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Plays: 81[Flash 9 is required to listen to audio.]
Today’s request comes from Brian.
The Features
“Hold (You Alone)”
Live @ The Exit/In
August 19th, 2005
And here it is, a latter day pop masterpiece that has seemingly disappeared completely. I’m finding it hard to think of a song that pefectly encapsulates everything I love about this band as deftly as “Hold” does. That opening off-beat Kinks-style riff, Rollum’s arena-sized drumming that pounds away a truly awesome ’60s dance beat, Roger’s pulse-pounding bass line and Matt’s gutteral howl of love…you don’t need much else in life (or a Features song). This is pop-perfection on the Beatles level.
And then there’s Parrish’s keyboard part.
I’m sure other aspects of Features songs have reduced me to tears of joy at some point, but this keyboard part does it every time. It’s so subtle, yet so obvious. It’s in front throughout the song, but it’s simple nature lets it sneak under the radar. You might miss the adorable nuance of it because of any of the other parts of the song. Then when the keyboard part is highlighted at the end, it blows your mind. The dance that the keys and the guitar have at the end mirrors the metaphorical dance the protagonist is having with his lady love, somehow managing to capture the earnestness, playfulness and rush of emotions that courtship brings on. It’s perfection.
“Hold (You Alone)” debuted on April 9th, 2004 at Wall Street in Murfreesboro. While the message board seemed to struggle with the correct name of this song for months, continually referring to it as “O You Alone” or “Are You Alone,” Matt Pelham settled everything by introducing it as “Hold (You Alone).” I have no idea if the parenthetical was official or something I did, though. “Hold” didn’t appear again until August of 2004, but once it came back it enjoyed a healthy run as a near-regular at shows until the shake-up of 2006. The song has since disappeared from the band’s repertoire, leaving me a complete wreck.
This is the perfect Features song, and it is a shame it’s not around.
THE MUSIC OF THE FEATURES
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The Features are a Nashville, Tennessee based rock band. The purpose of this Tumblr is to provide a comprehensive and interactive database
of the Features' music. The blog is named after the Features song "The Damage Is Done."
If you would like any of the unreleased songs featured on this site, you can download them yourself or email me for copies. I am not able to send every Features song I own in one go, mainly because I don't have a way of hosting all the files, and I also gotta keep some song tricks up my blog sleeve. Specific song requests are the easiest ones to fulfill. It might take a little while to respond but I will try my best. I will not send songs that have been officially released in any capacity, so buy their albums.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
BRETT WHITE is a New York City-based comedian who has appeared on The Late Show with David Letterman and written for Wizard Magazine. He is currently a writer on the Upright Citizens Brigade sketch team Thunder Gulch. He performs improv comedy with the groups Iron Ruckus and Daddy. He is also the author of the web comic Tales To Diminish and contributes to the nerd-humor site Topless Robot.
His obsession with the Features began when he first saw them on October 18th, 2001. His college years were spent posting on the Features message board under the name DigsySlattery. He has seen the Features over 50 times in concert and never makes a mix CD without including at least one Features song.
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