Song of the Day: “What You Do To Me” by Teenage Fanclub

Ah, Teenage Fanclub: the terribly named but wonderful band. Their best album is the terribly titled (and covered) but wonderful Bandwagonesque. It’s one of my favorite albums of all time: a slightly grungy blend of power pop and off-kilter indie sensibility.

The band shows off fuzzy guitar licks without sacrificing the hooks. TFC rocks fairly simple tunes that glow with great vocal harmonies. They’re basically a Scottish evolution of Big Star two decades later, but unlike Big Star have never turned the corner from “underrated” to “essential.” They’re the epitome of a band that straddles the paradox of feeling utterly timeless, yet undeniably of its time (TPOFUTYUOIT… I’m adding it to the glossary.)

Per the rules of the song-of-the-day exercise, I’m limited to one TFC song, so I’m going to go with their most pure and simple pop song, “What You Do To Me.” I’ve probably listened to the song a hundred times. It’s never a bad choice. It’s “Go All the Way” for 1991, just as upbeat and joyful and horny.

I basically only know the band’s first three albums, but, as part of writing this, I looked up their full discography: Apparently they’ve consistently released work the past 25 years. Their most recent effort came out in 2016 as was well-reviewed. Thinking it through, I’m not that surprised: Any band that’s so dedicated to craft above scene, to pleasing their audience above being cool, should last.