Funny what a studio owned by a shoe company (owned by another shoe company) can churn out. Although the output of Matt & Kim, Soulja Boy, and Andrew W.K. hadn't crossed paths before, Converse Rubber Tracks got 'em all in for an ominously titled song, "I'm a Goner." Unfortunately, there were no blood-curdling screams, Jay Reatard references, or bridges to the Odd Future in the results.
Essentially a Matt & Kim-type song, it burbles along with a keyboard hook very much consistent with the duo's latter-day work. M&K's Matt Johnson sings the hook, which just basically consists of him singling himself out as a goner, six feet deep, etc. Having witnessed Soulja Boy in a live setting just recently, it's notable that he's trying a more "serious" flow for this effort. He describes his outfit -- all black -- and his location -- up high
-- and he can't feel his face. Andrew W.K. croaks along at one point. We hear dead people!
Although this is pegged as a party anthem, you might not want to drink the Kool-Aid if you hear it blasting through the speakers.
"While our music sounds different -- us, and Andrew W.K., and
Soulja Boy -- I do think we're coming at music from the same angle,"
Matt Johnson says in a behind-the-scenes video vignette posted on the Rubber Tracks site. "Which is that we want to make music that people can
shake their booties to, essentially, music to have fun to. When I saw
these names written down together, I was like, 'Oh my gosh, this is my
dream.'"
If "from the same angle" is referring to getting a bunch of free shoes from a cut-and-paste job from recording sessions that don't appear to overlap that apparently involved face time (!), then we believe him. In general, there's nothing particularly wrong with "I'm a Goner," but its existence prompts mournful thoughts of a deceased era when a collaboration between an internet-built rapper, some keyboard punks from Brooklyn, and a weirdo party inciter might have come together because of actual rapport. (Update: Matt is apparently a Soulja Boy devotee.) We semi-eagerly await the opportunity to hear Kreayshawn, J. Mascis, and Washed Out together at last.
Matt & Kim, Soulja Boy & Andrew W.K. "I'm a Goner" by countygrind
Anyhow, the MP3 of "I'm a Goner" is available for download here. (HT: Jose Flores)
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