40 Songs, 40 Days (2011 Edition), Day Six: I Feel It All (Escort Remix) by Feist

And now...Female Canadian Band Members Who Seem To Do Their Strongest Work On Their Solo Albums.

I first became acquainted with The Broken Social Scene's Leslie Feist the way a lot of people did--when Apple decided it wanted to showcase the new high resolution screen on its iPod nano by featuring her song '1234' on a commercial. The song (which is not her own; it was written by an Australian singer/songwriter named Sally Seltman, although Feist did rewrite some lyrics)'s use there, with its simple lyrics about young love and how we all yearn to recapture that feeling, catapulted her fourth solo effort, The Reminder into best-seller territory and made her into a minor celebrity. And I admit, if the young alt-rock geek's heart that I keep in a jar above my desk didn't belong to another Canadian Band Member Who Seems To Do Her Strongest Work On Her Solo Albums, The New Pornographer's Neko Case, I'd be seriously crushing on her....

"I Feel It All" was the third single from The Reminder--this is the Escort Remix that found its way onto a UK promo single. It was the follow-up to "1234", and all told, it was a wise choice. This song has the same upbeat message, although the melody is more energetic than its laconic, easy-going predecessor. Hell, you can almost imagine the same character doing both songs--with "1234" being her statement of hope and intent, and "I Feel It All" being her declaration that she has found the person that makes her feel the way she wants to in the previous song...and intends to 'win the war' to claim his heart. She knows it's not going to be easy ("No one likes to take a test/Sometimes you know that more is less")...but she's going in with eyes open, aware that if she loses this man, she'll be 'the one to break my heart.' All told, this song definitely makes more sense as a single than the rather dark and morose "My Moon, My Man," which was the album's lead-off offering.

Supposedly there's a new Broken Social Scene album on the way, and Ms. Feist is not in evidence on it. Which gives me hope that she's got another solo effort on the way.

Here's the video. Much like the one for "1234," it's very simple, but very effective--and ties into the whole 'self-reliance' angle of the song. Although I would not advise trying to recreate this one like you might the previous single's video...