How Many Fantasies

Atlas Sound “Mona Lisa”

When I interviewed Bradford Cox last week he told me that of the songs on his new album Parallax, “Mona Lisa” didn’t mean all that much to him and that it mainly served a musical purpose in the overall composition of the record. This took me by surprise because since I got a copy of the album a month or so ago, it was the track I zeroed in on and listened to repeatedly, at the expense of the other songs. But thinking on it now, I can see why he’d feel that way: Whereas other songs on the album express specific anxieties and desires, “Mona Lisa” is very vague. It’s all melody and feeling. And that’s why I’m responding to – the way it sounds like a vague echo of George Harrison’s “My Sweet Lord;” the understated beauty in the piano part and vocal harmonies. I’ve projected a lot on to this tune, but if pressed, I don’t think I could really explain what I’ve projected upon it. It’s one of those songs I know I’ll hear a few years ago and identify with this particular period of time.

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