In Hear This, A.V. Club writers sing the praises of songs they know well—some inspired by a weekly theme and some not, but always songs worth hearing. This week, in celebration of Mardi Gras, we’re picking songs we think could soundtrack our personal parades.
A few songs on The Go! Team’s 2004 debut, Thunder, Lightning, Strike, sound like theme songs to forgotten detective shows from the ’70s and ’80s, but none more so than “Junior Kickstart”—which makes sense because it samples Quincy Jones’ theme for the original Ironside TV show. I more or less picture the video for “Sabotage” when I hear it—though the band’s own video of a live-action Ms. Pac-Man being chased by ghosts through New York is pretty great—or maybe the opening scene of Saturday Night Fever. It’d also be great in the hands of a marching band, as the horn lines that carry the song practically beg to be played by a full brass section (which could also take on the harmonica parts), instead of the flat-sounding recording that has dogged every Go! Team release.