be too self-deprecating. He knew I’d just moved to NYC, so he wrote a weird little fictional take on the journey, where he, John Collins and I are characters.
1. “THE BLEEDING HEART SHOW” TWIN CINEMA ( 2005)
It unfolds slowly, it adds parts, a kind of slow burn until it takes off into a big sing-along ending. Plus, it has some of our best harmony singing. It’s become one of our most beloved and popular songs, and that makes me like it even more. Positive reinforcement.