297: Lake Street Dive (Rachael Price), ‘Hypotheticals’

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Lake Street Dive–‘Hypotheticals’ (Live on WFUV)

Lake Street Dive–‘Hypotheticals’ (Live on SiriusXM)

Lake Street Dive–‘Hypotheticals’ (Live on The Ellen Show)

Lake Street Dive–‘Hypotheticals’ (Tiny Desk Concert–4 songs)

Lake Street Dive–‘Hypotheticals’ (Official clip)

Lake Street Dive–‘Hypotheticals’ (Live from Phantom Studios)

Lake Street Dive–‘Hypotheticals’ (karaoke)

New! Lake Street Dive–‘Hypotheticals’ (New Haven, June 24)

People have been telling me it’s unseemly, how much I talk about Rachael Price.

What can you do? ‘Hypotheticals’ is keeping me awake at night. Not that I’m complaining. Sometimes you get an earworm that’s so much fun you want to lie there and praise The Lord. But I do need my sleep, so I figure writing about the song might exorcise the—

I’ve
been
playing out a lot of hypotheticals—

Nope, it’s still there.
Rachael Price, whether fronting for Lake Street Drive or teaming with Vilray or guesting with Chris Thile, haunting my dreams. In a good way.

Back in SoTW 206 we discovered Lake Street Dive covering The Jackson 5 on a street corner and related the history of the band.
“Lake Street Dive — you guys are great, and I wish you all the success in the world.

Ms Price – I bow to you, to your unlimited ability in such a range of styles, your taste, your presence, your sexiness, your prodigious talent.”

Then in SoTW 272 we marveled at the divine Ms Price hooking up vocally with a talented but portly gent.
“She is, according to all five of my humble male senses, the epitome of what a woman can and should be. A chanteuse, a siren. A visage that demands my testostironical attention, a call of the wild to the fundaments of my DNA.”

And then right away in SoTW 273, we saw her killing Gershwin. Words failed me there, so I created this adolescent homage clip.

And yet again, in SoTW 283, we saw the oh-so-female Rachael Price bending genders in the Kinks’ transvestite romp, ‘Lola’. “She sings, “I’m not the world’s most masculine man, but I know what I am, I’m glad I’m a man!” Rachel Price, the most non-man on God’s planet. Talk about gender fluidity! Something’s happening here, but you don’t know what it is—do you, Mister Meshel?”

Enough, no? LSD isn’t The Beatles, Rachel Price isn’t—

I’ve
been
playing out a lot of hypotheticals—

Oh, the printed word just doesn’t do it justice. Let’s watch her sing it again.

Lake Street Dive isn’t a household name, even in Indie circles. The first word of the song ‘Hypotheticals’ gives LSD the title of their new album, “Obviously”. On their website you can read all kinds of interesting stuff about how they chose the name of the album, the recent personnel changes, their work with a new producer. The album’s got a couple of other strong songs—the emotionally powerful ‘Anymore’ and ‘Sarah’, the female empowerment treatises ‘Nobody’s Stopping You Now’ and ‘Being a Woman’.

But it’s ‘Hypotheticals’ that gets my blood pumping, maybe the catchiest song since Farrell Williams’ ‘Happy’.

Within weeks of the song’s release, about a year ago, I was finding literally dozens of covers on YouTube by enthusiastic Asian adolescents figuring out the bass part or the chord changes or reworking it in a cappella. They know something, these kids. The song is so bouncy, buoyant, ebullient, effervescent, flirty, fun, infectious, insouciant —

I got a Plan A, and I got a Plan B
And if it’s absolutely necessary, we’ll go to Plan C

You’ll excuse me, I’m going to go watch the clip again. And again. And

Obviously, we’re at the beginning of something
I don’t expect you to know how it’s gonna go
But I believe we might be onto something
And I just thought maybe you should know—

I’ve been playing out a lot of hypotheticals in my mind
I’ve been writing your name down next to mine
Been imagining all the things you and I could do.
I’ve seen all the possibilities in my dreams
You’re alone when you should be livin’ next to me
Baby, let’s not wait and see.

Immediate action is unnecessary
It’s a fatal attraction, it’s a little scary
But I got a plan of attack
And I’ll get us there someday soon, (I know it).

I got a Plan A, and I got a Plan B
And if it’s absolutely necessary, we’ll go to Plan C
Whatever I gotta do to be with you,

I’ve been playing out a lot of hypotheticals in my mind
I’ve been writing your name down next to mine
Been imagining all the things you and I could do
I’ve seen all the possibilities in my dreams
You’re alone when you should be livin’ next to me
Baby, let’s not wait and see.

Nobody can see into the future
Even the weatherman gets caught in the rain sometimes
But I see something in you that I’ve never seen before
And I can’t be sure, no, maybe not
But I think it’s worth a shot.

Hypothetically, yes
Theoretically, forever
We’ll see what happens
But I hope we will never be apart
Hypothetically, yes
Theoretically, forever
We’ll see what happens
But I hope we will never be apart

Tags: HypotheticalsLake Street DiveObviouslyRachael Price