Fujiya & Miyagi :: "Knickerbocker" (stream)

Every morning two years ago, I would ride the B82 bus down Flatlands Ave at the end of the L train. I was in the middle of nowhere and it was crowded and full of extremely loud or angry high school students. I was wearing a tie. I looked, at the very least, like a d-bag. I would fill my iPod shuffle with new music and turn it up until I couldn't hear anything but the first Tokyo Police Club EP (holyshitthisthingisamazing) or whatever else I thought could drown out everything else that was happening around me. Your earbuds need to be jacked to not hear "fuck you, white boy" twice-a-day.

Enter Fujiya & Miyagi and their hypnotic first single, "Ankle Injuries." It didn't hurt that I was tweaking my own old ankle sprain on a bi-weekly basis. It also didn't hurt that the thumping bass line and the driving repetition was one of the few songs that never left my "oh god, how much longer can i work this job?" playlist. It kept things moving. It showed up. It was there when I needed it.

The band is back with a new record, Lightbulbs and it seems like it's going to be more of the same: Electronic soundscapes mixed with repetitive, yet compelling lyrics and that same thumping bass that seemed like it exploded out of an LCD Soundsystem record. First single, "Knickerbocker" has a non-sequiter chorus that can't help but get lodged in your brain stem. In fact, "Vanilla, strawberry, Knickerbocker glory" might be the most memorable nonsense of the year.

And if you need more inspiration, maybe let some angry teenagers throw shit at you. You are wearing a tie. You turn. You stare. You are, finally, not afraid.

Listen :: Fujiya & Miyagi - Ankle Injuries (courtesy of Ryan's Smashing Life)

Listen :: Fujiya & Miyagi - Knickerbocker (stream)