Case File #14: "I'm Good, I'm Gone"

Lykke Li
"I'm Good, I'm Gone"
Youth Novels
(2008)




The need to know: One of the most promising debuts of 2008, Lykke Li's Youth Novels is a varied tapestry of straightforward pop, spoken-word dreamscapes, and danceable quirkiness. The Stockholm native has also nabbed ear time for her cover of the Kings of Leon tune "Knocked Up" and she also penned the stark, haunting "Possibility" specifically for the New Moon soundtrack. And the perplexing continues...

Why it's worthy: "I'm Good, I'm Gone" is a peppy electro-pop romp about working for the man. But rather than a labor-inspired dirge, it's a celebration of knowing she'll one day leave those losers in the dust. Mix in a serious piano beat and Lykke Li's sharp-like-a-whip voice and it's a song fit for "working hard" 80s film montages (in a good way!)...or at the very least it's the perfect antidote for your own long day at the office. A girl can dream.

Quotable lyric: "If you say there ain't no way that I could know/ If you say I aim too high from down below/ Well, say you're not 'cause when I'm gone/ You'll be callin' but I won't be at the phone"

Where you've heard it: "I'm Good, I'm Gone" was used in the 2009 slasher film remake, Sorrority Row.

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Case File #9: "Graveyard Girl"

M83
"Graveyard Girl"
Saturdays = Youth
(2008)




The need to know:If you've ever wanted your life to sound like the soundtrack to a John Hughes movie, then you should probably get your hands on some M83. Since 2001, M83, the moniker for French electropop mastermind Anthony Gonzales, has released five albums ranging from the ambient to the shoegazey and is responsible for notable remixes for artists including Bloc Party, Depeche Mode, Placebo and Goldfrapp. But his 2008 album, the aptly titled Saturdays=Youth, captured the 80s teen spirit in all of us, even placing an obvious Molly Ringwald look-alike on its cover. 

Why it's worthy: A theme song for fledgling goth girls everywhere, "Graveyard Girl" plays out like an emo melodrama in miniature. A love song to a girl who maybe spends a little too much time hanging out at the cemetery (like there is such a thing!) plays out over M83s well-adapted, 80s-inspired sonics. One of the bands more grounded "rock" songs, soaring synths and an obvious 80s drum beat play obvious homage to the group's influences, but it's more an interpretation of that decade's sounds than a straight rip off.

Quotable lyric: "I'm fifteen years old/ And I feel it's already too late to live/ Don't you?"

Where you've heard it: "Graveyard Girl" was used to promote British teen drama Skins.

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