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This week on Tracking––a weekly series in which we discuss our favorite songs of the year (you can check out the official list as the year progresses)––you can listen to additions from Yeasayer, TEAM SPIRIT, The Walkmen, Kirin J Callinan, Icona Pop and Azealia Banks. (Click on the arrows to navigate through the songs.)
Yeasayer – “Henrietta” (1 of 6)
Yeasayer have been quiet for a time but, as they prepare to go on tour, they felt the need to drop the swirling, dubbed-out “Henrietta”. The title apparently refers to Henrietta Lacks, a women whose unique form of cancer allowed her cells to survive after she died. Those cells lived on to help doctors cure a number of diseases including Polio. This story, which could easily have come out of a Ray Bradbury novel, fits perfectly with Yeasayer’s tune. Both have a unique draw and a surprisingly hopeful ending. “Henrietta” begins with a hypnotic bass line followed by Chris Keating’s icy delivery. The track’s grooviness unexpectedly drops off halfway through and a dark sweeping interlude sets a more somber tone for the rest of the song. However, the the solemnity of the final two minutes is coupled with a beautiful, building melody and the optimistic refrain: “Oh Henrietta, we can live on forever.” The track seems to follow the arc of Henrietta Lacks’ life. Her life (the first two minutes) is convoluted and tinted with melancholy while her death (the interlude) brings a dark moment of reflection. The final portion is a recognition of the way she was able to live on, even in death. If this track is any indication Yeasayer’s new album should be a little creepy, a little touching, and pretty darn good. –– Drew Malmuth
