It Feels All Right

As summer winds down, I thought I'd bring out one of the best songs of the summer. When the term "summer song" comes on, you start thinking that you may hear the equivalent of a Nerds candy rope: something that provides a brief rush, but has absolutely no nutritional value whatsoever. I'm thinking of *NSync, I'm thinking of Wil Smith's "Summertime" (actually a decent song), or that Perry girl's summer song (the one with the candy cane bra).

So what a relief when one breezy song comes on that doesn't come with its own dentist appointment. Luscious Jackson signed on to the Beastie Boys Grand Royal. Like the Beastie Boys they played their own instruments. Like the Beastie Boys, they had hip-hop elements in their songs. And like the Beastie Boys, they released some great albums.

If you're looking for a Luscious Jackson entry point, look no further than "Naked Eye." Actually, take this song for what it is - a remix, doable, but not nearly as sweet as the original (which has embedding blocked on YouTube, but here's a link to the vid anyway). If this song doesn't make you a convert, you may be suffering from a neurological impairment.

Like The Beach Boys' best songs, "Naked Eye" has a gift of having a hidden chorus that only reveals itself to a careful listener, or a listener who has listened to the song repeatedly. The chorus has Jill Cunniff singing in a cool tone "With my naked eye...the falling rain coming down on me." The vocal is so far in front and the drums are so crisp that the underlying chorus almost goes unnoticed. But it's there.

"It feels all right...It feels all right" is repeated in a monotone. It's soothing enough to be a mantra. So soothing that oftentimes at work, home or anywhere else, when things get out of control, I find myself muttering "It feels all right...It feels all right." As Labor Day nears, be sure to give Luscious Jackson's Fever In Fever Out another spin if you have it in your collection. It's the summer anthem for the art student in us all.