The Writing On The Wall

Destroyer “Times Square”

“Times Square” appears three times on Poison Season – this is the version with the fairly typical life-rock Destroyer arrangement, the other two are quiet, vaguely mournful orchestral arrangements that bookend the record. I prefer the rock version, but of course I would – it’s much easier to listen to, and it’s just a lot more pleasing as a pop song with a beat. But I think it’s very valuable that Dan Bejar is presenting this song from a few perspectives, and in context, the rock version feels like a flashback to a more earnest and uncomplicated feeling. The words are about as oblique as you’d expect from Bejar, but there’s a very clear optimism to this song – about love, about New York, about music, about the possibility of salvation or redemption. The bleak string versions imply a sense of doubt about this, or at least look back on the feeling with a touch of bemusement. I don’t think Bejar is writing anything off, but I do think he’s thinking a lot about the romance of optimism.

Buy it from Amazon.