The Soundtrack, Part 12

A green retro computer monitor with a smiling face glowing on its screen, eyes curved shut in a happy expression.

Groove Is in the Heart – Deee-Lite

I’m a child of the ’80s, and in the early ’90s I was still listening to pop on a boombox. I heard this song on the radio the first time around, and it has always been pure, unbridled fun. It has a slide whistle in it. A slide whistle.

Sometime in the last ten years, Spotify’s algorithm handed it back to me, and I leaned all the way in. It’s a great song in any context.

But in Part 12, the context matters. Deee-Lite came out of the downtown New York club scene, and this song has been a Pride anthem since the year it was released. Part 12 opens with it playing loud and somebody dancing to it freely, badly, and without caring who sees.

Hold on to that picture. Part 12 is built in two halves, and the two songs are meant to be heard against each other. Watchmen fans will recognize a fearful symmetry.

Smoke and Mirrors – Gotye

Part 12 ends very differently than it begins. It closes on a conversation between two men in that same room, and that conversation changes the rest of the book.

The lyrics to this one matter. It’s very on the nose, starting from the first line, which is about a fraud. The song could be about either man in that room, looking back on that night.

So I’ll leave you with the same question the song does. Who’s the fraud? Who’s running the smoke and mirrors?