The video for the Miss American Pie-style ballad turned pumped-up punk track features a performance under the fluorescent (spot)lights of an NYC corner store
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In my opinion, there are few songs better than Parquet Courts’ perfect NYC slacker soundtrack “Stoned and Starving” (2012), in which our high-n-hungry protagonist is walking through Ridgewood, Queens, flipping though magazines and essentially just considering myriad snack options. Beyond being catchy (and not exactly unrelatable), it’s beautiful and brilliant in its simplicity. Next to nothing happens, but through the song, the band manages to illustrate the most average and uneventful of experiences in an almost unbelievably entertaining and evocative way. If Seinfeld is a show about nothing, this is pretty much a song about it. The musical equivalent of “The Chinese Restaurant.” And it couldn’t be better.
Despite being released by a different band (and 11 years later), Reclining Nude’s “She’s So American” feels to me, in a sense, like this song’s spiritual sequel. Another track by a New York band, taking place at a city staple: corner store. Except this time our protagonist’s program isn’t that he’s plagued by indecision on a munchies-driven mission but that he’s locked out of an apartment by his personal Miss America.
Van full of pledges at the 7-11 / Hershey’s, Snickers, M&M’s, pick up trucks and gallons of / Milk, sugar? yes, please / No thanks, hold the tea / Burnt toast, workin’ through / You’re scaring the shit out of me
This song feels similar to the Parquet Courts track in that the artists manage to take the ordinary and transform it into poetry. This song is essentially a grocery list, set to bass, drums and guitar, and once again, I couldn’t love it much more.
Of his new anthem for the bodega-loitering Brooklynite (who may or may not also be totally baked!) (up to the audience’s interpretation!), Cade Sadler of Reclining Nude shared the following:
“I wrote this song a while back with lyrics that my friend, Daniel Garcia, had texted me. He told me to make it a ‘Miss American Pie’ style ballad song. Once I started playing around with it I thought that the sort of punk-y, more tongue-in-cheek approach made it cool and I added and edited the lyrics a bit. Less of a sentimental, schmaltzy tune and more of a ripper.”
To borrow a bit from the press release: “Does it feel like the world is ending? Nobody cares inside the 7/11.”
Hang onto your slurpies, suckers! Because this evening, about seven weeks after the song’s release, I’m stoked to premiere the music video—performed by Reclining Nude under the fluorescent (spot)lights of an actual convenient store, where a tambourine is conveniently stored in the cooler—for that very ripper here!
This one goes out to your deli dude. From Reclining Nude, this is “She’s So American.”
Back to Cade! Ahead of the release, the artist filmed us in on how their newest project came to be.
“When we were deciding what to do for the video, I got this image of us playing a show in the corner store by my friend’s apartment. I thought performing among all the products that a convenience store had to offer would fit the bill. It was fun to make and we had some really talented friends, Jordan and Nicholas Aucella, helping us film and make it all happen. There’s no clever story to it, but just more a daily occurrence of stepping out for something and locking yourself out of the apartment.”
Whether you’re high or not, don’t forget your keys, kids—and be sure to stock up on snacks. I’ll catch you at Alphaville for the next Reclining Nude show, 6/8 with Whenwolves.
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Follow the band at @recliningnude, buy music on Bandcamp and add their songs to your Spotify playlists
Feature image provided by the band.