In high school, I thought I was a victimized nonconformist trapped in a world that didn't understand me. The claustrophobic blandness of my existence in suburban Buffalo blinded me from the legions of disaffected youth across the country fighting the same battles. And not only was I cliché, in 1993 I was about ten years late. I was the blueprint for privileged, melodramatic suburban youth. Music was my oxygen. I would suck comfort out of my bright yellow Sony Sports Walkman, which was host to a parade of Maxell-brand mix tapes that were replaced biweekly, but always held the same songs. Sometimes they started with The Smiths, and usually they ended with The Cure. My Favorite captures these memories, and serves them up with the synth-infused respect they deserve. I love this music because I love everything that came before it.
The Happiest Days of Our Lives is an unashamed love letter to 80s British new wave. Johnny Marr's jangle snuggles up to New Order's electronics. Singer/songwriter Michael Grace, Jr. wants to be an American Morrissey, telling tales of heartbreak from between the cinderblock walls of his dorm room. In "Badge", he croons, "I examine the pictures on my wall/ I am the pictures on my wall/ Then nothing." His songs tackle the mind-numbing stupidity of suburbia (the boy/girl pop-rocker "The Suburbs Are Killing Us"), college crushes ("L=P"), and confessions of love though depreciated audio formats ("The Black Cassette"). In splitting vocal duties with Andrea Vaughn, the melodrama becomes all the more convincing-- at times, it borders on poignant: "Loneliness is pornography to them, but to us it is an art."
The Happiest Days of Our Lives compiles three out-of-print EPs released by My Favorite since 2000, as well as four new tracks. But it also includes an additional disc featuring fourteen "controversial" remixes by Soviet, Flowchart, Phofo, Alexander Peris, Future Bible Heroes, Double Agent, and a host of others. Somehow, My Favorite escaped the all-consuming maw of the recently defunct electro movement, but the majority of these remixes serve as a "what if," reworking the band's songs into irreverent dance hymns to Casey Spooner.
A handful of others attempt to bring something new to the original material. Phofo's interpretation of "Le Monster" is a bizarrely enjoyable mash-up of styles, from mambo and bossa nova to 60s French pop, while three artists rework "Homeless Club Kids". Alexander Perls turns it into the dance anthem its title begs for. Double Agent's take on is a booming miasma of drums and echoing vocals, complete with a nuclear blast in the middle. However, though the electro-pop doodles of Stephin Merritt are usually a joy, the 8:22 runtime of the Future Bible Heroes remix is nearly impenetrable, even as far as club-friendly remixes go.
All told, My Favorite set out to appeal to a distinct class of music fans: If you don't know every lyric to Meat Is Murder, or never patched a broken heart with Disintegration, you'll likely be mystified by the band's dreamy teenage anthems. Those of us who fall into this category, however, will find it an blissful journey back into days that were anything but.
