A Year Later: "Heart It Races"

Sometimes a pop song is so good that every other artist wants to try their hand at recreating it. Don't think that this is a bad thing, either, or else we would've never gotten Hendrix's version of Dylan's "All Along the Watchtower". When Architecture In Helsinki released Places Like This last year, something clicked with "Heart It Races". The good folks over at Pitchfork deftly described the original track as such:

A van carrying a college acapella group collides with the tour bus of an African percussion troupe, the twisted metal hybrid sweeps up a guy jamming on a beatbox and a brother-sister folk duo and comes to rest at the foot of a living-room organ, and a new Architecture in Helsinki song is born.

With a most entertaining video accompaniment, here is Architecture In Helsinki, "Heart It Races":


When Polyvinyl Records released the single, it was already accompanied by two covers and two remixes. The latest IMEEM search turned up eight different covers or remixes. The song continues to inspire artists to put their own stamp on it. Here are a couple of the best:

Dr. Dog (cover, from the single)

YACHT ("I Should Coco" remix, from the single)

Trizzy ("Rusty Tin Can" remix)

There is just something universal in the track, something so familiar in the sugary pop sound that mingles with the steel drums and genre-melding rhythms that pulls people in for the trip. It's a rare experience, and another signifier of the power of music. Enjoy.

-J2