40. Torches

Torches by Foster The People (Columbia) 2011

Cover Detail retrieved from http://www.allmusic.com/artist/foster-the-people-mn0002527840/discography

Genre

Music: Dance Pop

Review

Squelchy synthesizers and falsetto vocals are the stock in trade of Foster the People.  Dancing seems to be the band's focus, with their insistent beats and bass lines.  But the lyrics are somewhat menacing -- "I tie my hands to a chair so I don't fall that way;" "All the other kids with the pumped up kicks better run, better run, outrun my gun / All the little kids with pumped up kicks better faster than my bullet" -- and feel incongruous next to other song elements, such as the whistled melody of "Pumped Up Kicks."  Of that particular song, lead singer Mark Foster said in an interview, "I was trying to get inside the head of an isolated, psychotic kid" (Doyle, 2011).  He says the band was trying to bring awareness to the issues of mental illness and gun violence with the song.

Opinion

The music is fun and danceable.  The messages may not always be immediately discernible, but perhaps will make tweens think about important issues.  The music has an earworm quality, though, and its ubiquity in commercials and on the radio (and in other band's songs -- like the better MGMT -- whom Foster seem to have taken many cues from) may wear out its charms.

Ideas

The song "Pumped Up Kicks" might be useful in sparking discussion about mental illness and gun violence.  Of course, you might just use the music to have a dance party at the library too.

References

Doyle, P.  (2011). Band to watch: Foster the People's pumped-up psych-pop.  Retrieved from http://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/band-to-watch-foster-the-peoples-pumped-up-psych-pop-20110608