Somehow, Motion City Soundtrack’s masterpiece “Commit This To Memory” has been in our respective libraries for 15 years.
When my family used to go on long drives, it was for the greater good to construct a playlist that benefited as many people in the car as often as possible. I would, of course, sneak in personal favorites, a sort of tax for constructing the list in the first place.
I remember one time when “Better Open The Door” came on the shuffle, my college-aged sister turned to me and said something along the lines of: “You can’t listen to the same five albums forever.”
Why don’t you fucking watch me, I thought to myself.
Somehow, “Commit This To Memory” by Motion City Soundtrack turns 15 this year. Recently on the show, we revisited “Give Up” by The Postal Service and attempted to rank the songs on that album. It proved to be a terribly difficult thing to do, .
Perhaps it will be easier this time, we must have thought to ourselves very recently. Below you’ll find an immensely personal and likely incorrect ranking of the songs on “Commit This To Memory” (which, for me, is Motion City Soundtrack’s magnum opus).
TIER III
12. Time Turned Fragile
So, this is a strong song on a strong album. I don’t like this any more than you do. The last third of this song is especially pleasant and leads us gently into LG FAUD, a tune we’ll talk more about later. I take no pleasure in this, but we had to start somewhere. OK? OK.
FAVORITE LYRIC: I know I say that I’m just fine, but I hope you wonder from time to time
11. Hangman
The only reason this song isn’t at No. 12, which it probably should be, is because I mislabeled the album tracks on the iPod I had as a kid. A girl I liked at the time told me she really loved “Hold Me Down” — and I had switched “Hangman” and “Hold Me Down” when manually typing the song titles into iTunes. “They should have named the other one ‘Hold Me Down,’” I thought to myself. “They use that phrase so much more often in Track 12.”
But before realizing my mistake, I had through sheer will made myself enjoy “Hangman” and in doing so found a new, deeper appreciation for “Hold Me Down” coming last and closing out the album. Plus, Mark Hoppus is featured on this song, which is fun because he produced the record.
FAVORITE LYRIC: I’m just a stupid fuck with brilliant luck
TIER II
10. Together We’ll Ring In The New Year
I would 100 percent field arguments for this being one of the better songs on the record. I often confuse “Resolution” and “Together We’ll Ring In The New Year” and could be swayed to rearrange any one of the songs here in Tier II.
FAVORITE LYRIC: Most of all, I’m bored
9. Make Out Kids
I would 100 percent field arguments for this being one of the best songs on the record. “Make Out Kids” and “Feel Like Rain” have similarly devastating energies, and I could be swayed to rearrange any one of the songs here in Tier II.
FAVORITE LYRIC: Make out kids never had a chance to be best friends
8. When You’re Around
Sorry for the repetition. But I would 100 percent field arguments for this being the best song on the record. “Attractive Today” and “When You’re Around” have similarly magnetic fuck you energy, and I could be swayed to rearrange any one of the songs here in Tier II. You feel good and excited coming off of “Attractive Today,” “Everything Is Alright” and “When You’re Around,” but this is a 12-round fight and so far, we’ve mostly been dancing. Body blows loom.
FAVORITE LYRIC: I’m so full of love, it deeply sickens me
7. Resolution
Remember how much fun we were having? Welcome to Track 4.
Of the three (or so) slow-motion gut punches on this album (alongside “Hold Me Down” and “LG FUAD”), Resolution has taken its fair share of turns as my favorite of the three. It’s not all Twin Peaks references and cordon bleu on “Commit This To Memory” — the noticeable helplessness in the lyrics makes it impossible ever truly feel at ease when listening.
“Everything Is Alright” is long in the rearview, and feels almost irresponsibly misleading in tone at Track 2.
FAVORITE LYRIC: Did this party of two have you slightly confused?
6. Attractive Today
OK let’s pick it up a little. This might be their best album opener. It probably is. This song rips unapologetically and belongs as high as anyone will allow it to go on any given ranking. “Attractive Today” and “When You’re Around” deserve your attention and respect, and if JCP’s Instagram has told us anything in the past few weeks it’s that these tunes make for a tremendously fun live experience.
FAVORITE LYRIC: I’m also fed up with the fucking common cold
5. Better Open The Door
So this song is clearly about the narrator’s substance abuse. What’s that? Most of them are? Oh. Well, this is the most fun song about substance abuse on the album. That came out wrong. But it’s definitely fun, or at least sounds fun. He mentions breakdancing. Shit. Yeah, I don’t know.
FAVORITE LYRIC: Kate says she can’t depend on me for anything, and I agree. It’s crystal clear. I reach for the bottle and disappear.
4. Feels Like Rain
To this day, I get as deep as “Feels Like Rain” and “Make Out Kids” (which have always kind of cut this album in half for me) and am blown away by how many bangers are on this record. I’ve never wanted to sit down, stare off at nothing in particular and whisper “fuck” under my breath to myself more than when I’m listening to this record, and particularly “Feels Like Rain.” This song also features one of the album’s references to what I’m assuming are terribly difficult Minnesota winters. Tell me that it’s not so hard, yeah?
FAVORITE LYRIC: Say something, finally we're alone. Alright, is there anyone out there at all? Say something, finally, we're alone. How about a phone call now?
TIER I
3. LG FUAD
OK. Tier I. I should have explained the tier system earlier, but basically these are my Top 3. In any order on any given day, these are in a class of their own. LG FUAD felt like a gimmick song the first time I heard it. It felt like Howard Stern inviting a hot woman onto his radio show and asking them to sit on something that vibrates. There was a shock value to it with the use of the word “fuck” and “suicide” so prevalent in the first few lines of the song. It was hard to stop consuming.
There are highs on this record, but perhaps more importantly, there are lows. And there is real fear and helplessness that comes with the self-analysis of those lows.
We were so close to scoring. Everything, it seems, may not be alright.
FAVORITE LYRICS: Let’s get fucked up and die. I’m speaking figuratively, of course — like the last time that I committed suicide (social suicide).
2. Hold Me Down
Motion City does more than one thing well, and picking the best song on the album felt easy until I went back and made sure, listening to my No. 2 pick a couple of times. The is something about the hyper-specific verses you find throughout the band’s discography that really hit. In this song, it becomes crazy real when the narrator realizes he’ll have to cancel the dinner with Max and Coraline and feed Jackie’s gerbil even though he’s discovered this letter.
Somewhere in the middle, the writer of the letter reminds the narrator to try and stay clean. And this is somehow the cruelest part of the whole thing.
The second chorus, I think, says everything about how special the song is. Motion City does more than one thing well, the slow-motion gut punch is one of them. One final body blow in Round 12.
FAVORITE LYRIC: You're the echoes of my everything. You're the emptiness the whole world sings at night. You're the laziness of afternoon, you're the reason why I burst and why I bloomed. You're the leaky sink of sentiment, you're the failed attempts I never could forget. You're the metaphors I can't create to comprehend this curse that I call love. How will I break the news to you?
1. Everything Is Alright
No hot takes. Sometimes bands have albums that are objectively their best, I think. Sometimes things don’t have to be overthought. Patrick Stump’s guest appearance on the track still gives me chills. (“They tell me that it’s not so hard, it’s not so hard.”) How am I? How are things? How will things be in the future?
FAVORITE LYRIC: I used to rely on self-medication, I guess I still do that from time-to-time. But I’m getting better at fighting the future.
“The Future Freaks Me Out” might be my favorite Motion City song, but “Everything Is Alright” may be the most Motion-City Motion City song. (See: oven cleaning, tire checking.) And it’s a song you’ll need to survive the 12-round title fight that is “Commit This To Memory.”
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