We are halfway through the countdown and it seems an appropriate time to take a break. But The D Man never sits on his hands, so he would like to recognize one of his favorite songs from one of his favorite albums from one of his favorite bands. Given his usual high-minded largesse, The D Man can be forgiven for some sentimentality. For the record, in one iteration of this list this song was well into the Top Ten. Nevertheless, understanding it was likely rated too high, I decided to take a pause and give The Kings of Convenience their just due. So let's consider the splendid opening track "Homesick" from the duo's splendid second album, Riot on an Empty Street.
This song affected me like few others this past decade. Aside from the lovely guitar lines and pristine vocal harmonies between Erlend Oye and Eirek Glambek Boe, "Homesick" elicited a hopeful meloncholy that equalled the eminence of Simon & Garfunkel. Furthermore, the duo conveyed their intended expression in such a clever way, completely refashioning the song-within-a-song conceit.
The protagonist, apparently a music store clerk, will "lose some sales" because he "can't stop listening to the sound / of two soft voices / blended in perfection" from a record that he found. (A winking reference to the Kings themselves). Later, we find the clerk "searching boxes underneath the counter" to find a record with "a song for / someone who needs somewhere / to long for." Of course, the artists know they are performing that song, and the listener realizes, much to his sad delight, that he is listening to it. But there is some lingering irony as the listener wonders whether the clerk will recognize he has already found what he's looking for.
The dislocation of entering adulthood and leaving youth and home behind has long been the subject of poets and songwriters. "Homesick" immediately captures the essence of such feelings in a brief three minutes and modernizes the tale so that we can understand. The last lines are nostalgic, heartfelt, and pang-inducing: "Homesick / 'cause I no longer know / where home is."
Why listen? An exquisite, lyrical example of traditional minimalism. Two guitars. "Two soft voices, blended in perfection."
BONUS: After five long years, the duo's third album will be released in October. The title? Declaration of Dependence. So giddy.
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