Song of the Summer #2: Spoon’s ‘Don’t Let it Get You Down’
Back with another instalment of Song of the Summer and this next one is on a band I’ve relatively recently started to dig called Spoon. Headed by Britt Daniel, the song in question is off their critically acclaimed LP Kill the Moonlight from 2002 called ‘Don’t Let it Get You Down’.
What made me fall in love with Britt Daniel & co. is their honest approach to their sound, drawing from some of my favourite artists including The Kinks. On ‘Don’t Let it Get You Down’, Daniel channels his inner Ray Davies and Bob Dylan to produce a story track that’s catchy as all hell!
A song presenting a day in the life of an overworked, upstanding woman has a real Rolling Stones swagger to it, a song that knows its groove is what makes the song. The harmonious vocalisations that ties the track together from beginning, middle, and end, as well as the unrelenting, fiery riff that underpins the sound, makes it a real head bopper.
Lyrically, Daniel presents a woman who has misplaced her hope in her success in the working world, given that she’s done everything, “knowing wrong from right”, and still she’s left “down in the dumps”. Vocally Daniel sings with a Dylan-esc carelessness which works because the groove is that good.
‘Don’t Let it Get You Down’ shimmers with a classic rock intensity, as we get to listen to Daniel put on his Ray Davies cap on and sing about the plight of many working women who live in the city in search for fulfilment. Providing the perfect solution to a busy life, Daniel pens a wonderful escape from the rat race.
Three minutes of pure rocker empathy, Spoon’s ‘Don’t Let it Get You Down’ is a real song of the summer because it allows any working woman to feel a better about her life choices.