My Top 1000 Songs #439: Spectacular Views

[I've been writing up my Top 1000 songs on a daily basis--you can see them all in descending order by hitting the All My Favorite Songs tag.]

Sure, the relentlessly upbeat (at least musically) rocker from Rilo Kiley is not dissimilar from their later "Portions For Foxes"--which isn't to suggest I don't like their mellower, more Americana-centric work as well. But its appearance on the band's second LP, 2002's The Execution Of All Things, showed a band starting to stretch out. And the thing just cooks, a total earworm that's perfectly catchy but packed with distinctive touches, from Jenny Lewis' alluring yet pointed delivery to some varied guitar licks to the little percussion breakdowns. By the time Lewis let's loose with "It's so fucking beautiful!" you've gotta be in complete fist-pumping mode.

[I tend to edit out the quiet little album-closing "hidden track" coda at the end, leaving that chunky rock & roll song to stand alone; but it does offer a helpful moment to cool down after the party if you listen straight through.]

Live 2007:

Another one in 2007:

Nice medley of "Foxes" and "Spectacular Views" in 2008: