Drag Days

"Drag Days" is another of the great songs included as bonus tracks on Under the Bushes, Under the Stars. Reportedly, Robert Pollard wanted to release an EP around the time of the album's release, but the plan was scuttled and the tracks included -- without being listed in the sleeve -- on UTBUTS. It's to the benefit of this album, which, as I work my way through the band's discography, has solidified itself as my favorite.

Credit goes to songs like "Drag Days" for that honor. The songs starts with a fairly pedestrian chord progression and drum beat, but a simple little guitar line is soon layered over top to provide an instant hook. Pollard's vocals come in next, his delivery more laid back than usual. His lethargic performance seems fitting for the subject at hand, as he opens by singing, "Drag days are not too bad but move too slow, I file them, I want them not to linger so," his protagonist clearly bored by his existence, but not so much that it moves him to improve the situation. Even a proposed solution is rejected: "Fake capes baby, they're too hard to wear, put them on and everyone will stare."

A bit of introspection follows, as Pollard's character looks for relief:

We escape them sometimes
when the feeling is different, more intensified.
We escape them within the walls
of our fidgety hearts where we hide.

Then, things truly take off as he sings, with growing conviction, "They will turn around." He never gets around to explaining why, but seems assured that the drag days won't last forever.

It's the most inspired song I can recall borne of and concerning boredom since the Ramones' heyday.