My Top 1000 Songs #711: Near To The Wild Heart Of Life

[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.] 

In 2012's "The House That Heaven Built," the Japandroids concocted a distinctively thrilling post-punk call-to-arms anthem. The title track of 2017's Near To The Wild Heart Of Life served as a like-minded sequel (or remake), a similar-sounding (if marginally more polished) blast-force anthem designed for maximum fist-pumping volume. Ok, fine, the lyrics may just be too on-the-nose and over-the-top, young rock & rollers being directed by friends to head to the big city and seize the world. But drop the cynicism for a moment and open yourself up, and it's hard to resist the urge to pack up your guitar and reach for the stars.

"She kissed me like a chorus, said 'Give 'em hell for us. The last drink of the night, last night in town; baby this one is on the house!' And it got me all fired up, to go far away. And make some music from the sound of my singing. So I left my home, and all I had. I used to be good, but now I'm bad."

Live 2017: