Amy Millan Covers Death Cab For Cutie (And I Review “My Favorite Book” By Stars)

I could seriously listen to Amy Millan sing just about anything, so I don’t know if her new cover of Death Cab For Cutie’s “I Will Follow You Into The Dark” which you can stream here is actually any good (Pitchfork hated it and I often trust Pitchfork’s judgment more than my own), but I enjoyed just hearing Amy…

In case that song was indeed disappointing for the rest of you as Pitchfork predicted, here is an undeniably brilliant song from Amy’s band Stars.  

Songs which capture a special feeling or situation or ideal that no one else quite ever nails in quite that way are special ones.  ”My Favorite Book” captures all the charm and romance of ideal of young urban newlyweds crammed into a small apartment living on top of each other and in every way intimately and familiarly with each other.  Few songs engross me in a fantasy life like this one.  Musically, the song is mildly electronic, perfectly stringy, and infectiously jazzy.  The beat is catchy, the back up male do-do’s (from Torquil Campbell?) are oh so sly and old school cool.  And most of all Amy’s lead (and background) vocals are beautiful—alternating subtly between aching, longing reverie and gratitude in the verses and a more  breezy, familiar, and pitch perfectly self-assured seduction in the golden chorus. Her desire is strong and then so is her sense of being loved and free to celebrate the fact.  And most effectively of all, her phrasing of every lyric gets the most out of every word and none more than the word “book” which completely sells the song’s key sentiment with stylish sassy sincerity and sexiness.  

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